Chapter 96: The Guard Leader Catching Stray

Guards could also see that there was a tall young man with silver-white hair walking beside Commander Seraphine, as if he were her equal. He had a domineering and mystical presence due to his sharp features and mysterious eyes.

He also exuded a pressure of authority, just like the commander. They had guessed anyone walking beside Commander Seraphine would not be a pushover either.

But what could they do? That was their luck, as this was the same description they had been given for the leader of the thugs who were going to cause chaos inside the capital city when the festival took place.

That was the order they had received from the higher-ups.

But they knew it was complete gibberish. Who would dare to do something like that in the most secure city in the entire world? Security was extremely tight, especially during festival times. And monsters among humans walked in the disguise of normal people—the so-called Awakeners. The city was full of them.

Whoever had given the order definitely had some animosity toward the silver-white-haired handsome young man beside the commander, and they knew who it might be. The story of the commander and the duke’s eldest son’s open announcement to the world was known to everyone.

They were stuck between fire and a cliff. Knowing the duke’s eldest son was behind this put so much pressure on them that they had to act—even if they didn’t like it—despite the commander accompanying him.

They were Awakeners, and the guards believed they could subdue him—only if the commander didn’t act up.

All of them were hoping to convince her with words, because no matter what, she was still in their kingdom’s capital city—their home ground. The upper hand was supposed to be in their pocket, not hers. Even though she was one of the strongest people in the world, she had to be careful around here.

Seraphine and Leon reached them. Behind them were eight knights of Seraphine—five women and three men—all of them with their hands on the hilts of their blades, as they could feel the tense atmosphere emitted by the guard who seemed to be in charge of everyone.

"Greetings, Esteemed Lightning Commander Seraphine."

Seraphine didn’t even give him a nod, more curious about what lie that scheming bastard, the duke’s son, had cooked up now.

The guard leader clearly sensed she was not even acknowledging their existence, but it didn’t affect him, as he continued—trying to imitate a heavy voice to let her know the severity of the situation—and also didn’t forget to mention the term

higher-ups

many times during his explanation.

Even while he tried to maintain a calm composure, after his explanation was done, the shaking in his hands was a clear reminder of how nervous he was.

He explained everything about how the young man beside her matched the description of the thug. He didn’t directly say to hand him over, but kept mentioning it was a very high-level order, and that she shouldn’t make things difficult for them, repeating the same message while trying to redirect her anger away from him.

The guard leader was holding his breath, hoping she wouldn’t make things difficult for them.

’This is it, huh? Pretty nasty... but I’m not gonna hold back anymore.’

"So you’re saying the man beside me matched the description of the thug you wanted to find. Is that correct?" Her tone was sharper than ever, her cold eyes looking at him as if he were a bug.

"Ye—"

"ARRRGH!!!"

The overwhelming pain came before the guard even realized what had happened. His body hit the ground as he frantically moved like a worm.

Thud.

His right hand had hit the ground.

From his shoulder, his whole arm had been cut. The other guards took out their weapons in response, along with the eight knights behind Seraphine.

But the guards’ legs were shaking. None of them had seen how their leader—the strongest among them—was now on the ground with his entire arm severed from his body, blood leaking as he clutched it tightly, screaming his lungs out.

ARRRGH!

Even though their number was around fifty—including those rushing there after hearing the scream—not a single one of them had the confidence to face her. Death seemed inevitable if they acted against her, regardless of their numbers.

"ARGGHH! BASTARDS, QUICKLY TAKE ME TO THE CHURCH OF LIFE! I WILL DIE, YOU RETARDS!!"

The scream of their leader made them focus on him.

Four guards came up, trying to pick up the leader to take him to the Church of Life for emergency treatment.

But they stopped in their tracks, hearing a cold and ruthless voice.

"I’m still not done with him."

The four guards froze in place after hearing the devil’s voice. They dared not try to touch their leader. They valued their lives.

They only showed pity in their eyes while looking at their leader, who was bleeding profusely, squirming on the ground, and screaming.

A few days prior, when this mission came to their guard leader, they were jealous, as he was given an advance payment of 50 gold coins before even catching the thug, and promised a promotion and one platinum coin after the capture.

They had thought the leader had hit the jackpot. But now, they realized he was only a sacrificial pawn for the upper nobles. It definitely wasn’t a coincidence that this mission came just as the silver-white-haired man arrived with the infamous lightning commander, knowing their duke’s obsession with her.

"P-Please ma’am... l-let me go, I beg of you! I-I will die if they don’t take me quickly..." he weakly said these words while still on the ground—his previous demeanor, trying to put up a brave front, subtly reminding her she was in their kingdom’s capital—was gone, he could cry at any second.

Now, in front of her, only a man remained—begging for his life, not wanting to die.

Seraphine ignored his pleading and continued.

"Do you know this silver-white-haired young man is with me? Wasn’t he walking alongside me enough to tell you that? Be grateful that you are still breathing. Your earlier words were a direct affront to my honor."

"I’d say I’ve even been too kind today."

The eight knights behind Seraphine nodded in unison, agreeing with their lady’s words, as she had indeed been kind today.