Chapter 207 - 021: Confrontation

Chapter 207: 021: Confrontation

Their gazes intertwined, and both Lynch and Avery froze for a moment.

Time seemed to stand still in that instant.

No one said another word, simply watching each other silently.

Blair, however, didn’t sense anything unusual and continued speaking to himself, “Friends, we mean no harm. If it’s convenient, may we talk?”

“No harm?”

Lynch snorted in displeasure. “A crowd like this blocking the entrance—this is what you call no harm?”

Avery’s body trembled as she hurriedly explained, “That’s not what we meant…”

Lynch raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Then what did you mean?”

Such a large group of people showing up here, specifically waiting for him—it didn’t take much imagination to figure out their purpose.

Lynch felt a wave of irritation.

Blair also realized that their behavior was somewhat indefensible, especially since Lynch was wearing the same white Cloak that represented their faction.

He nudged Avery with his elbow, signaling her to step up and explain. Interacting with others was her specialty, one of the areas in which she excelled. The Cavendish family had trained her remarkably well in this regard.

But for some inexplicable reason, Avery stood frozen in place like a statue, completely unresponsive.

With no alternatives, Blair braced himself, stepping forward to negotiate. “Here’s the situation. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Blair Jomans. As you can see, we’re all wearing white Cloaks—we are defenders of order. I see that you’re also wearing a white Cloak, so I think there’s no need for conflict between us.”

He paused briefly to clarify his intentions. “I sincerely invite you to join our faction, ’The Castle.’ It’s a resistance group we’ve established together in the Blood-colored Battlefield, where we’ve united to better handle threats from the Chaos Camp.”

Lynch’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly; the reasoning wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

He shook his head. “I decline.”

Joining this chaotic organization required handing over all his Blood Crystals for unified distribution and management. A portion of the Blood Crystals he had painstakingly gathered would need to be allocated to others within the group.

Not that the system was inherently flawed—a centralized organization could indeed improve efficiency in Crystal collection and provide better defense against enemies.

But Lynch’s own strength rendered such measures unnecessary.

Blair froze, then quickly frowned and said, “You haven’t even heard me out…”

Lynch interrupted, “No need. Let me ask you one thing—is it true that the Blood Crystals I collect have to be handed over for unified management and distributed to others?”

Blair was silent for a moment.

He nodded, but quickly added, “We can guarantee your safety. Your Blood Crystals will be stored under centralized protection, allowing you more freedom to gather additional Crystals without worrying about being targeted by Chaos Camp apprentices.”

“We ensure that the majority of your Blood Crystals remain yours. Only a proportion will be allocated to others who may not gather Crystals but contribute in other ways—some guard the Castle, others gather intelligence for us. Everyone is working hard to maintain order.”

Lynch nodded. “A well-designed system.”

Then, after a brief pause, he changed his tone. “But I don’t need it.”

Blair frowned.

He raised his Magic Wand. “Then we have no choice.”

The apprentices behind him followed suit, raising their own Magic Wands.

Lynch sneered, his tone laced with mockery. “Ha! All that self-righteous pontificating, all that preaching about noble ideals—and in the end, you’re just here for my Blood Crystals, aren’t you?”

Blair’s expression remained unchanged. “Apologies, but you’re a threat. Such a large amount of Blood Crystals falling into the hands of the Chaos Camp could significantly sway the outcome of this war. We cannot take that risk.”

The other apprentices began showing their ferocity as well.

“Lord Blair is right—we can’t take risks!”

“Hand over the Blood Crystals, or we’ll chop off your head and feed it to the dogs!”

“I’ll beat you to death!”

Their threats made Lynch’s temper flare. “Fine, fine! I’ll stand right here. Let’s see what a bunch of rotten eggs and spoiled tomatoes can actually do to me!”

“Damn it!”

“Who is this guy? So arrogant!”

“Get him!”

The apprentices grew even more riled up, shouting louder and louder.

It seemed that a fierce battle was inevitable. Just then, Avery, who had been silent this whole time, finally could no longer stand by.

“Wait!”

Avery stepped forward, positioning herself between the two sides.

Seeing Avery speak up, the apprentices immediately grew more confident.

“Do you know who this is? This is Miss Avery of the Cavendish family, the top student of the Shadow Tower! Aren’t you scared now?”

“This is our goddess! She could crush you with a single slap!”

“If you don’t want to die, surrender now!”

Amid their morale-boosting shouts, a trace of discomfort flickered across Avery’s face.

She quickly soothed the group. “Everyone, calm down.”

After a brief pause, she explained, “He’s an apprentice from the Shadow Tower, someone I know.”

“Huh?”

“What the—why didn’t you say so earlier?”

The shouting apprentices exchanged bewildered looks, feeling like their shouting had been a waste of time.

Avery then turned to Blair. “There’s no need for conflict between us. Let me talk to him.”

Blair hesitated. “Will it work? He seems rather unapproachable.”

If the conflict could be resolved without fighting, that would naturally be the best outcome. But Lynch didn’t seem like someone easy to reason with.

Avery nodded. “It shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Blair said, “Then I’ll come with you. In case there’s a confrontation…”

“No need.”

Avery interrupted him. “You stay here and keep everyone in check.”

With that, she offered no further explanation, turning and walking toward Lynch.

“Let’s talk.”

With those words, she began heading into the Forest behind her.

You want to talk, and I’m supposed to just oblige? Doesn’t that make me look spineless?

Despite his initial resistance, Lynch, after a brief moment of reflection, followed Avery into the Forest.

One in front, the other behind, the two quickly disappeared into the depths of the Forest.

It was late at night, and the Forest was dense. The blood-red moonlight couldn’t penetrate the treetops, but colorful, luminescent insects flitted through the air, casting an ethereal glow over the scene.

They walked in silence, neither saying a word, simply moving forward.

After a while, Lynch couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “How far are we going? I thought we were supposed to talk?”

Avery finally stopped in her tracks.

Lynch paused as well, waiting for her to speak, but she remained unmoving.

“Hey, I’m saying…”

He stepped closer, about to inquire further, but the sight before him made the words catch in his throat.

There stood Avery, trembling slightly. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears, large drops rolling down her cheeks. Her lips quivered, and she looked utterly pitiful and aggrieved.

She sobbed, “What do you even mean by all this?”

Huh?

Truth be told, Lynch was completely baffled. He had no idea what he might have done to upset her.

Yet in a mere 0.01 seconds of reflection, Lynch concluded that presenting facts or demanding an explanation wouldn’t serve any purpose at this moment.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and pulled Avery into an embrace. “There were too many people earlier, so I might’ve spoken a little harsher than I intended…”

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