At the sight of Zhong Shenxiu’s placid expression, Angeleya was struck by a memory! She recalled that when she and Robin eliminated the "Double Axe Mercenary Group," he had worn the exact same look. Thinking back to what Zhong Shenxiu had just said, she seemed to grasp something and obediently sat back down.
"Hey, hey, what is going on? Did I hear that right?" Those men stared at Zhong Shenxiu in disbelief, never expecting Angélia to listen to this young boy!
At this moment, Reese was also looking bewildered by Zhong Shenxiu's statement, and seeing Angélia sit back down only made him feel more lost!
However, Charlotte seemed to have guessed something; she quickly pulled Reese back while stealthily glancing at Zhong Shenxiu's face.
"Hey kid, who are you?" a stout, greasy-looking fellow suddenly demanded.
Zhong Shenxiu acted as if he hadn't heard, completely ignoring him and continuing to eat his meal.
The man was clearly enraged and took a step forward, but suddenly a shadow flashed—it was Robin’s magic pet, "Black Butcher's Tooth," returning!
The appearance of "Black Butcher's Tooth" immediately drew gasps from the group of thugs, causing them to involuntarily stumble back several paces.
"An Eighth-Tier Magical Beast! That’s the Eighth-Tier Magical Beast, 'Black Butcher's Tooth'!" someone shouted.
The scene instantly fell silent. The smug, lewd laughter vanished at that moment, replaced by every man staring at "Black Butcher's Tooth" with battle readiness etched on their faces!
Just then, Zhong Shenxiu finally finished eating. He looked up at Angélia and Reese and asked, "Have either of you ever killed anyone?"
This simple question caused a change in the expressions of both Angélia and Reese; they couldn't fathom why Zhong Shenxiu would suddenly ask such a thing.
"No!" Reese's anger had already subsided by more than half.
Angélia also shook her head softly. Both were very proper students, and furthermore, the civil climate in 'Gulu City' was good with relatively stable social security, meaning bloody incidents were rare. Let alone killing someone, neither had ever engaged in a fight to the death. Their usual spar matches always ended with a respectful stopping point.
"Do you want to try it out?" Zhong Shenxiu asked again, his gaze now shifting toward the mercenary group.
Reese and Angélia visibly flinched, frozen where they stood, unsure how to answer!
Just moments ago, both had let their tempers flare and thought about engaging those men in a fight to the death, but now that they had calmed down, they lacked the courage to follow through.
"What? Too scared now?" Zhong Shenxiu retracted his gaze.
Reese and Angélia remained silent. Just then, the thugs' voices drifted over again.
"Captain, what do we do? They seem to have an Eighth-Tier Magical Beast!" The stout man, unwilling to risk his own life, quickly retreated to ask their leader.
"What are we afraid of? We have magical beasts too, and with this many of us, are we really going to be scared of just one measly beast!" the Captain declared fiercely, his eyes sweeping over Charlotte once more with a look of absolute certainty.
With his encouragement, the other brothers began to chuckle again.
"Brothers, grab your gear, it's time to work!" the Captain suddenly roared. Immediately, the thugs all adopted combat stances, their faces alight with starved anticipation.
In this world, mercenary groups were as numerous as hairs on a yak's hide; countless new groups emerged daily, and just as many vanished from existence. It was a world where strength dictated status; regardless of one's morality, as long as you were strong enough, you would survive!
Because mercenary groups were so numerous and easy to establish, the mixture of good and bad elements was severe. Groups like the one before them were not uncommon—truly, "like attracts like!"
At this point, the magical beasts standing behind the thugs stepped forward, aligning themselves opposite "Black Butcher's Tooth," clearly prepared for a sudden, decisive strike!
In their minds, the only reason Charlotte and her companions were so composed was this Eighth-Tier Magical Beast, "Black Butcher's Tooth." If they could eliminate this beast, they believed the beauties would be theirs for the taking!
Under normal circumstances, their reasoning would not be considered excessive, but in front of Zhong Shenxiu, any norm could be shattered!
Just as the smiles on the thugs' faces widened and they were about to launch their attack, something unexpected happened: "Black Butcher's Tooth" suddenly turned and ran back to Robin's side.
The men were stunned, wondering to themselves: Could this beast be frightened?
With that thought, their smug expressions became even more pronounced!
It was at that moment that Robin wiped his oily little mouth and said softly, "Master, I'm full!"
Those smug thugs couldn't have imagined the profound meaning hidden in Robin’s plain statement. It subtly implied, "Now that I'm full, it’s time to get to work."
Zhong Shenxiu stood up, turned toward Charlotte, and asked, "Woman, do you want to help?"
Charlotte blinked, then stood up. A chilling glint shone in her eyes, and a powerful aura erupted from her body. It was clear she was filled with a strong desire to fight! She had been suppressing her anger and felt the need to quickly eliminate the troublesome lot before them. Unlike Angélia and Reese who hadn't seen much of the world, she, as the leader of the 'Cloud Splitting Void Mercenary Group,' possessed countless experiences in deadly combat. Her group had clashed with others before, and she was long accustomed to killing.
Seeing Zhong Shenxiu, Robin, and Charlotte slowly approach, the thugs were utterly bewildered. While they could understand if Charlotte wanted to fight them, the two children following along seemed bizarrely out of place!
"Look quickly, am I mistaken? They're sending out two children. Are they trying to surrender to us, ha?"
"I think they've been scared silly!"
"Could they be trying to defect to us?"
A cacophony of speculation erupted, but not a single one realized that Death and the Devil were drawing nearer to them.
Zhong Shenxiu suddenly stopped, turning to Charlotte abruptly and asking, "Woman, do you have a favorite among those magical beasts?"
Charlotte was momentarily taken aback, then looked at the beasts blocking the path and said calmly, "That Seventh-Tier Magical Beast, the 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion'!"
Before Charlotte finished speaking, a bizarre scene unfolded: the 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion' flew straight toward Zhong Shenxiu.
With a dull thud, the 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion' slammed down at Zhong Shenxiu's feet, utterly motionless, as if dead, though its fiery red eyes remained wide open.
"Is this the one?" Zhong Shenxiu asked Charlotte again.
Charlotte nodded dumbly. She hadn't recovered from the sudden turn of events. How could such a huge lion fly over to Zhong Shenxiu’s feet on its own? And why was it completely still?
A chain of questions plagued Charlotte, almost overwhelming her ability to think.
Those thugs, who had been so smug moments before, were instantly frozen with their eyes wide, their expressions stupider than any idiot’s!
In all the years they had been doing evil deeds, they had never witnessed anything as strange as this day. If that 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion' hadn't belonged to them, they might even have suspected Zhong Shenxiu had hired a plant!
How could this happen? What exactly occurred just now?
They had seen it clearly—no one had moved, yet the 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion' had flown over so bizarrely. It was utterly incomprehensible to them!
Receiving Charlotte's confirmation, Zhong Shenxiu didn't even glance at the beast; he casually kicked the 'Two-Tailed Fire Lion' aside and then said to Charlotte, "Then this magical beast is your spoils of war!" Saying this, he continued to walk forward.
"Stop right there! Or don't blame us for being impolite!" someone suddenly shouted.
In truth, they hadn't intended to be polite from the start; the warning was merely a stalling tactic because they still couldn't make sense of the bizarre occurrence just moments ago!
If Zhong Shenxiu could be scared off by such a threat, he wouldn't be Zhong Shenxiu. He didn't spare the man a glance, continuing his measured, steady pace forward. Though he emitted no aura, he made the thugs feel increasingly oppressed!
These men were no saints, and seeing that Zhong Shenxiu ignored their warning, they viciously commanded the remaining magical beasts to attack him.
The reason they targeted only Zhong Shenxiu and not Robin or Charlotte was due to their clear gender biases.
However, another incredibly strange event occurred: the moment those beasts assumed an attack posture, they suddenly swayed, all falling to the ground.
What happened?
When the thugs finally looked closely, their faces contorted in shock. They saw that a small hole had been pierced in the forehead of each fallen magical beast, and blood was seeping out—they were clearly dead!
At this point, the thugs finally understood fear; every single one of their faces turned deathly pale.
Under the bright daylight, in full view of everyone, these powerful magical beasts had died so mysteriously. Anyone would feel a chill down their spine!
Not only were the thugs dumbfounded, but even Charlotte on the side had her eyes fixed, utterly stunned. While she knew for certain that either Zhong Shenxiu or Robin was responsible, she had no idea how they managed it!
Just how powerful were they?!
It was then that Zhong Shenxiu spoke again. This time, he wasn't addressing Charlotte but the group of thugs who were trembling uncontrollably.
"Do you want to come at me all at once, or one by one?" As he said this, Zhong Shenxiu even offered a smile. To the thugs, this smile was even stranger than the death of the magical beasts!
Silence. A deathly silence!
No one answered Zhong Shenxiu's question because they had forgotten how to form words!
Zhong Shenxiu smiled again, then said, "Since you won't answer, we'll just have to choose randomly!"
As if to complement Zhong Shenxiu’s words, Robin’s slender hand was already raised. She was finally about to make her move!