As per Heires's plan, he should have been leading the joint "Four Secrets Fleet" at various times, darting about the asteroid belt to harass the Earth military's supply lines, worsening the already dire logistical situation for the Earth forces, and simultaneously creating an opening for the main fleet of the Ancient Legion on the front lines.

However, that omnipresent yet extremely low-profile reconnaissance force had exposed the Pirate United Fleet under the mercenaries' very noses, making the original strategic goals utterly impossible to achieve.

Therefore, to get the plan back on track, the noose around the pirates' necks had to be loosened, and the mercenaries' reconnaissance capabilities had to be destroyed!

It was no secret that the Tran Mercenary Group handled the reconnaissance duties for the Mercenary United Fleet, and Heires easily obtained intelligence about the entity that forced him to disband the Pirate United Fleet—it was firmly in the hands of the Tran Mercenary Group.

So, Heires arrived.

Yet, Master Merlin had also anticipated this possibility.

He never doubted Heires's audacity to breach the Ceres defense perimeter; this audacious ape had even infiltrated the Ninjian Temple's junior school, so how could a mere Grey Harbor City intimidate him?

Thus, Master Merlin also came.

Two pinnacle masters, one human and one ape, stood facing each other in the ground floor lobby of the administrative building, an invisible force field slowly coalescing from the void between them.

"This place is hardly suitable for a fight," Master Merlin stated.

He could sense that quite a few people had not yet evacuated this building. If a fight broke out, the structure would be largely demolished within a few moves, and Merlin did not wish to involve others in this conflict.

"I don't think so. Heires doesn't care how many people die in this building; it wouldn't matter even if everyone inside perished. In fact, he probably hopes for it."

Master Merlin understood that this situation was different from when Heires battled Agnon last time; even if he rushed out into space first, Heires wouldn't follow. Heires's sole purpose for coming this time was murder.

Fortunately, he had prepared.

Two more figures walked in from the doorway.

"Hmph, Garcia, Laphos, you two are quite swift," Heires knew exactly who was behind him without turning around.

When Master Merlin had guessed that Heires might come to Grey Harbor, he had already instructed Garcia and Saint Laphos to be ready at a moment's notice. The Canaan City of the Fourth Army was docked not far from Grey Harbor, and Garcia had a high-speed fighter ready on Ceres at all times.

Even at the Master level, the speed of flight in the Yu Lei Space could not match a high-speed fighter.

Upon detecting Heires, Master Merlin immediately warned the two men, who then rushed over at maximum speed. Once at the port, with the swift pace of Master-level experts, they could reach the administrative building in nearly an instant.

At this moment, the force field between Master Merlin and Heires intensified, and cracks began to appear on the surrounding walls.

Simultaneously, Master Merlin shrugged off his gray monastic robe and drew a lightsaber hilt from his waist. With a Zzla sound, a golden blade ignited.

Heires produced a staff hilt from behind him. Zzla, a golden light blade sprang forth.

Master Merlin shifted his stance, instantly closing the distance to Heires, pressing his lightsaber against Heires's staff. His withered body suddenly erupted with tremendous power, shoving Heires backward.

As the sword and staff clashed, a violent shockwave blasted outward. Though Master Merlin didn't speak, Garcia understood his intent; he brought his hands together, projecting a psionic barrier that intercepted the shockwave, preventing deeper damage to the administrative building, before drawing his silver lightsaber and attacking Heires from behind.

Saint Laphos also drew a silver lightsaber and joined Garcia in the pincer attack.

Heires rotated his body slightly, evading Saint Laphos’s strike while simultaneously catching Garcia’s lightsaber with the other end of his staff.

Master Merlin projected an astonishing surge of psionic energy from his body, forcing Heires's hand gripping the staff outward by a few centimeters, exposing an opening, then swiftly pivoted his blade to strike into that gap.

Heires roared, and a searing, fierce flame spontaneously generated, transforming into a ring of fire that pushed outward with Heires at its center.

Master Merlin’s golden blade flashed, slicing a shallow cut on the outer thigh of Heires.

Meanwhile, Saint Laphos and Garcia were thrown back several steps by the flames. When they halted, wisps of blue smoke rose from them, and small areas like the edges of their robes and sleeves ignited briefly before being instantly suppressed by their psionic power.

Taking advantage of the two retreating, Heires's figure vanished instantly, escaping the encirclement.

Master Merlin immediately pursued Heires into the sky above the center of Grey Harbor, intercepting him.

Beneath them lay a broad avenue, bustling with vehicles and a fair number of pedestrians despite the sparse crowds along the roadside.

The surrounding skyscrapers were varied in shape, mostly rectangular in cross-section, though some were round or trapezoidal. These towers all exceeded fifty stories, with people on nearly every floor—this was the most prosperous district of Grey Harbor.

Master Zhi Mu glanced down and said to Heires, "You should know better than to bring this down here, right?"

As his words fell, Garcia and Saint Laphos materialized beside him. Three men, three lightsabers, all aligned squarely on Heires.

"Fighting three against one, do you feel no shame?" Heires spun his light staff twice, holding it before him to face the trio.

"The Ceres defense perimeter is our home ground. You barged in here yourself and still expect a one-on-one fight?" Garcia scoffed. "What a joke!"

"Do you think I fear you?" Heires pointed his staff at Garcia, ready to engage.

"Hold it," Master Merlin extended his hand in a stop gesture, then said, "Heires, you must be clear today: if the fighting continues, you might kill many people in Grey Harbor, but under our combined attack, you won't escape unscathed. Would you really choose to pay the price of severe injury for the sake of these people who mean nothing to you?"

"Merlin, what trickery are you planning now?" Heires was enveloped in flames, blazing like a torch.

Pedestrians below noticed the anomaly, looked up to see several figures hovering in the sky, and immediately pointed.

Master Merlin spoke calmly, "Your objective today cannot be achieved. It would also be difficult for the three of us to detain you. Leave. Get out of the Ceres defense perimeter immediately, and I will not stop you."

Heires paused in stunned silence, then burst into loud laughter. "Truly a pedantic relic from the Ninjian Temple. I offer you such a golden opportunity—three of you surrounding me—and you just give up? Look down there," he gestured toward the ground, "For these ants?"

Master Merlin glanced at Garcia and Saint Laphos, receiving affirming looks from both, then turned back to Heires, "If you're going, go quickly, before we change our minds."

Heires also was unwilling to trade his entire body for the lives of a few human 'ants.' He knew that the moment Merlin saw through his plan to strike at the root of Grey Harbor's power, he had already lost today.

Merlin had prepared an ambush with two Master-level experts, plus himself being a pinnacle Master. While this force might not secure his death, delaying his exit would likely cost him an arm or a leg in Grey Harbor—that was far too costly.

"Fine."

Heires squeezed the sound from his mouth, then his figure flashed, rocketing out of the barrier like a shell fired skyward.

Coincidentally, the Grey Harbor barrier, having been pierced recently, had another hole punched through it today.

Seeing Heires depart, Master Merlin’s vigilance did not relax. Spotting a small red light point appearing in the space outside Grey Harbor, Master Merlin instantly vanished, shooting out through the hole Heires had smashed.

Only two words echoed in Garcia and Saint Laphos's ears: "As expected."

A thick, long red beam of light sliced through space, aimed directly at the administrative building!

However, Master Merlin appeared within the beam's trajectory before it could fully launch. He retracted his lightsaber and blocked with both hands extended forward, instantly deploying an invisible psionic barrier before him.

The red beam was equivalent to a Level Five Uranium cannon—the firepower of a heavy cruiser’s main armament. But as the beam struck the psionic barrier, it erupted in countless sparks that scattered outward, while the barrier remained utterly undamaged.

After completely blocking the beam, Master Merlin retracted the psionic barrier and returned to the sky above Grey Harbor.

"Is that red beam the particle cannon supplied to the Ancient Legion by the Kustar people?" Saint Laphos flew over and asked.

Master Merlin nodded. "Let's head down first. Flying in the sky like this makes us look like monkeys. This old man doesn't have the face for that."

With the crisis resolved and Heires fled, Master Merlin could finally relax and joke around.

"Why don't we go settle in that administrative building? We fought against Heires for them; it wouldn't be right not to enjoy a good meal on their dime," Master Garcia said, retracting his lightsaber with a smile. "And while we're there, I want to introduce you to a very promising young man."

"The Colonel of Blades?" Saint Laphos sounded interested too.

"Mr. Saint Laphos has heard of this young man's name as well?" Master Garcia inquired.

"Of course, you weren't the first to spread his name," Saint Laphos replied.

As the three spoke, they arrived at the top floor of the Grey Harbor Administrative Building and descended.

Because the "Colonel of Blades" they spoke of was already waiting for them on the top floor.

"Master Merlin, Master Garcia, Holy Knight Saint Laphos, thank you three for driving Heires away." Blades stepped forward. Though he hadn't seen the whole event, he had grasped the general situation.

"Please follow me inside. Let the Tran Mercenary Group fulfill our duties as hosts," saying this, Blades made way, allowing the Master-level experts to enter.