The criminals are currently panicking. The surprise attack truly caught them off guard. Seven main members had died in only one day. The eighth will likely die soon after the seventh.

"Bird Eyes, how is it?"

A clown-looking person asked anxiously. He is a 4-star villain, Puppet Master.

Bird Eyes, a man dressed as a bird, replied, "With our current strength, it will be difficult to go through the north gate."

"Shit! Old man, this is all your fault!"

The old man in question sat silently as if he was unconcerned by the situation.

"No need to paint it all as my fault. You all agreed with my plan, didn't you?" said the old man.

This old man is none other than six-star criminal Blackjack.

A month ago, Blackjack offered them cooperation so that they could escape to the north region.

They took his offer because no matter how good they were, their disguise gradually would have been exposed.

Their original plan was to deceive the chasing regiment by appearing in two different places while the real ones snuck into Denia City. After that, they could escape to the northern region with the help of Blackjack acquaintances.

But who would have thought that instead of the enemy being deceived, they were the ones who get fooled. Denia has become a guillotine to chop their head.

"Tch."

Of course, Puppet Master wouldn't be satisfied with Blackjack's answer. He had been suspicious of this old man from the beginning and now is the perfect time to let out his frustrations.

"You know, something feels odd here. Their timing was too perfect. It's like, someone leaked all our plans… It's you, isn't it?"

With a clean, agile motion, the Puppet Master swung his knife and stopped just before it touched Blackjack's eye.

"Guh!"

"You know, I don't mind killing a scum like you right away."

Stopping the knife wasn't Puppet Master's intention, but rather an external force stopping it from going further. Possibly Blackjack unknown power doing something here.

"Now, now, let's stop unnecessary debate and start thinking about concrete solutions," said a gigantic man.

He has a body four meters tall and a pair of black wings on his back as well as a pair of big horns on his head. He is well known as the Demon of Rhona, a five-star criminal who destroys entire fortresses by himself. Because of his calm disposition and his strength, he often becomes the mediator in this loose organization.

"All our plans will be in vain if there is a traitor among us!"

"I'm always watching him and he doesn't make any strange moves. Or are you doubting me?"

At Demon's glare, Puppet Master voluntarily steps back albeit with dissatisfaction.

"You too, Blackjack. I don't know the truth of the incident or anything that happened behind the scenes, but right now we are all on the same boat. You may be disgusted by our behavior, but in the public eyes, your sin was the same, no, worse than ours. You are now the enemy of the empire, the enemy of all people in the empire. Please remember that," said Demon.

"I am well aware of that."

"Then let's-"

"Oh! Wait a minute! I got a signal!"

Suddenly, a young man with short stature sliced his wrist. He then used the spilled blood to draw a magic circle. Other members didn't seem surprised by his strange behavior as if they were used to it.

He is a one-star villain, Cursed Kid. Even though he only had one star, his role in this organization was very crucial.

The Cursed Kid then chanted a spell that made the magic circle start to glow. After that, two people appear on the magic circle.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Phew. It worked!"

"Why took so long! I thought my head was going to fall off just now!"

"Be thankful you're still alive."

Two people had appeared from the magic circle. Both of them are 3-star villains, the Tari-Ari brothers. They somehow managed to escape from special forces pursuit and headed to the previously marked teleporter.

"Tch. This means we've lost another precious teleport point," complained the Puppet Master.

"What are you saying! Do you mean it's better if we die?!"

"Stop it. We don't have time for foolish arguments. Let's think of a solution right now."

The room became silent. Deep down in everyone's heart, they already know this is a checkmate.

Where did they go wrong?

They were quite confident in their combat power. In their group, there are 2 five-star criminals and 4 four-star criminals. Furthermore, with the combination of each member's unique abilities, they will be able to sweep through almost any obstacle.

However this time, they were simply not given the room to maximize their power.

"Ahh! Goddamit! Old Man, just use that device as bait while we escape!"

"Where are you running to?"

"How about your acquaintance?"

"If they still have not shown themselves, then they won't appear unless we approach them."

"Tch, who they think they are…"

Once again they fell silent.

That's right, all the way out has been completely blocked. They were like rats being led into a trap called Denia City. Yes, these traps are meticulously crafted step by step to get rid of them.

“Halfred… That fellow, It seems his mind has not dulled with age,” muttered Blackjack.

"I see. I see. I see! If every road leads to death, then let's take as many lives as we can with us!"

Puppet Master seems to have gone mad. His eyes were red as if they were going to ooze blood.

"Calm down, we still have a chance. The Detective is also a human, there must be a hole in his plans. Not to mention this world is always full of factors x," said Demon.

"Then, how?"

"Listen, this old man has a plan."

All eyes immediately turned to Blackjack. The old man then explained his plan which left everyone flabbergasted.

"It's quite simple actually. I secretly had built a hidden path to anticipate something like this happening. Some of us would stay behind and hold the enemy as long as possible while the others escaped through that passage."

"Then who in their right mind is willing to sacrifice?!"

"Since I proposed this idea then I will stay."

Everyone questioned the sanity of this old man. Puppet Master was even more suspicious that he was hiding something. Still, he would not waste this opportunity.

"Well then. Don't regret this later."

"We too will stay."

Unexpectedly the Tari-Ari brothers volunteered to stay. It's a bit surprising indeed but their thinking is rather predictable. They might want to bet because Blackjack dares to stay, maybe he already had another secret plan to escape.

"Then I'll stay too."

The voice came from the flamboyant man who had just come out from one of the rooms. He had an attractive face with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like a prince from a fairy tale.

However, the strong killing intent from his entire body could not be hidden. He might be smiling but it just made him look scarier.

Luca the Predator, that is his identity.

"You too?"

"Fine, since Luca also volunteered, a total of four people will stay," said Demon. "Does anyone else want to volunteer? No? Then Puppet Master, go make as many pawns as possible."

"Don't order me around..."

Despite grumbling, he still went to the cell where the captives were held. Puppet Master was gifted with the power to make a person lose their ego and obey all his orders.

If this ability is combined with Crazy Bomber Kila King, they will be able to make Cannon fodder which can explode upon death. Unfortunately, the bomb maker isn't here right now so the new puppet can't explode.

"By the way, Luca, why do you want to stay behind?" Demon asked.

"Hm? It was because I have heard many anecdotes about her heavenly beauty, and had a chance to meet her in person… ah! Just imagining what I can do with her body is already driving me crazy!" Luca looked high with a flushed face.

"Advice from me, choose your prey carefully," Demon advised while taking a peek at Blackjack.

"They! They finally made a move!" shout Bird Eyes.

The enemy finally attacked. A rain of arrows tore apart the circus tent until it was nearly chopped down.

"Good luck."

Demon and others fleeing through a hidden passage.

At the time...

Shiing!

A knife was thrown at Demon's back but blocked by Luca. Next moment a follow-up slash came intending to chop off Luca's head. However, the flamboyant guy had noticed the attacker's presence for a long time. Not only can he parry the slash, but he also makes a counterattack and slightly cuts off enemy skin.

"Come! Come here! Men, women, young, old. I'm not a picky person!"