Wharton’s mother, was on the cusp of completely losing her temper. A mere child who hadn’t even started puberty was talking down to her, a noble, as if she was the child.
“Boy, you used an unnecessary amount of force on someone much younger than you in a mere friendly sparring match. If your mother refuses to discip…”
“I… Can’t… Can’t breathe…
Help!” In Ace’s vice-like grip, Wharton paled as he looked to his mother for help.
“LET MY SON GO, YOU SON OF A…”
“SHUT UP!” Ace shouted as he looked at Lina with a visage so cold it made her shudder. “I don’t care what you say about me, but if you say anything about my mother, I’ll kill your pathetic excuse for a son right here and now whilst you watch.”
Lina could see from the look in his eyes that he was deadly serious.
“Please let my son go, and we can discuss how to proceed,” Lina asked as politely as she could.
Ace remained silent for a few seconds as he glared into Lina’s worried eyes.
“Hand me my money!” Ace said indifferently.
“What?” Lina asked, not following his meaning.
“You owe me 210 gold coins for beating your pathetic lizard-blooded son.
Call your dogs off and hand over my money, then I’ll let your son go.” Ace replied indifferently.
“The prize money was only 100 gold coins. Where did…”
“10 was my own money, so that’s not included. 100 for defeating your husband’s shitty disciple, and 100 for defeating this Lizard.” Ace explained coldly, not caring about giving the Baruch Family any face.
“I’m not pay…”
“Mom…”
Wharton’s cries for help between gasps for breath was enough to shut Lina up.
“This isn’t up for discussion.” Ace said as his icy gaze remained on Lina as if he were daring her to make a move.
Seconds went by in complete silence as the crowd watched in shock, not daring to believe what they were witnessing.
“5, 4, 3…” The crowd could see the colour on Wharton’s face fade with each passing second as Ace’s grip continued to tighten. “2…”
“OKAY, ENOUGH…” Lina shouted as she threw him a small pouch full of gold coins, worried Ace was really crazy enough to go through with it. “Guards, stand down!”
“Now, was that so hard?” Ace asked with a confident smile.
“Hmph! Now hold up your end of the deal; let my son go.” Lina said as she tried her best to hold back her rage.
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“Kil, you hurry back to the hotel and get Lance.” Ace said, completely ignoring Lina.
“But, what about…”
“Don’t worry about me. Whilst I have this little Lizard in my hands, I’ll be fine, but I’ll probably need Lance’s help soon.” Ace calmly explained as if the situation had nothing to do with him.
“I get it. I’ll be back soon; just hold on!” Killian hurriedly said as he jumped off the stage, running back to the inn, not caring about the chance of reopening his wounds.
Ace watched Killian’s disappearing back with a smile. What he was thinking at that moment, only he knew.
“My son. LET GO OF MY SON, YOU BASTARD!” Lina screamed.
“Bastard? That’s not a very nice way to talk about someone you once tried to recruit…
But okay, catch!” Ace said as he launched the brown-haired boy in his hands at Lina.
Before walking off the stage calmly.
“KILL HIM! CATCH THAT LITTLE BASTARD AND KILL HIM!” Lina screamed hysterically at her guards.
Ace acted as if he hadn’t seen the guards chasing him as he carried on walking as if taking a stroll through the park.
Just as the fist of the guard closest was about to reach his right shoulder, he coated it in his armament haki and launched himself forward.
“AAAAAHHHHHH! MY ARM, MY ARM, MY POOR ARM! HELP ME; THE BARUCH FAMILY IS TRYING TO KILL ME!”
“GOOD, NOW BRING ME HIS HEAD!”
Just as they were preparing to rush after him again, the Fenlai City Guards stormed over and surrounded them. Each of them in dazzling white armour and swords sheathed by their sides, intimidating everyone present into behaving themselves.
“What happened here?” The guard riding on horseback who appeared to be in charge asked.
“Help, please, you have to help me. The crazy Baruch family guards are trying to kill me.” Ace said as he stumbled to his feet from the apparent pain he was in.
“What happened? Why are they trying to kill you?” The head guard asked.
“It all started when…” Ace then went on to frantically explain what happened from the beginning, making sure to leave out anything that would make him seem like the bad guy.
“So you’re saying that because you managed to beat 2 of the children chosen to represent their family in this challenge, they decided to ignore the city rules to kill you.” The guard asked, not sure what to believe.
“Yes, sir. Everything I told you was 100% true; you can ask anyone!” Ace said with the most honest expression he could put on.
“You there.” The guard said, turning his head to a random member of the audience. “Is this kid telling the truth?”
“Er… Yes… Yes, sir!” The man in question responded honestly.
That was all the head guard needed to know before he signalled his men to surround the members of the Baruch family.
“Your Baruch family sure does have some nerve. For a lesser noble to try and abuse the rules…
What kind of backwater town do you think Fenlai City is?!” The guard asked as he looked down at Lina coldly from atop his horse.
“No, sir, I can assure you everything that little rat said was out of…”
“Enough!” The guard interrupted, not caring for her excuses. “Men, take them away!”
“Do you need help getting home?” The head guard asked as he looked at Ace’s pained visage.
“No, I’ll be alright. Thank you, sir.” Ace replied weakly.
The more he looked at the boy before him, the more the stoic guard could feel something was off, but he didn’t feel like interrogating an injured child. With a slight nod, he turned around to follow his men, ignoring the looks of awe he got from the crowd.
‘Even with my haki, that third-rank guard from the Baruch Family still managed to give me a dead arm.’ Ace thought as he rolled his shoulder to get rid of the numbness whilst staring at the backs of the city guards.
He then went on his way with his winnings, not paying any attention to the spectators staring at him as if he were a monster.
If anyone had looked up, they would’ve seen a young man with strong ape-like features donning a loose-fit white robe laying down on the back of a giant winged serpent, casually watching everything that happened with an amused smile. “What an interesting brat!”
Ace, who had no idea he was being watched from above, was lost in thoughts as he pondered over everything that had happened.
“ACE!”
Looking up, he saw Killian leading a worried Lance through the streets.
“Ace… Good… You’re okay!” Killian said between breaths.
It was clear he’d been sprinting as quickly as possible, worried about what might happen.
“I’m fine. No need to worry.” Ace said, flashing Killian a reassuring smile.
“I’m glad you’re okay, but we should get home. Your mother’s probably going crazy with worry.” Lance said.