Pallet Town.
Lucius stumbled and crawled his way back to The Vanquishers' camp.
The moment the others saw his disheveled, battered appearance, several of his underlings immediately rushed over, anxiously asking what had happened.
Lucius waved his hand and forced himself to sound calm. "The Sons of Calydon brought people and attacked. They want to use their influence in New Eridu to seize the dominant position."
"What?"
Everyone around gasped, eyes wide in disbelief.
Had they heard that right? The Sons of Calydon had always been well-behaved.
Even when Lucius assigned them the most barren, profitless transport routes, they had always quietly accepted it. And their leader on the other side—well, he looked like an honest, simple guy.
So why were they suddenly leading city forces to attack their doorstep?
Could it be that after being pushed around for so long, even the honest man couldn't take it anymore?
One of the higher-ranked members hesitated before saying, "Boss Lucius, maybe you've been squeezing them too hard. Why don't we give them a couple of better routes to calm things down?"
For the past two years, while Boss Pompey was away negotiating, the transport routes of the Motorcycle Alliance had all been allocated by Mors. He always claimed the assignments were random, but in reality, The Vanquishers were getting the most lucrative lines.
Meanwhile, the other major groups in the alliance were suppressed to varying degrees—especially the Sons of Calydon, who had a long history. The situation was clearly going against Pompey's original orders.
Still, seeing how much profit The Vanquishers were raking in, these lieutenants turned a blind eye and secretly supported Lucius's decisions. But now, after squeezing too hard, they couldn't stay silent any longer.
"We'll talk about the route assignments later. Right now, we have to beat them into submission!" Lucius panted heavily, voice rising in urgency. "The brothers at the front can't hold out any longer. Go support them now! I'll contact Boss Pompey and get him back to take charge. We can't let the Sons of Calydon humiliate us—The Vanquishers' honor cannot be tarnished!"
"Uh… alright, we're on it."
The officers looked at one another, but still let themselves be convinced by Lucius's fiery words.
After all, if they immediately gave away their prime routes when enemies were already at their gates, wouldn't that make them look like cowards?
Better to crush the Sons of Calydon first—then, when negotiations came, they'd have the upper hand.
"Hurry up! Their firepower's fierce—bring every last brother with you!"
Throwing out the order, Lucius turned and sprinted toward the deeper part of the camp without looking back.
"Looks like things really are serious. Time for the Sons of Calydon to witness the power of The Vanquishers!"
The lieutenants made up their minds, quickly rallying everyone left behind in camp and charging toward the front lines like a storm.
They were brimming with confidence. In the Outer Ring, no force could defeat The Vanquishers on their own turf.
But meanwhile, amid the chaos in The Vanquishers' camp, Lucius had already returned to his quarters.
There, a short, chubby man with white hair—barely a meter and a half tall—was looking extremely nervous. Clearly, his sharp sense of danger had already warned him something was wrong.
"Perlman! What did you do in the city? You definitely hit more than just Canvas Street! What other secrets are you hiding from me? Why are there so many powerful people after you?"
Lucius grabbed Perlman by the collar, eyes flashing with menace. "Hundreds of Vanquishers surrounded them, and they tore through us like paper! They're monsters!"
Perlman's face turned red from being choked, and he coughed awkwardly. "Probably because it's election season. Bringer's afraid I'll cause trouble. It's fine—as long as we hold out until the election's over, we'll be safe. The organization doesn't care about a small fry like me. Now, could you put me down? Holding me up won't help, right?"
Gone was the confident man who once gave speeches on television. In front of Lucius, he looked like a helpless lackey.
He had no choice but to bow his head. Both sides—black and white—wanted him dead.
The only reason he was still alive was because Lucius wanted to use him as leverage against both the organization and Bringer.
"Safe, my ass! This place is done for! Even The Vanquishers can't hold them off!" Lucius snapped, but still set him down. "I can't stay here. I'm getting out. And I can't protect you. We split up—whoever survives, lives their own life."
He regretted ever taking Perlman hostage. Now his mission to take the Outer Ring was completely ruined. He couldn't go back to The Vanquishers, and he couldn't return to the organization either. His only choice was to run far away and hide.
Lucius quickly grabbed his stash of money, geared up fully, and even tossed two weapons to Perlman before leaving.
The longer Perlman stayed alive, the longer he'd serve as a distraction.
"Huh? They're really that strong?"
Perlman immediately realized how dire the situation was.
The Vanquishers' strength far surpassed that of the underground assassins the organization had once assigned to him. If even they couldn't fend off the attackers, he was finished.
He quickly followed Lucius out, clearly understanding that splitting up was their best chance to survive.
But just as they stepped outside—
A staff crackling with electricity came crashing down.
Their vision went black. The combined shock of the strike and the current knocked them both out cold.
"Ehe~!" Qingyi happily retracted her staff, humming to herself. "Law with warmth, baton with force. Think you can run, little crook? You'll find comfort in Public Security's resort!"
She pulled out two pairs of handcuffs, locking Lucius's left hand to Perlman's right foot and vice versa—no chance of escape.
After that, she searched their bodies, confiscating every weapon before dragging them both back inside the room. Then she began methodically searching the place for evidence.
With years of investigative experience, Qingyi quickly found a large cache of incriminating materials—records of transactions with a mysterious organization, and documentation of Lucius's missions in the Outer Ring.
Satisfied, she packed the evidence into a bag, then slipped her staff through the handcuffs binding the two men together.
Left hand gripping the evidence bag, right hand raising the other end of her staff horizontally—
Perlman and Lucius, one fat and one thin, dangled like a trussed-up ball at the far end of the staff. The combined weight of over three hundred pounds felt like nothing to Qingyi.
After all, this was the same woman who could lift a small truck with her bare hands.
With her makeshift "luggage" in tow, Qingyi strutted toward the battlefield. Though she was walking through The Vanquishers' camp, not a single soul stopped her.
Because every last one of them had gone off to fight Sol Mercer's group.
And she wasn't the least bit worried about Sol, Zhu Yuan, or the others—those small fries were no threat at all.
…
Meanwhile, on the battlefield where The Vanquishers were clashing with Sol Mercer's team—
More than two hundred Vanquishers, officers and grunts alike, were now sprawled all over the ground, bruised and groaning.
The sight made Caesar absolutely ecstatic. She banged her sword against her shield and shouted gleefully, "I came, I saw, I conquered!"
She had never fought such a luxurious battle before—teammates all top-tier experts from New Eridu, and enemies like endlessly respawning mobs.
The thrill of it all was second only to falling in love.
"This simple-minded brute…"
Lucy sighed, covering her face in mild embarrassment.
Sure, they had just defeated most of The Vanquishers despite being outnumbered—but did she really have to be that excited about it?
Just then, a roaring motorcycle appeared in the distance, accelerating as soon as the rider saw the scene ahead.