Trump Card

After killing the four Dark energy Masters, the five demon realm warriors returned to their previous listless appearance, standing beside Jake, their crimson eyes dimming significantly.

Jake looked at them, then at the four corpses on the ground, feeling speechless. It was too late to say anything now that the people had been killed. Moreover, these four had come to kill him in the first place, so he didn't feel guilty about it. He was just somewhat concerned about the trouble that might follow, but since it had already happened, he had to accept it.

Through the recent battle, Jake had also come to understand a few things. 

First, these five demon realm warriors, who appeared so ragged and beggar-like, did not match their actual strength, which was not as pitiful as their appearance suggested. Despite not having weapons or armor, their combat prowess was not inferior, especially in one-on-one battles against real-world Dark energy Masters.

Second, these five summoned demon realm warriors seemed to lack the ability to think and behaved more like machines. They only acted when given orders by Jake, remaining motionless and unresponsive at other times. However, once engaged in combat, they transformed into ruthless, bloodthirsty killers. But they always followed Jake's orders to the letter, providing him with five super-powered allies.

Five minutes later, the five demon realm warriors vanished into thin air, just as they had appeared out of nowhere before.

"Though the time is short, their combat power is absolutely not a problem," Jake mused to himself. "Moreover, this is only a bronze-level summoning token. Does that mean there are higher-level summoning tokens that can summon a greater number and more powerful demon realm warriors?"

The possibility seemed quite likely to Jake. If there were only one type of summoning token, there would be no need to specify its attribute level. Since this token had emerged after killing a demon realm squad leader, it might be possible to obtain higher-level summoning tokens by defeating stronger demon realm beings.

This possibility was significant, given that the Carlton family had deep roots and strong backing. Even someone like Carlton, who didn't hold much power within the family, could mobilize Dark energy Masters, and he had summoned five of them in total. This indicated the family's considerable strength.

Having killed four Dark energy Masters from the Carlton family, Jake knew the likelihood of retaliation was high. Therefore, the more and stronger trump cards he had at his disposal, the safer he would be. This made the need for higher-level summoning tokens more urgent.

However, there was no rush. In his previous battle against the demon realm squad leader, Jake had only managed to win by a small margin. If he encountered more powerful demon realm warriors, he could very well end up losing.

"It's all because of my weak strength," Jake thought to himself.

After having these thoughts, Jake decided that the next time he entered the game world, he would leave Pergamon County and go level up by killing monsters. Only when he raised his level and strengthened his abilities could he ensure his safety.

Jake glanced again at the four cooling corpses on the ground before getting into his car and driving away. The location where those four Dark energy Masters had chosen to confront him was quite remote, with no pedestrians around. They probably didn't want anyone to witness their actions, as the world of cultivators and ordinary people were like two separate worlds. Cultivators usually didn't want their actions to be seen by ordinary folks.

However, this choice had made things easier for Jake. His five demon realm warriors had killed the four experts discreetly, and no one had witnessed the battle. Afterwards, Jake could leave the scene without attracting any attention.

Jake was aware that he couldn't keep this a secret from Carlton himself. These individuals were sent by Carlton, and if they didn't return, he would undoubtedly be their primary suspect.

"Maybe I should ask Dirk now to find out where Carlton is and just kill him to avoid further trouble," Jake contemplated as he drove. However, he quickly discarded this idea.

Firstly, he wasn't a bloodthirsty person, and while Carlton had already harbored thoughts of killing him, that didn't mean Jake had to become a murderer.

Secondly, Carlton was different from the individuals he had just fought. Killing a few minions might not attract much attention from the Carlton family, but if Jake were to kill Carlton himself, the family might not react so passively.

Regardless of Carlton's position within the family, he was still a member of the Carlton family's younger generation. If Jake were to kill him, people from the Carlton family might view it as an attack against their entire family, and they would undoubtedly seek revenge.

If Jake had already possessed great strength, he might not have worried so much. After all, they had initiated hostilities against him first. If they weren't willing to let it go and continued to retaliate, he could respond in kind.

However, Jake's current strength was still relatively weak. He relied on the power of the tokens even to face a few Dark energy Masters. The hidden power of the Carlton family was undoubtedly not limited to just a few Dark energy Masters. If the Carlton family were to prepare for revenge, Jake wouldn't be able to withstand it at his current level. Therefore, Jake abandoned the idea of killing Carlton immediately.

"I hope he doesn't push me further. My patience does have limits," Jake muttered to himself.

Carlton, who was still unaware that the individuals he had sent to kill Jake had all been killed, was currently sitting in a hotel room, holding a glass of wine, and gazing out of the floor-to-ceiling window at the beautiful view of J City from high above. In his mind, he was thinking about the lunch meeting with Dirk scheduled for noon.

Carlton had only arrived in J City this morning. Prior to that, he had returned to the imperial capital, as the injury of a Dark energy Master was not a trivial matter. Furthermore, he wanted to mobilize other Dark energy Masters, which required his personal intervention. Given his current position within the Carlton family, mobilizing four Dark energy Masters wasn't an easy task. That's why it had taken him so long, resulting in his return to J City only this morning.