Ambush

The carriage only took them to the beginning of the slums and refused to go any further. It was almost dark, and the slums weren't well lit, so she wasn't surprised it didn't want to go any further. It wasn't exactly a safe place. So Eliz paid, and they got off. She didn't completely mind because she didn't know precisely where Tyler's hangout was. It was so sloppily written in the story that all she knew was that it was under an abandoned warehouse.

Eliz walked across the dirt floor and looked around. She tried to recall any detail from the story that she could use to orient herself.

"They ran straight down the main street..." She began muttering to herself while recalling the passage from the book where the author described how Gray and the rest of the Male Lead rushed to save Selene and walked forward.

The Boulder team looked at each other, slightly confused, but then they started doing their job. They were guarding Lady Elizabeth. The carriage wasn't coming here for a good reason. The slums were not only a place for the poor but also for smaller gangs, murderers, madmen, the homeless, and other hidden dangers. Alarr walked closely behind Lady Elizabeth, who was absorbed in her thoughts and mumbling to herself, so she paid no attention to the dangers around her. Alarr cast a dangerous glance into the alley they were passing, causing the lurking shadows to retreat into the darkness. As they moved a little further away, Raiana turned, a soft layer of blue light shining around her, and dashed into the same alley they were passing.

There was a brief clang of steel, followed by the thud of something heavy hitting the ground. Raiana stepped out of the alleyway, swung her weapon, from which a few drops of blood flew, and hurried back to her position.

They had gone a few meters when Alarr raised his hand at his companions and gestured to his right side with two fingers. This time, Holm separated from them and ducked into an alley on the opposite side of the street.

There was a short scream that abruptly ended with the sound of something cracking, and Holm emerged as if nothing had happened, rejoining the others.

Alarr looked around, his evil gaze piercing every dark shadow. He seemed satisfied. It only took one or two examples for these wretches, and they wouldn't dare to try anything again. As soon as they entered the slums, people gathered around them and hid in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. Now that they knew they wouldn't be easy prey, they retreated.

Alarr glanced at his employer, who calmly walked on, occasionally muttering something to herself, but never once stopped or even looked to see what was happening. Alarr was growing increasingly confused by the woman's behavior. How could she just trust them like that? If they decided to kill and rob her, who would find out? Especially here in the Slums? Still, she had come here with them secretly and showed no doubts about her safety. Alarr wondered if she trusted them that much or... was she really that stupid?

Eliz wasn't paying attention to what was happening around her, not because she didn't care, but simply because she didn't notice. "They turned right at the first intersection..." She set off in the direction she had been muttering to herself.

The deeper they ventured into the Slums, the more people appeared on the streets. In the beginning, the Slums looked more like a ghost town. There were lights on in the houses and figures moving in the windows, but hardly anyone was on the street. It wasn't until they went further into the slums that it became lively.

People avoided them and barely glanced at them. Naturally, it was better for them not to mingle with the four cloaked individuals who had passed through the gang's territory unharmed.

Eliz kept walking, occasionally slowing down momentarily before determining her next direction.

Well... almost.

"Shit." She groaned and looked around.

"Gray followed his heart and ran into a crumbling warehouse..." Eliz repeated the last passage quietly as she recalled it. "He followed his heart, my ass. There are probably dozens of warehouses here!" Eliz groaned as they reached the area of the slums that served as warehouses. The problem was that there were several of them. Which one did Tyler have a hideout in?

This was once again one of those moments where she despised the author. She rubbed her eyes before scanning her surroundings, trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, she spotted an old two-story house nearby.

"That might work," she muttered and headed towards it. The others obediently followed her. Eliz prepared her money before reaching the door and knocking on it.

It remained quiet. Eliz raised an eyebrow and glanced at the illuminated window, confirming that someone was definitely inside. She knocked again, but it seemed that the owners had chosen not to answer the door.

She knocked once more, and this time, she also spoke. "Why don't you kindly open the door? Or do you want us to break it down?"

For a moment, nothing happened until, finally, the door slowly creaked open, revealing the pale face of a middle-aged man. Eliz smiled, but the man flinched. Unbeknownst to Eliz, the hood obscured her face, allowing the man only to see her sinisterly glittering violet eyes and smiling lips, which appeared even more foreboding.

"Y-yes?" he asked, frightened.

"I want to borrow your house for the night," Eliz announced to him.

The man blinked in confusion. "What... um... my house?" he repeated.

Eliz nodded. "Yes, your house," she repeated.

The man narrowed his eyes at her. "But... what... where should we go?" It was almost nighttime, and wandering outside in the Slums wasn't safe for an ordinary person.

Eliz shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care."

"Uh?" The man was utterly confused.

Eliz sighed and gestured to Alarr, who frowned at the entire situation but wasn't surprised that the nobles were doing whatever they pleased. They calmly evicted even commoners from their homes. Nevertheless, he stepped forward and pushed his hand against the door, opening it wide. The man staggered backward, helpless, as everyone entered. Raiana closed the door behind them.

Once Eliz was sure the door was closed, she returned to the man.

"Sorry for barging into your home like this. You don't have to go anywhere; we just need to use the second floor for a few hours. Consider this compensation for the inconvenience," she explained, walking up to him and slipping a few gold coins into his hand.

The man rolled his eyes at the money. It was likely that he had never seen a single gold coin in his life. People from the slums and the lower class typically only come across silver coins at most. Naturally, she couldn't hand him money in plain sight, as it could get them into trouble or attract thieves. It was better to act like bullies.

The man blinked a few times before wrapping his fingers around the money and clutching it tightly. He looked at Eliz and her group again. "So... you want to rent the second floor for a few hours?" he confirmed.

Eliz nodded. "Yes, nothing more. Then we'll leave. You have nothing to worry about." She flinched as she finished speaking because the man's eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Eh..." she uttered hesitantly, taking a step back.

"You... you... really? And you're giving... so much money... just... huuuu...." He covered his eyes with his arm.

Eliz didn't understand why the man was crying and felt uncomfortable. She wasn't skilled at providing comfort and felt uneasy around people who were crying or grieving.

"Come on... it's alright... there's no need..." Eliz bit her tongue to refrain from babbling.

"Let's go upstairs!" she finally announced, eager to escape the awkward situation.

Alarr and Holm followed while Raiana lingered for a moment to affectionately pat the man's shoulder before joining the others on the second floor. Eliz quickly dismissed her uneasiness and located the room she needed.

"Don't turn on the lights," she said as she entered the dark bedroom. It was probably the homeowner's bedroom, but Eliz had no intention of searching around. She went straight to the window she had previously peered out of.

"Perfect," she announced.

The others gathered around her and curiously looked out the window, but all they could see were streets and houses.

"What's the plan?" Holm asked.

Eliz fixed her eyes on the street outside and explained, "I'm searching for the hideout of a small gang of Hybrids led by a half-wolf named Tyler. One of the warehouses serves as their hideout, but I don't know which one. It's getting dark, so they're likely to return soon. All we have to do is follow any Hybrid that passes by, and we'll discover which warehouse it is."

Raiana tensed up a little when she heard it was a gang of Hybrids. "And what did you plan on doing with them?" she asked hesitantly.

Both Alarr and Holm looked at Eliz, Holm curiously and Alarr suspiciously. Eliz didn't notice their stares.

"Hire them, of course. But you'll have to rough them up a bit before that. Tyler's half-wolf, and if there's one thing he inherited more than wolf ears, it's a dominant nature. He doesn't just submit, especially not to a noble. His pack is pretty racist," Eliz shrugged.

"Um... so why hire them? Apparently, it wasn't a very powerful gang," Holm looked at Eliz with interest. He was rather intrigued by this new client of his. She said and did interesting things. He certainly couldn't connect her with any of the nobles he had met so far.

"Because they had potential. It's a shame to let them rot here," Eliz replied. "Three of them were already at Rank 2."

Alarr snorted. "That's nothing special."

Eliz shrugged without looking at him. "Maybe it seems that way to you. But how easy is it for someone from the slums to get to Rank 2? Especially when they're still tending to and feeding all the abandoned Hybrids in the area? Tyler himself has a huge talent. If he lived elsewhere and had the resources, he could easily be at Rank 4 by now. And he's not even twenty-five yet."

Raiana nodded and looked out the window. "I see. You're right."

After a moment, Alarr spoke again. "So, what are you planning?"

"Once we find out where their hideout is, you will raid it and beat anyone who stands up to you. No killing, no maiming. Also, some kids are in there, so try to scare them off. At most, give them some gentle stun if you have no choice," Eliz explained.

"Can't we talk to them about it?" Holm hesitated when he heard the words about children. Eliz glanced at him briefly before returning to watching the street. Holm was a big softie, wasn't he? He didn't want to harm the children? Eliz didn't want to either, so she hoped the kids wouldn't play hero and hide somewhere.

"We can't. Like I said, Tyler would refuse. He hates all races that aren't Hybrid. And like all wolves, he admires strength," Eliz clicked her tongue in annoyance at the words. She should have found it odd that he fell for Selene with such a temper. Surely she had somehow hypnotized him as well. How else could he like her soft and tearful facade?

*****

Ten-year-old Lila quickly made her way back home. Lila was a hybrid between a human and a race of bears. Her hair was burgundy, and her ears were equally bearish. Her eyes were dark purple, and she had a bit of an overbite. She looked around cautiously, checking behind her to ensure she wasn't being followed. She circled around for a while but eventually stumbled into one of the old warehouses. Little did she know, four pairs of eyes had been watching her the whole time from the window of a nearby two-story house.

As soon as Lila stepped inside the warehouse, the watching eyes disappeared.

Lila immediately walked to the far corner of the warehouse, where she opened the trap door, walked down a few steps, and closed it behind her. The pendant around her neck began to glow, and she used it to light her way forward. The corridor was short, bare, and ended with a door, which she stepped through. Another corridor followed, which was longer but already illuminated in places. At the end of it was another door with a guard sitting on a stool. Lila started hopping in his direction.

"Hi, Brother Mino!" she called cheerfully as she approached. Mino just waved at her, trying to carve something out of a piece of wood with his knife. Lila didn't disturb him and walked through the door, finding herself in a large underground space.

The room was improvised into several sections. To the right was where one could sleep; to the left were the workshops where they made or repaired tools. In the middle was a meeting place, and at the very back was the cooking area.

Inside, about two dozen people were engaged in their activity but mostly resting at the end of the day. Lila immediately headed to the center, where she saw several people sitting.

"Boss Tyler, I'm home!" she called cheerfully, reaching into her pocket to pull out the few coins she had looted today. A young man with short dusty gray hair with black wolf ears sticking out of it turned and fixed his blue eyes on Lila. He stood and smiled, revealing his elongated canines as he did so. Tyler was about a hundred and ninety centimeters high, muscular with broad shoulders, and had explosive power in his every movement.

"Nice work," he complimented her and held out his hand. Lila placed a few copper coins in it, and he handed her back two coins. "And here's your share." Lila happily took them and ran off to hide them.

Tyler watched after her before turning back to the others.

"Go ahead with your report," he addressed his deputy Samael, a somewhat androgynous cross between a human and a dark elf. His skin was ashen, his hair short, sleek, and black, and his eyes a brilliant green.

Samael snorted. "Those four passed through gang territory like it was nothing. If anyone came too close to them, they killed them. They were at least Rank 2, but we had no idea who they were or what they wanted here. They went into one of the houses and haven't come out yet."

"And no commotion? No screaming? No sounds of destruction?" Tyler asked, furrowing his brow thoughtfully. He didn't like new people invading his territory.

"Hell no. Just silence. Which, I think, is worse. After a while, one of the Snake boys tried to approach, but the same thing happened. One of them showed up and took him out." He shrugged. "So we're stuck with just watching from a distance." Samael sighed and shrugged.

"What the hell are they doing there? Plus, they're uncomfortably close to our hideout," said the third person sitting with them. She was a young woman with an unusual appearance. Her skin was green, and tiny scales could be seen upon closer inspection. Her hair was pink, but her eyes caught the most attention, with a double red and orange iris. Almost no one in the capital would have recognized it, but she was a hybrid between the Merfolk Race and the Lizard Race.

Tyler rubbed the back of his neck and cracked it. "It doesn't matter what they're doing there, Dioner. I don't want them here. I'll give them another hour, but if they're not out by then, I'll kick them out myself." He shook his head.

"There are only four of them, but at least they're all Rank 2 like you, boss. We should be on our guard," Dioner said, giving him a disapproving look.

"And there are three of us at Rank 2, and this is my territory, which I know like the back of my hand. We have all the advantages," Tyler frowned at her.

"A-Alarm!" came the warning cry, followed by the sound of breaking wood. Mino, who had been watching in the hallway, flew through the door, which shattered and fell to the ground. He remained motionless.

Tyler, Samael, and Dioner immediately stood up. Everyone in the room dropped everything and turned towards the door.

The doorframe was instantly filled with a large cloaked figure who pushed his way in with a growl. Two slightly smaller figures immediately followed him.

Tyler quickly turned to Dioner. "Get the kids in the back. Samael, let's go." He nodded to his second-in-command before clenching his fists, causing his nails to stretch a full inch and turn black. "Awwwooooo!" Tyler howled and ran towards his attackers. His claws flashed blue, and his eyes were fixed on the largest opponent. But another figure stood in his way, clutching a black two-handed sword.

Samael grinned and drew two daggers before running after Tyler. The second smaller attacker swung his thin blade and headed towards him.

Meanwhile, the largest assailant advanced to confront the rest of the gang, who were a little slow to follow their leaders. He crouched, his entire body enveloped in a layer of mana, before lifting his foot and stomping the ground with such force that the vibrations carried through the floor. His large hands emerged from his cloak, and he slammed them together. Two sparks flew out from the mana layer, forming two large hands on either side of his body.

Tyler lunged at his opponent with a snarl, bouncing off the ground and extending his clawed hands toward him. The figure placed the flat side of his sword in Tyler's path, causing the claws to run over the metal and sparks to fly out. At that exact moment, the figure lifted his leg and kicked Tyler in the stomach.

"Gah!" It knocked the wind out of him, and Tyler flew backward. Twisting his body, he landed on all fours and dug his nails into the floor to stop his movement.

"Shit. Rank 3," he growled, feeling his opponent not even flinch under his attack. He raised his hand and wiped the corner of his lips with the back of his hand. Glancing momentarily to his right, he saw Samael engaging his second opponent. Samael was quick and agile with his daggers, but his opponent moved like a dancer, parrying the dagger attacks with his sword and effortlessly dodging. The only consolation was that Samael was also not easy to hit.

Tyler knew they were in trouble. If it had been just 2 Ranks like them, it wouldn't have been such a problem. He and his team had excellent cooperation. But who would have expected a Rank 3 to come and deal with them personally? The gangs on the outskirts of the slums were much bigger than theirs.

He returned his gaze to his opponent, who hadn't stepped toward him. Then Tyler caught a glimpse of something over his shoulder. Another figure stood in the shadows of the corridor, appearing relaxed with folded arms. Tyler curled his lips.

"That's their boss," he growled to himself, his angry eyes meeting the amused violet ones.