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C210 - Thanks Again

Though others were likely making their own assumptions about Leonel's current state of mind, the man himself was incomparably calm as he watched the ground quickly approach him. Falling like this truly wasn't pleasant.

Leonel had already calculated that the chance of this happening was quite high. In order to lure Badger in, he lowered his speed. As a result, the Adurna family would obviously think that he would fail. If that happened, there was a 76% chance they would act direclty against him as a show of goodwill toward the Slayer Legion, thus making their subsequent asks more palatable.

This was simply how the world of the upper echelons worked, a complex network of meaningless pleasantries, fake smiles, and most important of all: debts.

It could only be said that Leonel was unlucky. Though he had known they would try to stop him, the odds of them having such a perfect ability to do so was relatively low. He was definitely getting screwed over by the luck gods. But, even then, he didn't panic.

Just when it seemed he would fall face first, he rolled his left shoulder forward and performed a somersault. The instant his two feet hit the ground, still binded together, he lowered himself into a strong squat and leapt forward.

With his current strength, such an action easily sent him over ten meters into the air, falling in a not so elegant parabola shape. However, it was unquestionable that his speed had fallen. In fact, Badger was already not much more than 15 meters from him.

Leonel sent a casual glance toward the leading man of the Adurna family. The man couldn't help but frown when he saw Leonel's calm countenance. It felt as though Leonel could see right through him, as though he was analyzing and memorizing every little detail. It didn't seem like a cold gaze for the sake of being cold, but the kind of indifferent glance one would give a sheet filled with numbers.

Without suspense, Badger caught up to Leonel just as the latter hit the ground once more. He didn't speak any words, but the derision in his eyes were cleared.

Toward such disdain, Leonel could only shrug. If such simple words made them so infuriated, it only meant that the Slayer Legion was even worse off than he thought.

"Double Bind."

The little girl stretched her fingers out again. This time, Leonel's wrists snapped together, causing his frown to deepen.

He had already entered the clearing and was just 50 meters away from the Zone. But at this point, it might as well be a miles away. How infuriating.

The little girl's ability was truly astounding. Leonel believe that it was Tier 8 at worst.

If it was just as simple as binding him with something material, Leonel wouldn't take it so seriously. But, what was shocking was that this binding seemed more… mytserious than that. Almost as if the laws of physics around him had changed to make it so that his ankles and wrists were only allowed to be together. Should they be apart, it would be breaking the regulations of the laws around him.

At any other time, Leonel would be greatly fascinated by this. Such a concept was completely novel to him and he wondered if it was possible to apply to his Force Crafts. But, at the moment, he didn't have such a luxury…

Badger appeared before him. But, instead of attacking directly, he swooped to Leonel's back, blocking his path toward the Zone before sending a punch toward his back.

Monet finally relaxed slightly. This farce was over.

BANG!

"AH!"

Leonel shook his head and sighed. Badger's bones were formed to optimize his speed and flight. Him attacking Leonel after he activated his Runes was asking for insult.

In truth, Badger wasn't so fragile. If not for this, how could Mayfly have been able to ride on his shoulders? However, compared to Leonel who was on the verge of forming a body as tough as a Third Dimensional metal, he was far too lacking.

Badger screeched as the bone in his arm fractured and his knuckles contorted. He fell to his knees, holding onto his hand as his face turned flush.

How could it be that Badger and Mayfly would be aware of the full extent of his abilities? He had grown so powerful that he had no need to show them all of his strength as they escaped the island, not to mention the fact he had the two of them supporting him. This led to their unfortunate underestimation of him.

"So that's how it is…"

Leonel finally understood. That little girl's ability was almost like a Natural Force Art. She was imposing laws on him… It was no wonder this feeling felt somewhat similar to when he was observing the Force Crystal Core. What a fearsome ability….

But, Leonel knew that no ability was infallible.

The way that little girl always pointed at him before her ability took effect. Was it just the quirks of a child? Or was there another reason…?

Leonel didn't believe that it had something to do with her finger. He couldn't sense anything particularly special about her movement. However, what other reasons could she have to point like that?

'Sight?'

Leonel's eyes narrowed.

Everyone was closing in on him. After seeing what happened to Badger, they all redoubled their efforts. It would be longer than maybe five seconds before they were all able to surround him.

But, Leonel suddenly smiled.

With a flash, a ring on his finger glowed and the ground beneath his feet suddenly became like a pool of mud. He hadn't even sunk in to his knees when he suddenly felt the restrictions around his ankles vanish.

Leonel's smile widened. There was no need to keep his ring a secret. It had already been reported as one of the reasons he was able to save so many youths from the Project Hunt Island. In that case, why not use it now?

A blinding light surrounded Leonel's body. He released his Light Elemental Force without reserve as though he didn't care about the expenditure. But, it was effective. The little girl was completely unable to see him clearly, causing his binding to weaken and then break.

Leonel jumped out from the pool of mud and grabbed at one of Badger's massive wings. The latter was in so much pain that he hardly reacted, having thought he had completed his task, only to find himself flying through the air toward a group rushing toward Leonel.

Badger was ultimately still a Reserved General and regained his bearing quickly. He snorted in his mind, completely deriding Leonel. It was his arm that was hurt, not his wings. He wouldn't even hit these people so what was the point of doing such a thing?

Badger's wings fanned outward and he flapped hard, stopping his forward momentum. But, it was at that moment his expression changed.

"Thanks." Leonel said simply.

The wind caused by Badger's movements sent an obstructive wall toward Leonel's pursuers. By the time they stopped themselves from tumbling backward, Leonel had already entered a 20 meter range of the Zone.

"Stop right there! Are you going to make an enemy out of the whole Slayer Legion?!" Monet roared.

Leonel chuckled in his mind. He had already made an enemy of the whole Empire, why would he care about the Slayer Legion?

"Don't worry, I'll apprehend him!" The leading man of the Adurna family said shamelessly as he swerved his silver boat toward the Zone.

"Matteus, don't you dare!"

"Why are you getting so worked up, I'm only trying to help."

Monet was fuming, but Leonel had already leapt into the swirling portal.

Surprisingly, at this very moment, Monet became frighteningly calm.

"Mayfly, Big Buddha, Violet Rain, and Mountain. Follow me. The rest of you stay put."

"HAHA! That's the way!" The Adurna family man roared with laughter.

None of them seemed to notice the helplessness and anger on the faces of those who lost their place to enter, this was especially so Sea Eel and Badger who seemed to want to murder Leonel with their gazes toward his disappearing back.

Badger clutched his only good remaining hand, flames bursting in his eyes.

To be continued