As expected

"Now, let's move on to the next step," Alex said as he swept his gaze over the hundreds of still-awake bandits.

"Who are you guys, and why did you attack us?" he asked, directing his question to no one in particular, but hoping someone would speak up.

The bandits held in captivity had look of fear as they gazed at him and Amelia, but despite that, no one replied to his queries, prompting him to ask once again, but even then, no one answered. This made Alex thinking, 'Either they're staying quiet out of loyalty, or they're bound by a contract that prevents them from revealing anything.'

Although the first possibility was plausible, Alex leaned more toward the second. Just like the previous captives of Night who had become his subordinates, these bandits might have signed a soul-binding contract that forbade them from disclosing any information. All that was needed was a soul contract able to bind several people at the same time.

'This is going to complicate things,' Alex realized.

His mind raced to find a way to bypass their inability to speak. The only solution he could think of was to use another contract himself. If he was fortunate, there might be a loophole in their original contract that he could exploit, allowing him to extract the answers he needed. The problem, however, was that he had no knowledge of the terms of the contract they had signed.

After pondering for a few minutes, Alex decided to abandon this line of thinking.

'I'll try my luck with this guy after he wakes up. Perhaps he didn't sign a contract like the others,' Alex thought as he gazed at the unconscious body of the level 4.

'Meanwhile...' Alex glanced behind him at Maya, who stood among the group of nobles. "Come here," he called out.

The young heiress, standing amidst the nobles, stepped forward. Unlike before, she no longer wore a mask.

Alex didn't want anyone to suspect that Maya or her family had any connection with his organization, so last night, he had instructed her to remove her mask. The group of nobles had been quite surprised when they realized who she was, but in the end, they accepted it when Maya explained that, like them, Alex was merely escorting her to her family.

Alex wasn't overly concerned about people linking his organization to the Drazen family. After all, if things went well, there might even be some sort of partnership with them in the future.

After calling her over, Alex didn't immediately speak to Maya. Instead, his gaze swept across the captured bandits until it landed on a particular woman.

He nodded to himself and instructed Amelia to release the bandit.

Amelia obeyed and let the woman go. With a bewildered expression, the bandit woman watched as the branches that had held her captive released their grip. She didn't attempt to flee though, knowing that it would be futile. Instead, she just stared at Alex, waiting to understand why she had been set free.

Pointing at Maya, Alex said, "You will fight this young woman here in hand-to-hand combat. If you manage to win, you can go free."

Both the woman and Maya blinked in confusion before the young heiress exclaimed indignantly, "What the hell?!"

Alex grinned under his mask and added, still looking at the bandit, "You don't have to hold back your strength, but you're forbidden from using any abilities or mana."

The bandit nodded absentmindedly before focusing on Maya, a hidden glint flashing in her eyes.

Maya, who was under the scrutinizing gaze of the woman, didn't seem to pay her much attention though. Leaning closer to Alex, she whispered, "What are you doing?"

"That's part of your training," Alex said in a tone that was both stern and authoritative, much like a master instructing his disciple. Still, Maya could swear she detected a hint of amusement in his voice. "What, did you really think I would be the only one you'd ever have to fight against in your life?"

"No, but..." Maya glanced uneasily at the bandit. "She's at the high tier of level 1 while I'm only at the lowest tier!"

"And?"

"And she's much stronger than me!"

"Don't worry," Alex reassured her, "I instructed her not to use her mana or abilities for that reason."

Despite this reassurance, Maya was still hesitant. Even without using her mana or abilities, the bandit woman was stronger by virtue of being at a higher tier and having greater mana reserves. The gap in their strength was evident, and it left Maya feeling apprehensive.

Just as Maya was about to voice her concerns, Alex gave her a light tap on the head. "Stop being so cowardly," he said, his voice colder than usual. "You won't always face opponents who are on the same level as you. More often than not, you'll either be stronger or weaker than your enemy. If you're too afraid to fight someone with such a handicap, you might as well stop training altogether."

His words hit Maya like a hammer to the gut, echoing in her mind. But after a few moments, a determined expression formed on her face, and she nodded resolutely.

Without saying another word and under Alex's approving gaze, she stepped forward, approaching the bandit woman and adopting a fighting stance.

Turning to Amelia, Alex instructed, "Keep an eye on the fight. If anything bad happens or if Maya is in real danger, intervene immediately."

"You're not going to watch the fight?" Amelia asked, slightly surprised.

"I already know who's going to win," Alex replied with a wave, walking over to a familiar young woman with cyan-colored hair who was seated a bit further away, meditating.

"I need your help with something," Alex said as he sat cross-legged in front of Daisy.

Just like before, Daisy's eyes snapped open, and she yelped in surprise. This time, however, there was no burst of heat emanating from her body.

"Y-Yes, what can I do for you?" she asked, trying to regain her composure, though it was clear she found it challenging to remain composed in Alex's presence.

Despite noticing her nervousness, Alex didn't comment on it. Instead, he asked, "Does your ability allow you to control heat?"

Daisy was caught off guard by the question but quickly nodded. "Yes, I can absorb and control the heat around me," she explained.

"Oh, so that's what you were doing earlier when I interrupted you? Absorbing heat?"

Daisy nodded, her expression turning a bit gloomy. "Unfortunately, when you interrupted me, I lost a good portion of the heat I had managed to absorb," she confessed before waving her hands apologetically. "N-not that I'm blaming you."

Alex chuckled and was about to say something when he heard a muffled groan of pain. Turning back, he saw the bandit woman stumbling backward, trying to create some distance between herself and Maya while clutching her bleeding, broken nose.

Maya, however, didn't let up. Like a relentless predator, she charged at the woman. After deftly dodging the bandit's desperate kick, she spun on her heel and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the bandit's side, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Seeing this, Alex nodded in approval before turning back to Daisy. "Can you help me with a little experiment?" he inquired.

Snapped back to attention, Daisy nodded, a curious expression spreading across her face.

"Good," Alex said, nodding once more.

Under his command and to Daisy's amazement, a ball of smoke the size of a human head detached itself from his armor. Although it originated from his smoke armor, this new smoke seemed slightly different. It retained the same dominant purple color but lacked the subtle hints of green that usually swirled within it. This was because Alex had removed the explosive properties from this specific batch of smoke.

"Try to direct the heat under your control into this," Alex instructed, sending the ball of smoke to hover in front of Daisy.

She nodded, closing her eyes in concentration. Moments later, a faint shimmer appeared around her, and the temperature in their little corner began to rise. But this increase was brief. Under Daisy's control, the heat seemed to coalesce and flow directly into the hovering ball of smoke.

At that moment, Alex felt a shift. The smoke became noticeably denser, its form becoming more substantial. As more heat was funneled into it, the smoke slowly started to solidify, taking on a semi-solid, almost tangible shape.

'Hmm, interesting,' Alex thought to himself, intrigued by the transformation.

Just as he was about to ask Daisy to increase the heat further, he heard a heavy thud behind him.

Glancing back, he saw that the bandit woman had collapsed to the ground, a pained expression etched on her face, indicating the intensity of the fight.

'As expected,' Alex thought with a smile.