They all call me Great Master

The voice behind him made the middle-aged man startle.

Because this middle-aged man was sure there was a wall behind him.

When intercepting Didian, this middle-aged man had already surveyed his surroundings.

His heart was filled with unease and doubt.

But his body was quick.

Without any hesitation, the middle-aged man moved sideways two steps and darted diagonally toward the exit of the alley.

He was so fast that Garcia didn't react in time.

Didian, however, raised her hand to throw the arrow she was holding.

But the middle-aged man knocked the arrow away with the back of his hand.

At the same time, the look the middle-aged man gave Didian and Garcia over his shoulder was vicious, like that of a rabid wolf.

Didian took another arrow in hand.

This lady knew that she absolutely couldn't let this guy escape.

Otherwise, she, Garcia, and her relatives at the Lotus Leaf Hotel would never know peace again.

At this moment, Garcia finally snapped back to reality.

This 'Cloak Society' novice and part-time intelligence trafficker threw what was in his hand—a half-broken bottle—like a grenade.

The half-bottle spun through the air, tracing an arc.

The middle-aged man saw it but didn't care.

Such an attack was nothing to him; he could dodge it with his eyes closed.

What he cared about was the person talking.

'Where?

Where exactly?'

The man, seemingly fleeing, was earnestly searching.

With a step, he avoided the half-broken bottle.

But what the middle-aged man didn't see was that the half-bottle, as it passed by him, actually came back!

Thud!

The sharp end of the half-bottle plunged fiercely into the back of the middle-aged man.

His face showed surprise and disbelief.

Then, the second crossbow arrow thrown by Didian also found its mark.

Unlike Garcia's unruly throw.

The way Didian threw clearly indicated considerable practice—it was accurate and vicious.

Thud!

The arrow pierced straight through the man's neck.

However, the middle-aged man didn't fall.

With a half-bottle stuck in his back, an arrow lodged in his throat, and yet another bullet embedded in his body, he remained as lively as a dragon.

"Is this all?

What a disappointment!

Is this the rumored 'Spirit Medium' Arthur Kledos?"

No longer running, the middle-aged man who couldn't find the hidden assailant began to mock.

Seeing this, Arthur, who was controlling the "Exquisite Human Puppet," revealed a smile.

'That's more like the Old Lion!

How could he compromise without showing even a tiny bit of resistance?

An old lion is still a lion.'

When the Old Lion and another force within the Golden Lion Family reached a 'compromise,' offering 'titles and territory' as the prize for the South County Swordsmanship Competition champion, Arthur became somewhat suspicious.

Although Arthur had never had direct contact with the Old Lion, he had encountered him indirectly more than once.

Ferocious!

Unforgiving!

The man gave no quarter!

If you offended the lord of Inner Bay, you could expect relentless revenge.

That was Arthur's direct impression of the Old Lion.

Of course, it seemed that because the Old Lion was getting on in years, more people interpreted his actions as bluster and bravado.

But Arthur, who had personally experienced the Old Lion's revenge, knew that even if it were all bluster and bravado, the death the Old Lion brought was real.

Moreover, weren't those who described the Old Lion as blusterous and full of bravado intentionally misleading others?

Or even...

Fearful?

So, when Arthur learned of the Old Lion's "compromise," suspicion arose in his heart.

Moreover, to ease Madam Susan's mind, Arthur had dispatched a second Exquisite Human Puppet, and it was certainly not because he instinctively thought of "quietly stepping back to protect everyone in front."

Through the eyes of the Exquisite Human Puppet, Arthur sized up the middle-aged man before him.

'Above Arcana Level, approaching Great Arcana Level—a spy within spies?

At first, he must have been aimed at Alvis, but now he's turned to target me?

No, not to target me!

To be precise, to warn me!

With another faction within the Golden Lion Family aware of my presence, the Old Lion, for the sake of the family's stability, wouldn't truly intend to kill me, but he could use the man to warn me!

Additionally, the Old Lion knows the strength of my "Entry" level, how could he possibly send an opponent of this level against me?

So, he wants to use some sort of life-consuming secret technique to demonstrate his resolve, majesty, and honor, to give me a fright, huh?'

As Arthur thought this, the Exquisite Human Puppet had already come out.

It came out from "the wall."

The Exquisite Human Puppet, with an ordinary face and hair dyed a pale white, looked at the middle-aged man with a cold gaze, yet its voice was increasingly gentle—

"Heh, the master pities you and wants to let you go.

But some people are truly beyond pity."

The middle-aged man, seeing the Exquisite Human Puppet emerge, showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

He had always thought it was Arthur, but it turned out to be a stranger.

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man asked in a deep voice.

"Black Magic... Black Cat Faction, Grindelwald."

Arthur, controlling the Exquisite Human Puppet, reported his own name.

The Black Cat Faction?!

The brows of the middle-aged man furrowed tightly.

Just a Black Cat Faction member?

This did not align with the established target!

But by this time, the middle-aged man could no longer care about these things.

The effects of the drug...

were fading!

Thinking this, the middle-aged man strode towards Grindelwald.

"Let me experience what the Black Cat Faction's..."

"You're not worthy."

Grindelwald sneered contemptuously, shaking his head slightly.

The next moment, this Black Cat Faction member turned directly to Garcia and Didian.

The middle-aged man was taken aback.

Following that, a sense of humiliation rose from deep within.

This little Black Cat Faction member was insulting him!

Rage!

The anger borne of humiliation completely overwhelmed the middle-aged man.

"Roar!"

"Be careful!"

Within the beast-like roar, Garcia and Didian exclaimed in unison.

In the eyes of the two, the body of the middle-aged man began to emit a bizarre red glow, like flowing flames, especially the eyes, which were unbearable to look at directly.

Grindelwald remained indifferent, raising his left hand to eye level and snapping his fingers lightly—

Snap!

The sound was crisp.

Chilling to the bone.

A layer of ice crystals appeared out of nowhere on the middle-aged man's body.

The flame-like glow, flowing like fire, was instantly covered by the ice.

The flame extinguished.

The ice crystals twinkled.

In an instant, the middle-aged man lost all signs of life and became entirely a sculpture of ice.

Grindelwald gracefully approached Garcia and Didian, greeting them with a smile—

"Good afternoon, Mr. Garcia, Lady Didian, I extend greetings on behalf of the secretly born Child of Misfortune, the favored by the Grim Reaper, the contemporary 'Black Cat,' Leader of the Cat Faction, champion of the South Los Swordsmanship Competition, master of Caesar Manor, 'Spirit Medium' Arthur Kredos."