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While the slave trader was tangled up with Beta and the soldier captain, he quietly circled around behind Shino.
He swung his sword at Shino without a sound.
Right before the blade could reach Shino, the slave trader felt his entire body lock up.
An infinite force had seized every inch of him.
The soldier captain was locked in combat with Beta.
The more he fought, the more troublesome she became.
Beta’s combat techniques were sharp, and her magical control was strong, only her battle experience was a little rough.
To an outsider, they looked evenly matched.
But in reality, he was nothing more than Beta’s whetstone.
Beta was learning combat experience, bit by bit.
“You bastards, stop staring!
Grab that little boy!”
The soldier captain shouted.
The soldiers who had been watching from the sidelines heard their captain’s yell and charged at Shino.
“Let me guess — he’s a noble, right?
And you’re his bodyguard.”
The soldier captain tried to use words to make Beta anxious, to force an opening.
But Beta didn’t react at all.
If anything, she fought even harder.
The soldier captain felt crushing pressure.
He couldn’t hold out much longer.
He wasn’t just some ordinary soldier captain.
He was the Viscount’s trusted man, specifically in charge of managing human trafficking.
The country didn’t allow selling people.
Everything was done in secret.
Human trafficking brought in massive money.
As the strongest magic swordsman under the Viscount, he handled the tough customers.
He never expected to be taken down by a little girl.
The soldier captain made a mistake.
Beta caught his opening and severed his arm clean off.
He hit the ground with a thud.
He stared at Beta in despair.
His eyes drifted to Shino’s side.
His soldiers and the slave trader were all frozen in place around Shino, completely motionless.
It looked bizarre.
Seeing that even their captain had lost, the villagers started running.
They didn’t want to die here.
“I didn’t say you could leave.”
As Shino’s words fell, purple light flared.
Shino wore a black military uniform and a cape.
The cape whipped in the wind as a massive magical barrier enveloped the village.
Purple mana shrouded the entire village.
“Have you ever experienced a nuclear explosion?”
“What is this?
Such immense magical power…
who are you?!”
The soldier captain’s face was full of disbelief.
“Please, spare us!”
Some quick-witted villagers dropped to their knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
“Beta, leave first.
You’ll be caught in this.”
“Lord Phantom, should I take that girl outside?”
Beta pointed at Kabuz Naline.
“No need.
She was just demanding the soldiers kill us.
If we spare her, she won’t show gratitude — only revenge.”
“Understood.”
Beta said this and left.
The others tried to escape the barrier’s range, but the barrier blocked them all.
Only then did Naline realize what was about to happen.
“I am the daughter of Count Kabuz of the Slunob Territory!
Kabuz Naline!
You can’t kill me!
I’m a Count’s daughter!”
“I command you to stop!”
Seeing Shino silent, Naline reached out to grab his clothes.
But she couldn’t touch him at all.
The mana blocked her completely.
The soldiers and their captain were all filled with despair.
They didn’t know what was coming, but they knew they probably wouldn’t survive.
Mana enveloped the entire village.
Shino noticed that every house had a basement, and every basement showed signs of holding prisoners.
Clearly, everyone in this village was part of the trafficking ring.
Shino raised his magic sword high.
“Hearken to the sound of your death.”
“I am Atomic.”
As Shino’s words fell, blinding white light filled everyone’s vision.
Everyone in the village began to disintegrate, turning faint, then fading into nothing.
The light flashed, and the entire village was leveled to the ground.
“So this is Lord Phantom’s magical power?
It’s amazing!”
Beta watched the light with admiration.
“We should go.”
Shino had no interest in punishing evil and promoting good.
But they provoked him, so he wouldn’t show mercy.
The sun was about to set.
Shino led Beta to the highest point in the town.
They watched the sunset together.
The two of them quietly watched the sunset, not saying another word.
Until the sun went down.
Shino stood up.
“Better to finish the good deed.”
“Let’s help those three kids get home.
Not one of them found their way — they all got lost.”
“Lord Phantom, how did you know?”
“I placed a mark on each of them.
It’s already dark, and they’re still wandering around.
Clearly, they haven’t found their way home.”
Shino and Beta found the three kids one by one, asked each where their home was, and sent them home.
All three kids asked for Shino and Beta’s names, wanting to thank them, but got no answer.
Their parents never saw the people who saved their children.
When Beta and Shino returned to the villa.
Alpha was there too.
She had brought back a blue-haired girl.
She, too, was possessed by a demon.
It was worse than Beta’s case, a large part of her body had already turned to rotten flesh.
Shino spent the whole night and successfully saved this girl.
He noticed the mole at the corner of her mouth and recognized her as Gamma.
Then came the familiar formula and the familiar explanation.
He told Gamma everything.
After learning everything, Gamma chose to join Shadow Garden.
Alpha disappeared again.
Leaving Beta, Gamma, and Shino in the villa.
Gamma’s condition was much better than Beta’s.
She slept soundly on her own.
But Beta still needed Shino to tell her stories before she could fall asleep.
Today was Beta’s first time killing someone.
Every time she closed her eyes, her mind filled with the people she had killed.
But as Shino continued telling her stories, she fell asleep without realizing it.
In her dreams, Beta saw the people she had killed.
They each asked her why she did it.
But then she felt a pair of hands tightly holding hers.
Shino suddenly appeared in her dream and scattered all the vengeful spirits.
“I will always be by Beta’s side to protect Beta.”
Shino in Beta’s dream said this.
➤ Next: Sudden Attack — The Fight Begins