The grin on Rane's face was the largest of all those in the restaurant currently. His large forearms rested on top of his belly as he looked ahead.
"I can't believe that Zon is getting involved himself," Rane said. "Maybe we'll see the same level of skills he displayed that day."
"Shouldn't we still be worried, Rane?" one of the cooks asked. "After all, there are multiple warriors, and it looks like they were able to get the better of Skyler as well."
Although many felt that way, it was because they knew nothing about the Pagna warrior world, and it was the same for Rane. He was just trusting his gut.
Without realizing it, he had recruited a very, very special person.
"You cooks have all gone mad to stand up and fight against us! I doubt any clan is going to stand up for harming a bunch of cooks!" Kelp shouted.
As he did, the others by his side all rushed in toward where Zon was.
"Your Qi control has gotten a lot better," Zon commented.
Skyler realized that these comments were aimed at him.
"If you keep at it, your noodles will be close to perfection. It's a shame, unlike with your group, with these, I don't see anyone who is talented."
The first man came to strike, and it missed, going right past Zon's face. Just moments after the strike was thrown, a large cracking sound was heard.
The arm that was used to strike—the bone in the forearm—had been snapped, broken apart. Right after, Zon grabbed the man by the face and threw him to the side as another opponent came to strike.
This time, there were two striking at the same time. Stepping ahead, Zon spun his body.
Skyler, watching, was focused—so focused that he was trying to see every detail. It felt like he was watching the movement in slow motion.
'How is it possible? How is he able to move the right way to avoid the two hits?'
One attacker was throwing a punch, the other a kick, and Zon had managed to move and bend his body in such a way that both attacks missed him.
If Zon hadn't stepped forward, or tried to block or avoid the attack in any other way, it seemed like the attack would have struck his body.
This type of calculation, this type of foresight, it was impossible for a human—at least one at the middle stage.
Zon, after avoiding their attacks and going past them, grabbed the back of their clothing and pulled their bodies, smashing them into each other.
Right after their bodies collided, he threw them to the floor. Lifting up his foot, he then stomped down, crushing the bones in both of their legs.
They wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, even as Pagna warriors who could use Qi to speed up their healing.
Seeing how swiftly and easily Zon had dealt with three warriors, there was now only Kelp left.
"Skyler was right to intervene," Zon said as he held the strange metallic object in his hand. "This item would have done harm. I can tell from the look on your face."
"If he hadn't stepped in, then I would have myself. I was able to listen in on your conversation from the beginning, and it has been bugging me."
"Who sent you here?" Zon asked.
Kelp had one hand reaching inside his shirt, pressing onto something multiple times.
It was the only thing he could do in this situation.
'How the heck? Who is this person? How did he defeat multiple middle-stage warriors with ease! And he's just a chef, and I've never even seen this person.'
'Something is going on in this Dark Faction. None of it is making sense. I'm not even sure if this person used any Qi!' Kelp thought.
His mind was running wild, and although he had activated a particular device hidden within his shirt, it wouldn't help him in the situation he was in now.
"We'll pay for all the damage we did in the restaurant and more. I apologize, we'll leave right away!" Kelp said.
When he finished his sentence, Zon had already gone right across the room and delivered a kick.
A loud crack resounded through Kelp's body. He couldn't feel the pain, but the sound was echoing in his mind as he saw himself fall to the floor.
As he did, he turned to look at what happened and saw his legs mangled.
Zon then went into Kelp's shirt and pulled out the strange device. It was like a rectangular disk, with a button in the center.
At the same time, there was another device, white in color, with a small marking of a golden "I."
"If you had said that from the beginning and didn't act strangely, I might have believed you," Zon said as he held both items in his hand.
"What is this? What did you do?" Zon asked.
In Zon's world, there were many technological advancements. At first, he thought it might have been some type of makeshift bomb device to be used in an emergency situation.
But it had done no such thing. On the flat circular device, he could tell that it was sending out some transmission, but there was no message.
If he were to guess, it was a device to signal someone in case of an emergency.
The question was, what would happen now? And that's what Zon wanted to find out.
"Tell me!" Zon said again, looking down at Kelp.
Just as he said those words, seemingly appearing out of nowhere into the room, was a student wearing a red headband.
The red headband no longer signified those belonging to the academy, but instead, those part of the special assassination force being created by Cronker from the Crimson Crane.
The person who had arrived was Tinson, one of the first three of Cronker's students.
"I'm here to deliver a message!" Tinson said. "We are to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. If you find them, you are to keep an eye on them, but whatever you do, don't interact with or attack them!"
When Tinson lifted his head and looked at the chaos around, he realized that it might have been a little too late.