"Damn, damn, damn… why are they here now?" Max's heart raced as he streaked through the area outside the Burning Wild dungeon, using the full speed of his level 100 Swift Dash.
He was like a gust of wind as he passed by others.
'Just a little more,' Max thought, seeing the forest ahead and pushing himself even harder.
"Bang!"
At that moment, a loud crash echoed through the air as something exploded in Max's path.
The shockwave from the blast sent Max flying backward, his body skidding along the ground, leaving a trail of dirt and debris in its wake before he finally came to a stop.
Max immediately stabilized himself and stood up when he saw a silhouette in the dust ahead of him.
Before he could react, a silver flash surged toward him from the dust, arriving in front of him in an instant.
'It's too fast!' Max activated his Three Dimensional Body skill, hoping to dodge the attack with minute movements of his body.
Though it didn't come to that.
A figure appeared before Max and blocked the attack for him.
Max sighed in relief when he saw it was the old man with Alice who had blocked the attack.
"Now I'm really curious—what have you done to attract the wrath of the Blades?" Erica's voice reached Max's ears as she appeared before him.
No sooner had she spoken than Nash also appeared.
"Will you protect me if I say I also want to know the reason behind their attack on me?" Max asked, turning to her.
"Your mouth is sharper than I thought," Erica said, chuckling. "But sadly, I can't do anything to help you here."
"You're useless then," Max shrugged and sighed.
"How cold of you to say that!" Erica laughed, covering her mouth.
"Why would the Blades want to kill him?" Nash muttered to himself, examining Max and wondering if he had missed something about this kid.
Max cast a brief glance at Nash before shifting his focus to the figure responsible for the attack.
As the dust settled, a silver-haired lady in her early twenties was revealed. She had a well-proportioned face, jade-like skin, and an undeniable beauty that could captivate anyone.
However, the icy expression she wore gave her an aura of unapproachable coldness, earning her the title of "cold beauty" in the eyes of others.
"Why is the Phoenix Order interfering in the matters of the Blade Family?" she asked, looking at the old man who had just blocked her attack for Max.
"He is a member of the Phoenix Order," Alice said as she arrived at the scene.
"Phoenix Order?" The silver-haired lady frowned, her brows knitting together in apparent displeasure.
Nash and Erica were also surprised to hear that.
"Alice, for your information, this kid is wanted by the Blade Family," the silver-haired lady advised. "It would do you and me both good if you don't involve yourself with him."
"But Elena—" Alice was cut off midway.
"No buts," Elena said in an authoritative tone. "There are some things where you simply can't interfere."
Alice bit her lip as she understood what Elena meant, but she couldn't bear to let Max die here. 'Big Brother, where are you? Come quickly,' she silently prayed.
Seeing that even Alice's words didn't do much, Max sighed and looked at the silver-haired lady.
"With all due respect, Miss Elena, can I ask why I'm being targeted by the Blade Family?" Max asked loudly.
"You are in no position to say anything," Elena said coldly.
"Ah, I get it," Max nodded as if he understood something. "So this is one of those overbearing and lawless things that the four super families do behind the facade of the overlords of the Eastern Region. Is that it?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a silver blade arrived before Max once again.
But it was once again blocked by the old man from the Phoenix Order.
"Are you trying to silence me now that I've spoken the truth?" Max looked at her, wide-eyed.
"Everyone," he then shouted loudly to the people watching the scene. "When I awakened a few days ago, I was fortunate enough to awaken a unique healing class talent. The very next day, the Blade Family came to my door asking me to join their family, but I refused, as I have my own plans."
He paused, looking at Elena's darkened face before continuing. "And you know what their response was? It was this—'Nobody refuses the Blades, and those who dare to do so will sooner or later become the slaves of the Blades.'"
He added, "And now they've come to kill me. After killing me, they plan to use my body for research on my class." His face contorted in disgust as he spoke.
A wave of commotion rippled through the crowd as Max's words echoed in the air. People froze in shock, their expressions shifting to disbelief. Faces turned pale, jaws dropped, and murmurs spread like wildfire as they struggled to grasp the weight of his statement.
"This guy… His guts know no bounds," Erica said, her words trembling in disbelief. She had never expected that such a cute little guy would say something like this in her wildest dreams.
"He knows he can't survive this ordeal with his strength, so he used his brain. Very clever but also foolish," Nash sneered at Max's actions.
Max smirked, seeing the ugly expression on Elena's face.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Max sneered. "The very fact that you came here to kill an innocent kid shows the true face of the so-called Blade Family. If they can kill a kid in broad daylight, then I wonder what worse things they're doing in the dark?"
Elena glared at Max, her eyes filled with chilling intent. "Are you going to keep interfering?" she asked the old man, her voice laced with intense killing intent.
"I'm afraid I will have to," the old man said calmly.
Elena's face darkened. "By doing this, I take it the Phoenix Order has decided to go against the Blades?"
"You are mistaken, Miss Elena," the old man said, his tone somber. "I am simply following the orders of my Young Master."
"Young Master?" Elena's frown deepened as she heard the old man.
Just then, two figures descended onto the scene. One was a middle-aged man with dark green hair and a star mark on his face, and the other was a young man in his early twenties.
The young man had light orange hair, and his confident face that always held a smile gave him a unique charm.
"It seems I'm not late," he said calmly, looking at Elena.
"Anton…" Elena murmured to herself, realizing she should have finished off Max when she had the chance. Things would become more much more difficult for her.
"What's going on here?" the middle-aged man with green hair asked.
Max's eyes immediately sparkled when he saw the uniform the middle-aged man was wearing.
"Help me!" He ran and quickly stood behind him, pointing at Elena. "She wants to kill me for no reason. I just awakened a week ago and came to this dungeon, and now she wants to kill me. Please, you have to help me." Max clung to the middle-aged man and begged for his help.
'You people from the Union Vanguard are supposed to be impartial, so don't disappoint me,' he thought silently.