Seeing the Dog King Gang about to strike, Piper raised her axe.
"There are two of us. Mr. Sam Li, hold off the small fry for me. Once I've chopped down the Black Dog, I'll come help you."
Sam Li gave a calm smile. "Leave it to me."
Their composure only infuriated the Dog King. He screamed, "Go! Teach them a lesson! Take down the one with the birdcage first, then deal with Piper from the Sons of Calydon!"
With that, over a dozen bandits surged forward, aiming to seize Piper and the goods in the truck.
But Piper wasn't backing down. Gripping the axe with both hands, she swung it fiercely, sending out a powerful gust. Small as she was, her strength was astonishing.
She charged straight at the Dog King's men.
With a loud clang, a shield suddenly blocked her blow.
The Dog King, holding the shield, grinned smugly. "Good thing I came prepared. This time, I'm taking more than just toll money—this whole shipment belongs to the Dog King Gang."
He waved for his men to take care of Sam Li while he went after Piper himself.
As the bandits rushed forward, Sam Li didn't summon the Vortex Vanquisher. He didn't even set down his birdcage. He simply walked toward them.
Just as a machete came swinging down, he casually raised two fingers—and caught the blade between them.
With a light twist of his wrist, snap! The machete broke clean in half.
The bandit froze, staring at the stump of his weapon in horror.
Before he could react, another thug shoved him aside.
"What are you standing around for? Didn't the boss say take down the birdcage guy first? He must be loaded with Dennies!"
"Out of the way! Let me slice him!"
"You guys help the boss—I can handle this guy alone."
"Back off! Boss said whoever drops him first gets 5,000 Dennies!"
The one with the broken blade finally shouted, "Wait—he's strong! Be careful!"
But it was too late. The others were blinded by greed. Seeing Sam Li unarmed and carrying a birdcage, they all mistook him for an easy target.
One strike. Two. Three...
All landed on him—yet not a scratch.
"No, I hit him first!"
"Wait... what's going on? His clothes are like armor! And what's with that golden glow?!"
In reality, their blades and hammers never touched Sam Li. They struck the protective shield covering his clothes, not even leaving a mark.
Seeing this, the broken-blade bandit turned pale. He dropped the hilt and bolted.
"You can't hurt him! He's not human—he's a monster!"
A moment later, Sam Li gathered Geo energy. With a slight motion, he triggered a blast of elemental force around him.
The explosion flung a dozen bandits and their weapons into the air like dolls in a storm.
Elsewhere, the Dog King was still locked in a clash with Piper. Watching his men fall like dominos, his face twisted in shock.
He finally realized he had severely underestimated Sam Li.
Panicking, he jumped onto the abandoned Old Capital Metro bus and pulled out his trump card—a large-caliber rocket launcher made by the Defense Forces.
"I only bought two rockets. Didn't wanna waste one here, but you've forced my hand! You Sons of Calydon love blasting through things, huh? Then let me blow you away!"
"Once you're ash, this truckload is ours!"
He didn't give Piper a chance to dodge—he pulled the trigger.
The rocket blasted out of the launcher. The distance was too short—Piper had no time to dodge, not even enough to turn away.
In that instant, a flash of gold appeared.
A figure stepped out of thin air, placing himself between Piper and the rocket.
There was no explosion.
Piper rushed over. Sam Li was standing there, holding the rocket in one hand.
Not just blocked it—caught it mid-air without letting it explode.
Up on the bus, the Dog King stared, dumbfounded, just like Piper.
"It didn't explode? No way. Must be a dud! Damn smugglers sold me a fake... I'll make them pay—"
He frantically loaded the second rocket.
But before he could fire, Piper had already jumped onto the roof of the bus. Her axe swung—missed him, but smashed clean through the roof.
Seeing her raise the axe again, the Dog King thought fast. He dropped through the hole into the bus and pulled out two daggers.
"Ha! Come down here!"
In the cramped space, his daggers had the upper hand over her massive axe.
If she came down, he was sure he could win.
But Piper just gave him a look like he was a complete idiot. "I have a rocket launcher. Why would I come down?"
She bent and picked up the launcher that had landed on the roof earlier.
Then she hopped down, rested it on her shoulder, and aimed straight at the bus.
The Dog King panicked. "No, wait! I'm still inside! Spare me! Razor, leader of the Mountain Lion Gang, is my big brother—"
He scrambled toward the exit, pleading.
But Piper didn't flinch. "So what if you've got the Mountain Lion Gang behind you? You've got three seconds to crawl out."
"Three... two... one... zero."
The rocket struck dead center, sending the bus—and the Dog King—flying in a fireball.
"Just wait! The Mountain Lion Gang will come for you—"
"Fly that high? You should worry about surviving first."
With the path clear, Piper slung her giant axe over her shoulder.
Sam Li held up the remaining rocket. "Do you still want this?"
She shook her head. "It's useless now. Just toss it."
Without hesitation, Sam Li flung it far into the distance.
The rocket exploded on impact.
Piper jumped, staring toward the blast. It was exactly where Sam Li had thrown it.
"Wasn't that a dud? Why did it explode?"
"Then how'd you stop it earlier? Why didn't it blow in your hand?"
"Easy. Just avoid the trigger and grip the shell."