Mors was also unwilling to accept it.
But now that the truth was out, there was no way they could remain in the outer ring. They had no choice but to lay low in the city for now.
If they could gain the support of the financial tycoons, they'd regroup and return to settle the score with Caesar.
Mors reminded him, "Lucius, we need to go. They'll realize soon that we tricked them, and once they do, they'll be on our tail. We need to reach the city before that happens."
Lucius took a deep breath and lowered the binoculars.
Anger, frustration, and malice twisted across his face. He cast one last glance toward the Hell's Ride arena and silently vowed—he'd return one day.
The two of them started toward the car parked behind the hill.
As they neared the vehicle, something felt off.
Mors frowned. "Lucius, do you hear a harp? Is it coming from the arena?"
Lucius's expression tensed. "No... Damn. They're already on us. Move!"
They rushed toward the car.
But to their shock, the closer they got, the clearer the harp music became—coming from inside the vehicle?
Lucius peered through the window and was stunned to see someone inside, calmly plucking at a harp.
His gaze narrowed. "Inside the car?"
Mors scanned the surroundings cautiously, then stormed up to the door and yanked it open. "Out! Who gave you permission to sit there?"
Only then did they get a clear look.
Sitting inside was a bard with a harp—none other than Venti, who had recently arrived in New Eridu.
Hearing their angry voices, Venti chuckled and stepped out. "No need to get upset. Your car looked nice, so I thought I'd try it out. You're not mad, are you?"
Lucius's eyes darkened. "You're here to catch us?"
Venti quickly waved his hands. "No, no, of course not. I'm just one person—how could I possibly handle both of you? Right?"
Mors scoffed. "As if you'd dare."
Just as Venti had said, Lucius and Mors were both elite members of the Vanquishers, equipped with control-type abilities, W-Engines, and Drive Discs.
They were fully armed.
Forget Venti— even if Caesar showed up, the two of them together were confident they could take her down.
Lucius glared at Venti, clearly ready to strike.
To him, Venti wasn't even worth a minute—he could finish him off in a single blow.
But Mors shook his head. "We don't have time, Lucius. We need to leave now."
Lucius nodded and gave Venti a cold smirk. "Consider yourself lucky. I'm busy right now. Next time, you won't be."
The two turned to go.
But Venti strummed his harp and stepped in front of the car. "You're not leaving yet."
Lucius frowned. "What?!"
With a cheeky grin, Venti said, "My friend's on his way. He's here to arrest you. And trust me—he can take you both down with one hand."
Lucius's temper snapped.
He'd already spared Venti, and now the guy was looking for death.
"You wanna die? Fine. Mors, hit him—drive straight through!"
"What an idiot, standing in front of a car. What, does he think he's made of iron...?"
Mors scoffed as he fired up the engine.
He gunned the vehicle straight at Venti—knocking him down while escaping would be killing two birds with one stone.
As the car roared forward, Venti didn't move. Instead, he sped up his playing.
The sharp sound of harp strings filled the air.
The car was just about to crash into Venti.
At the very last second—
A figure dropped from the sky like a boulder, landing beside Venti with a thunderous crash that shook the entire hillside.
In the next instant, the figure thrust out a hand and—bam!—stopped the charging car cold.
The front of the vehicle crumpled inward with the force of the impact.
Venti stopped playing and smiled at Sam Li beside him. "I couldn't beat them on my own. Good thing you got here in time, or they'd have gotten away."
Sam Li was speechless. "..."
This bard really was good at playing dumb.
He was a archon, for crying out loud. As if Lucius and Mors could take him down.
He'd been slacking ever since the fight with La Signora a few years back, and now even in New Eridu, he was still doing the bare minimum.
There was just no fixing this guy.
Lucius and Mors were frozen in shock at the sight.
Where had this guy come from?
Just a moment ago, there was only a harmless-looking bard in front of them. They were about to run him over—and suddenly, the car was stopped cold and a bizarre figure appeared out of nowhere.
Wait a minute... that face...
Mors suddenly shouted, "I've seen him before—he came with Caesar. He must be one of the Sons of Calydon!"
"Damn it! They got here this fast?!"
The moment the words left his mouth, both Lucius and Mors glanced around, only to find no other Sons of Calydon in sight. They breathed a sigh of relief.
Then turned their furious gazes on Sam Li.
"Damn it! I don't care who you are—even if you're with the Sons of Calydon, I'm taking you down right here!"
Lucius knew that if they didn't deal with Sam Li and Venti now, they weren't leaving.
Even if it cost them time, they'd finish off these two—consider it payback to the Sons of Calydon.
With that, Lucius and Mors got out of the car, weapons in hand.
They were former elites of the Vanquishers—among the top fighters in the outer ring.
As for the two in front of them: one was holding a harp and didn't look like a fighter at all, clearly not planning to fight. The other was unarmed, and while he had just stopped a car with his bare hands—likely a physical-type—he didn't seem hard to handle.
All things considered, the advantage was entirely on Lucius's side.
Lucius didn't want to waste too much time. He let out a cold snort, exchanged a glance with Mors, and charged straight at Sam Li.
Despite it being two-on-two—
Mors ignored Venti completely and followed Lucius, targeting Sam Li as well.
Take Sam Li down, and they'd win.
The bard on the sidelines was still strumming and humming, like a cheerleader shouting encouragement—not worth a second thought.