It seed strange that the Befallen Crown and other monsters paid so much attention to a simple K4-Phantom like Adam Vinter.
Wouldn't it be more logical to attack the Second Rank Phantoms, who posed a real threat to the monster world?
Well, that was the whole problem.
Compared to the number of Lords, there were very few Second Rank Phantoms, but in return, each of them possessed terrifying power.
It wasn't just people like Damien; other Second Rank Phantoms, such as the heads of the Twelve Branches or the heads of the towers of the Lower Ring, also possessed enormous power.
So, as long as the Befallen Crown had the opportunity to get rid of a potential threat of this level, they had to respond.
As long as Adam was within the Dead Lands, attacking him was too risky. He was under Frida's protection, as were many other talented Phantoms like him.
The Tarnished Lands were a more complicated situation, as the Renegades were there. They were not direct enemies of the Befallen Crown, but they clearly would not allow chaos to be wreaked on their territory for the sake of one K4-Phantom.
So, there were only two options left where the Befallen Crown could act freely: the Dark Shore and the Primal Lands.
If Adam had ended up at the Dark Shore, not far from the Befallen Crown lands, he would have been dead long ago. He was attacked there, sure, but several powerful warriors helped him escape.
But... here, at the Primal Lands, who would help him?
The fifth team of the Crown Squad consisted of seven Lords led by Liliane, who was an experienced fighter who had been through dozens of battles.
Moreover, the Old Horn was another side of the conflict. His presence practically guaranteed that even if the unknown hunter could delay Liliane's team, Adam would not be able to escape.
Well, so far, neither Adam nor Alexia suspected this.
They were too focused on the coffee and jam that Goen had made himself from the berries around them.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Alexia ate one spoonful after another. She did it quickly because she didn't want to spend too much ti on breakfast.
"Where are you rushing off to?" Adam raised an eyebrow, confused. "You know that eating faster won't help you recover any faster, right?"
"Pfffft!" Alexia snorted, a bit of jam left on the corner of her lips. "Of course I know that. What I want right now is not to recover my strength, but to beat you! I'm sure that by evening, I'll have caught way more fish than your piranha!"
It was useless to try to convince Alexia otherwise, so Adam just shrugged before taking another sip of coffee.
Goen shook his head.
"Hah, I haven't t anyone with such a fierce temper in a long ti. To be honest, I'm surprised you're still alive, Alexia."
She didn't answer, instead finishing her portion of jam and picking up her cup of coffee.
"I do everything right and always win, that's why I'm here, and my opponents are dead!"
"Good answer." Goen nodded, stirring the coals of the fire with a stick.
Sip.
Alexia took a sip, brushed her mouth of jam, and was about to return to the lakeshore. She and her fishing rod still had a lot of work to do if she wanted to beat Adam's record.
Who knows what Adam would have decided to do that day if it weren't for Goen's frown.
"Hmm?"
In the two days they had been here, he had never seen such an expression on Goen's face.
"Is sothing wrong?"
Before Adam could answer, Goen lunged forward and grabbed Adam and Alexia by the shoulders.
The last thing Adam saw was azure energy flows crashing down on them like thunder. Then, he blinked, and they were on the other side of the lake.
Thump!
Adam and Alexia fell to the ground as they looked ahead.
"What the...?"
Their eyes widened in disbelief as they looked at the destroyed campfire. They didn't sense any hostile auras and didn't see any monsters nearby. Nothing foreshadowed trouble.
"Look up." Goen's cold voice rang out. "Looks like soone decided that you two needed to be taken care of right here, right now."
Adam looked up and froze.
Seven figures floated in the sky, led by a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes.
Although it wasn't Adam's level, he had enough experience to understand that they were all the Lords.
A particularly nacing aura emanated from Liliane and the young man hovering in the second row. Sothing about them was different from the rest, even though the other mbers of the fifth team tried to look much more nacing than this young man.
Alexia gulped.
"S-Seven Lords? Who are they?"
Goen pointed to the crown sign on their chests.
"The Crown Squad. I don't know what kind of team they are, but they're definitely in the Top 10. They report directly to one of the strongest monsters of the Befallen Crown."
Despite how dangerous it sounded, Goen remained completely calm. For him, this was information he had known for a long ti. This was not his first encounter with the forces of the Befallen Crown.
For Adam and Alexia, everything was different. They understood that they had no chance against the seven Lords.
Maybe they could avoid the fight or escape?
Tap.
Liliane gracefully descended to the ground. The others followed her, all except the young man who preferred to remain and hover in the sky.
She glanced at the fishing rod, the coffee, and the fire she had destroyed.
Then, she approached the shore and stared at Goen standing on the other side.
"Who are you, hunter?"
Goen's expression remained emotionless.
"I have the sa question for you. You ca to my land without warning and destroyed my campfire."
Liliane narrowed her eyes.
"Hmm? Are you more concerned about your ruined breakfast than your life?"
She waved her hand, not wanting to waste ti on a aningless conversation with so hunter.
"We have the right to do whatever is necessary to achieve our goal! This is an order from the Befallen Crown! We, the fifth team of the Crown Squad, have co here to capture Adam Vinter and destroy the other K4-Phantom!"
Liliane pointed at Alexia, then at Adam.
"Give us these two, and we will not bother you anymore. This is my first and only offer to you!"
She knew that the hunter could be strong, but Liliane was not afraid.
If any human could live safely in the middle of the Primal Lands, it was proof of his strength. But there were seven Lords, so she saw no other option but victory on their side.
"Hand these two over to you?" Goen asked in a tone as if he were actually considering it. "What will you do with the boy and girl?"
Liliane saw that negotiations had begun between them, so she was about to continue:
"Adam Vinter will be captured alive on the orders of our boss. This girl... Alexia, well, her life is of no value to us."
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
Goen scratched the back of his head with a complicated expression.
"I see. It's quite simple, isn't it? In that case, I have a counteroffer for you."
His green eyes grew colder, not at all like a hunter who was used to enjoying simple things.
"I'll kill you all and prepare dinner. How about that?"
Liliane's eye twitched, but she didn't go any further.
She sighed heavily.
"To be honest, I knew you would respond like this. You've decided that because you survived alone in the Primal Lands, you are now invincible, aren't you?"
Whoooooosh.
A white tal rapier appeared in her hand, with an azure tip and a rounded guard.
"In that case, we'll proceed with the original plan."
The azure energy flows surged around her as she lunged forward. She moved along the lake, leaving a trail of diverging waves behind her.
Adam and Alexia exchanged glances. It wouldn't be three seconds before Liliane reached them.
At the sa ti, there was not a hint of fear in Goen's eyes.
He blinked.
BAM!
A huge fog fist crashed down on Liliane from above. Her wide-open eyes made it clear that all she had ti to notice was the shadow falling on her.
Water gushed upward like after a bomb explosion, but that was only the beginning.
Goen raised his hand as his fingertips bent slightly, as if he just wanted to touch the air.
In a heartbeat, a hail of fog fists fell on the lake, looking more terrifying than even a barrage from a thousand cannons.
The water in the lake rippled, the ground shook, and it was unclear whether Liliane could withstand the pressure.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
In a blue flash, Liliane flew out, cutting through the fog fists in her path.
"Gha... Gha... Gha..."
She was breathing heavily, her hand bloodied from gripping her rapier too tightly.
"You..." Liliane clenched her teeth. "Who are you?"
Goen shrugged.
"I'm just a hunter."
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