The square was silent again.
Only the sound of the fountain water falling softly behind them could be heard.
All eyes turned toward the Monk.
Zhāng Yǔzé slowly stood up from his kneeling posture.
He folded his hands respectfully toward Miles before speaking.
"Apologies, Mr. Elias."
His voice was calm, but respectful.
"I rember sothing from my younger days."
Everyone watched him carefully.
"During the days of my training, my master took across several provinces. We traveled to observe tournants of ancient clans."
His eyes moved briefly toward Maddock.
"And during those visits... I learned to recognize certain movents."
He exhaled slowly.
"The move Master Maddock perford earlier at the gate..."
His gaze sharpened.
"It belongs to one of the ancient martial clans."
Several n looked at Maddock instinctively.
Maddock simply stood behind Miles, arms folded, expression unchanged.
The Monk continued.
"And if Master Maddock calls him Young Master..."
He gestured toward Miles.
"...then his position in that clan cannot be simple."
His tone beca more serious.
"Ancient clans are not organizations you oppose lightly."
He looked directly at Elias.
"Anywhere martial arts exist, the clans have eyes."
His final sentence ca quietly.
"I do not wish to stand on their bad side."
Then he added with genuine caution,
"And I advise you not to go against clan personnel either."
Elias stared at him.
Then slowly...
He began to laugh.
"What a load of nonsense."
His voice filled with mocking amusent.
"First you co here chasing treasure with us."
His eyes narrowed.
"Now suddenly you change sides."
He pointed a finger at the Monk.
"Believe , Monk."
His smile turned cold.
"This is an invitation for death."
The Monk smiled faintly.
"First of all..."
He raised one finger calmly.
"I did not switch sides."
He paused.
"I am withdrawing."
Then his expression changed.
For the first ti since anyone had t him.
Cold.
Completely cold.
"And second..."
His eyes locked onto Elias.
"I hope you do not repeat that sentence again."
The air grew heavy.
Even Elias’ n felt the shift.
Kaelo broke the tension with a scoff.
"You are going to miss the treasure, Monk."
The Monk shook his head.
"I no longer care about treasure."
Then he spoke one final warning.
"I still advise you not to go against clan people."
His voice lowered.
"They will hunt you until the end of your life."
He bowed respectfully to Miles again.
Then stepped aside with his followers, moving out of the circle.
Elias clapped slowly in sarcasm.
"Well done."
His grin widened.
"You think taking one group away ans you win the war?"
He spread his arms toward the square.
"Do you understand sothing, Miles?"
His voice hardened.
"The mont a single bullet is fired..."
He tapped his chest.
"...this becos kill or be killed."
He gestured toward the tribals and hunters.
"There will be casualties anyway."
Zella stepped forward instantly.
Her eyes burned with loyalty.
"We are prepared to die for you, Prince."
She raised her hand toward the hunters.
"Kill these bastards."
Several tribals adjusted their rifles imdiately.
Artem’s breathing beca heavier.
Anger.
Frustration.
Humiliation.
Everything mixed inside him like poison.
But before the situation could explode
Miles raised a hand calmly.
"There is no need, Chief."
His voice was relaxed.
"The party is not thin enough yet."
Kaelo frowned.
"What do you an?"
Miles smiled slightly.
Then he spoke loudly.
"Boys."
For a brief mont nothing happened.
Then
Hilda’s n moved.
In one clean motion.
The rifles that had been aid toward Miles and the tribals suddenly rotated.
And pointed directly at the treasure hunters.
Safety clicks echoed sharply across the square.
Another shockwave.
Kaelo stepped back instinctively.
Artem’s eyes widened.
Even Elias blinked in disbelief.
Elias turned slowly toward Hilda.
"What do you an... Hilda?"
Hilda lowered her eyes.
For a mont she said nothing.
The square was tense, every rifle still aid, every breath cautious.
Then slowly she lifted her head.
"I had no choice."
Her voice sounded tired.
"These n..."
She gestured weakly toward the soldiers standing behind her.
"They are not with ."
Her lips trembled slightly.
"They do not work for ."
Artem’s head snapped toward her.
"What?"
Kaelo frowned deeply.
"What do you an they do not work for you?" he demanded. "You brought them here."
Hilda shook her head.
"I did not bring any n."
The statent fell heavily in the air.
Elias slowly turned his gaze toward Miles.
And saw it.
That small grin on Miles’ face.
Suddenly everything aligned in his mind.
The ambushes.
The traps avoided.
The strangely disciplined n Hilda had "brought."
The strange confidence Miles had shown from the very beginning.
Elias’ face darkened.
"So that is it..."
His voice lowered.
"These were your n from the start."
He glared at Hilda.
"How could you do this?"
His anger rose.
"This is betrayal."
Hilda closed her eyes briefly.
"Like I said."
She opened them again.
"I did not have a choice."
Artem stepped closer, furious.
"Then why did you not say the truth in the beginning?"
Hilda exhaled deeply.
Then she asked a quiet question.
"Do any of you know about the Ghost of the Graveyard?"
The reaction was instant.
Kaelo stepped back as if soone had punched him in the chest.
"Gh... Ghost?"
His voice cracked.
Artem frowned.
"What about him?"
Hilda slowly raised her hand.
And pointed directly at Miles.
"He is standing right in front of you."
The square froze again.
Kaelo’s face turned pale.
"What?"
He shook his head violently.
"No... no... this is impossible."
He stared at Miles.
"This kid cannot be Ghost."
Elias scoffed.
"You are bluffing."
Hilda’s voice hardened.
"I have encountered him before."
Her eyes remained fixed on Miles.
"My eyes are not wrong."
She turned toward the others.
"Do you understand how dangerous he is?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Everything that happened along the way."
She gestured toward the forest.
"The attacks. The traps. The movents of the tribe."
She swallowed.
"It was all planned."
Her eyes widened.
"It was a trap from the very beginning."
Kaelo still looked unconvinced.
Miles slowly turned his head toward him.
"What is it, Kaelo?"
His tone was almost casual.
"Did you perhaps rember your brother?"
Kaelo froze.
His pupils shrank.
mories surged into his mind.
A night.
Gunfire.
A masked figure moving like a phantom.
The man who destroyed his brother’s entire crew in minutes.
Kaelo’s lips trembled.
"It is him..."
He whispered.
"The Ghost of the Graveyard."
The temperature of the square seed to drop instantly.
Even the n who had never t the Ghost had heard the stories.
A na whispered across underworld networks.
A phantom assassin from the Graveyard unit.
Soone who appeared only when death was certain.
Kaelo slowly raised his hands in surrender.
"I was only here for treasure."
His voice shook.
"I never planned to harm you."
He pointed weakly at Elias and Artem.
"They wanted to kill you."
He swallowed hard.
"Just tell where the treasure is."
His voice dropped to a plea.
"I will leave."
He shook his head.
"I will never cross your path again."
Artem glared at him.
"You..."
Elias spat coldly.
"Coward."
Miles began walking slowly left and right across the square.
Hands behind his back.
His voice ca calmly.
"Greed."
He looked at Kaelo.
"Do you still not understand?"
He stopped.
"Your life is already on the line."
Then he smiled faintly.
"How about I tell you a secret?"
Everyone leaned forward slightly.
Even the tribal soldiers watched quietly.
"You keep talking about treasure."
Miles tilted his head.
"But do you even know what that treasure actually is?"
No one spoke.
Miles continued slowly.
"The treasure now has a na."
His eyes fixed on Kaelo.
"Can you guess it?"
Kaelo’s voice barely ca out.
"Wh... what?"
Miles spoke clearly.
"The Reaper Group of Companies."
Another shockwave exploded through the square.
Elias’ eyes widened.
"The Reaper Group?"
He stared at Miles.
"You an the one that owns the investnt firm in London?"
His voice rose.
"The one with branches across the world?"
Artem suddenly spoke with realization.
"Not just that."
His mind raced through information.
"They operate across multiple industries."
His eyes widened further.
"The owners are completely mysterious."
He shook his head slowly.
"No one has ever seen them."
"And the company itself..."
He looked at Miles.
"...is not even that old."
Silence fell.
Then Artem whispered.
"The Ghost of the Graveyard..."
His voice trembled.
"...is the grandson of Timothy Sterling."
He stared at Miles.
"And he is also the man behind the Reaper Group."
His jaw clenched.
"Timothy Sterling played us."
Shock piled upon shock.
Ancient clans.
The Ghost.
And now the Reaper empire.
Each revelation struck like a slap across their faces.
Kaelo suddenly grabbed his head with both hands.
"No."
His breathing grew frantic.
"No no no."
He looked up at Miles in horror.
"If you own the Reaper Group..."
His voice cracked.
"Then the sponsorship..."
Miles nodded casually.
"You figured it out."
He smiled.
"I was the one who sponsored your expedition."
He pulled a small remote device from his pocket.
A simple switch.
He pressed it.
Instantly Kaelo and the n behind him convulsed violently.
Electric shocks surged through their tactical vests.
They collapsed to the ground screaming.
Their bodies spasd as the hidden tasers activated.
Within seconds they lay on the pavent groaning in pain.
Miles looked down at them calmly.
Elias and Artem stepped backward instinctively.
Fear began creeping into their faces.
Artem’s jaw tightened.
His fists clenched so hard the veins on his neck began to swell.
"You are going too far."
His voice carried anger, humiliation, and a desperate attempt to reclaim control.
Miles slowly turned toward him.
Then began walking closer.
Step.
Step.
Each step echoed against the stone pavent like a countdown.
"Too far?" Miles repeated calmly.
He stopped just a few feet away from Artem.
"You ca too far."
His eyes hardened.
"For sothing that was not even here."
Elias stepped forward again, his breathing uneven but his voice still sharp.
"You an to say... you own the Reaper Group."
His eyes burned with disbelief.
"You already claid the treasure."
He spread his hands in anger.
"And we ca all the way here for nothing?"
Miles tilted his head slightly.
"I would not say that."
He walked slowly past Elias, looking around at the square, the buildings, the fountain, the forest surrounding them.
"Did you not read the engraving when you entered the ruins?"
His voice carried faint amusent.
"It spoke about destiny."
He looked back at Elias.
"And destination."
Elias clenched his teeth.
"Why did you even plan this?"
His voice rose now.
"There was no enmity between us."
He pointed at Miles.
"I never crossed paths with the Graveyard."
His tone beca desperate.
"We can settle this right now."
He gestured around the square.
"And never et again."
He exhaled sharply.
"There is no treasure left anyway."
Miles sighed.
A long tired breath.
Then he looked at Elias with sothing close to pity.
"You are joking, right?"
His voice dropped slightly.
"Do not pretend I do not know."
His eyes sharpened.
"About the n you sent to Star Harbor."
A pause.
"Behind my family."
Elias’ face changed instantly.
Shock flashed through his eyes.
"No.. I.."
But he cut himself off.
His expression hardened again.
"Enough of this."
He suddenly turned his head toward the town boundary.
Then shouted loudly.
"NOW!"
The reaction was imdiate.
From beyond the outer buildings
Small dark objects flew into the square.
tal cylinders rolled across the pavent.
One bounced near the fountain.
Another landed beside the crates.
Another rolled toward Miles’ feet.
Smoke grenades.
A loud hiss erupted from each one.
Thick grey smoke burst outward violently.
Within seconds the square was swallowed in fog.
n shouted.
Rifles lifted blindly.
Tribal guards moved into defensive positions.
But the smoke spread fast.
In three seconds the visibility collapsed.
The town square vanished into a dense wall of grey.
No one could see more than an arm’s length ahead.
Chaos began to rise inside the cloud.
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