Adrian turned to Juleen and said, "You're free to leave with him if you wish. I won't stop you.""No, Darryl, I have to stay here. You should return to the Greenhursts and never come back here,” Juleen said.Darryl left, disappointed and intimidated by Adrian's formidable presence, especially after the latter had shown up in front of him in an instant.Juleen asked, "Who was it that massacred my family then?"Adrian calmly replied, "It's most likely the doing of the Four Great Factions. There are more of them who wish you dead to avoid trouble."Juleen shuddered at the thought. Darryl and Payton were probably simply acting on orders. She then thought about how cruel Urias was. "So I'm left with no option but death?" she said in despair."Who said that?" Adrian chuckled. "There will always be someone willing to stand up in the face of injustice.""Will you help me?" Juleen asked tentatively, lacking the courage to look at Adrian.Rozi intervened, "Adrian, we're in danger ourselv

Lionel, after a moment of silence, said, "Our kind are rare in these parts. Coupled with how exceptional you are, it's only natural that others would be jealous of you." Adrian, realizing the dragon bones were poisoned and his life was on the line, was furious. "You said that I have twelve days left?"Lionel examined the shattered bones and reassuringly said, "Don't worry. If someone poisoned this, there must be a cure to it."Knowing Matson was affiliated with the Greenhursts and suspecting them of the poisoning, Adrian realized seeking help from Urias was futile. "The others will surely refuse to help. If I'm to die, I won't beg others to save me,” Adrian said resolutely.Just as he was about to leave the study, Lionel called out, "This poison isn't too lethal. I'd like to conduct some experiments. Will you cooperate?""Of course." Adrian agreed readily as long as it did not involve Urias.Rozi, frowning, voiced her concerns about the risk of the experiment. "Are you sure th

Payton could not believe it. His iron hammers were solid, so there was no way they could be split apart so easily. Adrian's prowess was clearly terrifying, and Payton regretted his actions immensely. "Save me, sir!" he cried out.Adrian was startled. He was not expecting for Urias to show up, making the situation even more complicated. His suspicions about the deviousness of the Greenhursts were confirmed."It doesn't matter who comes! I'm surprised at how utterly shameless you people are. You even harmed your own people.” Adrian sneered.Payton hastily retreated.Juleen, tied to a tree a hundred meters away, was just regaining consciousness and noticed her predicament. She immediately cursed, "Payton! I never took you to be so despicable! You don’t have even a shred of loyalty in you! I regret ever getting to know someone like you!""Juleen?" Adrian exclaimed in surprise, not expecting her to have reached this place in such a short time. This exceeded his expectations.Payton

Juleen had made up her mind to help Adrian at all costs. "Sir, I've laid out my terms. You have to agree to them if you wish for me to return." Urias was on the brink of fury.Adrian glanced at Payton, noting a familiar silhouette and suddenly recalled the night of the black-clad attackers. He gritted his teeth and said, "I shouldn't have spared you, Payton. You're one of the few who attacked me that night, weren't you?"Payton was alarmed. Everyone was masked and clad in black that night, so Adrian could not possibly recognize him. Payton had only shown up briefly before leaving the rest to the leader of the Randells."That's nonsense! I don't know what you’re talking about!” Payton said.Juleen's heart sank. She had heard about the attack on Adrian, thinking her father was too impulsive to go as far as to trouble an outsider. Little did she know it was actually Adrian who was attacked that night.Juleen did not want to deny the truth. Since her family was involved, she felt ob

Adrian's gaze then landed sharply on Payton. "If you even think about running away, I'll break your legs. You hear me?""Okay!" Payton immediately stopped in his tracks, trembling. He desperately wished for Darryl and his roc to come to his aid.Urias was suffering internally. Adrian had yet to counterattack, genuinely giving him three chances. In truth, he would be doomed if Adrian retaliated. "Here comes the second move!" Urias boomed."No, please!" Juleen said frantically, knowing Adrian could not dodge the attack and seemed unwilling to fight back. "Sir, why don't you use a less lethal attack?" Urias was in a tough spot. He could not just admit defeat in front of his apprentices. That would be an even bigger embarrassment than losing. "He's free to retaliate if he wants to,” Urias said."I'm a man of my word. Go ahead and attack me all you want. I won't hold it against you even if you end up killing me,” Adrian repeated.Urias developed a respect for Adrian. Despite havi