“This giant bandit is very strong. You should have been more careful,” said the person who gave out the punch with an infuriating smile on his face. Then, without waiting for Zephyr’s reply, he rushed off in a particular direction.

“D*mmit!” shouted Zephyr while he stared at the person’s retreating figure. He was infuriated. That person took down the giant bandit not because he wanted to help Zephyr, but because he wanted to get the Black Tiger Bandit card. He recognized the person’s face — he was none other than Clay Lee, an initiate of the Feather Peak, who was known for his all-consuming punch.

“Intruders alert! Over there!” The shouts of the bandits echoed in the air.

No matter how pissed Zephyr was, he had no choice but to retreat for now.

“What happened?” Erin asked when he met up with her at their appointed hiding place.

“The people of the Feather Peak arrived and one of them purposely stole a Black Tiger Bandit card from me,” replied Zephyr.

“What!” Erin’s face instantly darkened from the information.

“Normally they wouldn’t bother with us, so I don’t understand why they would do such a thing. Unless… someone had ordered them to do so!” Zephyr was mad, but he calmed himself down so he could analyse the situation at hand. “The Black Tiger Bandits are now on high alert. It will be difficult for us to mount a counter-attack.”

Erin furrowed her brow when she noticed a layer of terrifying aura in the distance.

“No worries though. Two can play at that game. We should rest here for a while and wait for an opportunity to strike back,” said Zephyr lightly. However, Erin could not help but have a feeling he was plotting something. She suddenly felt pity for the Feather Peak’s apprentice who stole the item.

At this very moment, not far from where Zephyr and Erin were hiding, a man was hiding behind a tree. Under the moonlight, one could vaguely see ten more people that hid in the woods behind the man.

The leader of the group? Leonard Briggs.

“You did well, Clay. Your punch is as powerful as I’ve heard,” praised Leonard. The fact that Leonard came back meant that his plan worked.

“Thank you for your kind words, Leonard. That Zephyr must be stomping his feet on the ground as we speak.”

Zephyr had guessed correctly as to who was the mastermind behind all this.

Clay passed the white-jade card to Leonard as he greedily spoke.

“He must have gone mad when I snatched this from right under his nose. Poof! Five hundred points, gone, just like that for him.

“Hmph! This card shows that the opponent was an Agility level fighter. Plus Zephyr is only a Strength level fighter, he was no match for the bandit. He would have died if you didn’t intervene,” said Leonard coldly. It was obvious he had no idea just how truly powerful Zephyr was.

A weird expression colored Clay’s face when he heard that. He had seen with his own eyes that the giant bandit was on the losing side before he stepped in at the last second. ‘That Strength of level nine b*stard probably just got lucky,’ thought Clay. He shook away his thoughts and did not say anything more.

“We should not go to the village now that the bandits have been alerted upon the intrusion,” said Leonard gravely.

“What should we do next?” asked a Feather Peak apprentice frantically. The apprentices had accepted the quest too and did not want to miss this opportunity.

“Don’t worry. They won’t be on high alert forever. We’ll strike when they’re resting,” replied Leonard calmly. Then, he turned to look at Clay and spoke, “Clay, mess with Zephyr as much as you can.” His tone was haughty and left no room for discussion. It was a direct order.

“Got it!” As much as Clay did not like Leonard’s tone, he did not dare to refuse him. After all, their gap in strength was as far apart as Heaven and Earth itself. His face fell at the thought of this. Leonard noticed all this and simply smiled, choosing not to say anything at all.

Somewhere further away, Zephyr and Erin spoke in a hushed manner.

“Leonard is over there,” said Zephyr, pointing at a particular spot. He picked out each of their hiding spots with his ability.

“What should we do now?” She still had no clue how Zephyr managed to scout them out. However, judging from what happened when they fought the bandits, she had no doubt about his ability.

“They have the advantage of numbers on their side. Not to mention, their level is higher than ours. The chance of winning is slim if we go head-to-head with them.” Zephyr knew Leonard to be strong, he could be said to be even stronger than Vert. He should know after having to deflect his attack not long ago, so there was no way he would fight him head-on. “We should outsmart them since we can’t fight them head-on.” The coldness in his eyes doubled as he stared in the direction of where Leonard and his gang of lackeys hid.