The Herb King

Harold was taken aback by the man's strength. He realized that he had underestimated this guy so he immediately put more focus on their battle. He then put more force into his strikes, causing the tattooed bandit to furrow his eyebrows in surprise.

"I never thought that the current family head of the Reynolds Household actually joined the Imperial Family to attack me! I feel flattered by this." This man is an executive of the Northern Viper Group and his strength is only beneath that of Gustavo and their Vice Leader, Vhincent. This man's name is Ricardo.

Ricardo is a serial murderer in the Ford Empire. He was sent here by the Imperial Family since he was getting out of control. Other than Gustavo, no one has ever made him submit.

Harold ignored him. He pounced toward Ricardo and slashed his sword fiercely. His sword is a Unique-Rank weapon, but his opponent's saber is also of a similar rank!

The two exchanged more than a hundred moves, and the area around them was a mess. The ground is covered in cracks and debris of varying sizes scattered all over the place.

No one dared to get near them, afraid that they would be killed by the strong force released by both men.

Meanwhile, Prince Calvin led the soldiers to eradicate the bandits. Although their side has lesser numbers, they had superior fighting prowess and one normal soldier can even fight multiple bandits at once! This was the difference between a professionally trained fighter and someone who is merely hired for money.

"Don't move alone! Stay in groups of more than five! Make sure to watch out for your comrades' safety!" Prince Calvin shouted.

The soldiers roared upon hearing his words. They regrouped and formed smaller teams. Their defense became almost impregnable and the bandits found it hard to penetrate their formation.

Seeing that their strategy was working, Prince Calvin raised his sword and shouted. "On me!" The soldiers hurriedly towards his side when they heard his command.

"Charge!" Prince Calvin urged his horse forward as he pointed his sword in the direction of the bandits.

ROAR!

The soldiers' bravely followed the second prince.

The sight of their invincible formation scared the bandits and some of them started deserting. Most of them were merely hired for money so they weren't loyal to the bandit group.

Ahhh!

Nooo!

The cries of the bandits echoed throughout the stronghold, making the remaining bandits more fearful as the battle continued. It is only a time before all of them will collapse.

If not for Ricardo's presence, more than half of these bandits would have already escaped, but seeing that their leader was still fiercely fighting against a Level 4 Esper, they chose to stay. This guy was their backbone and as long as he was here, they might still turn the table around.

Harold no longer held back his power. He poured more world essence into his attacks! He knew that he was playing a pivotal role in this battle and that the result of his fight with Ricardo will determine the final winner of the war.

Harold's movements became faster and his strikes doubled in strength. He was expending more world essence, but he wasn't worried about this. He had already taken Aethelwolf's Vigor Pellet which made his Hegel sturdier. He can store more world essence than normal Level 4 Espers!

Ricardo was being pushed back and after forcefully blocking more strikes, he started receiving small wounds and cuts. "This is bad..." He muttered as he swiftly retreated.

Harold was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. 'His strength is probably comparable to Vice Leader Vhincent.'

"Your Highness, this guy is quite strong and I can't kill him on my own! I need Sir Dimitri to intervene!" Harold shouted.

Hearing this, Prince Calvin immediately." "Sir Dimitri, please make your move!" They could no longer waste time. The bandits were proving to be more troublesome so they could only let Dimitri join the fray.

"Reinforcements?! Dammit! I was careless!" Ricardo felt a sense of impending danger and he instinctively raised his saber.

Clang!

He saw a man appearing in front of him like a shadow and he was lucky enough to block the surprise attack. However, he was still sent flying by the strong force!

Ricardo landed pathetically. He suddenly felt that his wrists are becoming numb, but he didn't dare release his grip on his saber. It was the only thing that can keep him safe against the new attacker.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the man who was dressed in all black. Only the man's eyes were visible.

Ricardo suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. "Huh?" He looked at his chest in confusion and saw that it was bleeding. Although the wound was not deep, it wasn't shallow either. His movements would slow down because of this wound.

'How did he...' He noticed to his horror that the man has vanished and a pair of crescent blades suddenly appeared before his eyes.

***

Everything is peaceful in Lion City.

Outside Leric's newly bought mansion, he was having a feast with everyone.

He is cooking a large cut of steak which came from a magical beast that looked like a huge cow. It is a Level 3 magical beast so its meat is highly nutritious and eating it would be extremely beneficial to the employees and the others.

The meaty aroma spread through the air, making everyone's stomach rumble in anticipation.

Leric chuckled when he saw their drooling faces. To cook this meat faster, he summoned his golden flame and even used his world essence to make sure that the resulting dish would be great.

Everyone was awestruck when they saw him using his Golden Pill Fire.

Janrose who was still skeptical about Leric's identity as a Level 4 Alchemist was stunned when she saw this. All her suspicion vanished and was replaced with admiration. "Amazing!" She exclaimed.

Leric didn't look much older than her and he is probably in his late twenties, but his talent and power had already exceeded her own by a huge margin!