The past was built upon collecting unique characteristics.

What kind of fate is this?

Without a moment to think, a danger warning suddenly sounded. Without hesitation, Morian used "Travel" to disappear from his spot and reappear several meters away.

The next moment, right where he had been standing, dozens of arrows rained down from the sky like a storm, their arrowheads gleaming green, clearly coated with deadly poison.

The arrow was stuck in the ground, and the surrounding grass withered and turned black at a visible speed.

As soon as his figure solidified, Morian snapped his fingers with a "snap," and countless fire elements instantly leaped from his fingertips.

Those fire elements contained astonishing temperature and vitality, and immediately began to splash and split upon landing, rushing towards the location of the gray-haired maid.

Seeing this, the maid's expression remained unchanged. Instead, she caused the bow and arrow in her hand to disintegrate into pure spiritual energy. At the same time, she clenched her hands, and the scattered spiritual energy gathered back into her palms.

A massive two-handed axe condensed at the point of convergence!

Immediately afterwards, she gripped the axe with both hands, neither blocking nor dodging, but instead swung it straight at the front.

Then, it sliced ​​through the fire element straight through.

Yes, she sliced ​​through the fire element! Not extinguished it, but split the flame composed of spiritual essence in two!

The moment the leaping flames touched the axe blade, they were "cut" open as if they were real, splitting off to both sides along the blade, like breaking through a giant wave or tsunami.

The next instant, the maid exerted force with her feet, leaping several meters into the air, raising the giant axe high above her head and cleaving it down with a grand and sweeping force, as if splitting the heavens and earth.

The force of this attack was so overwhelming that it was suffocating. It was as if even the total amount of spiritual energy in the opponent's body was increasing due to the increase in "force"!

boom!

The giant axe cleaved down, shattering the square stone bricks on the ground and sending sand and gravel flying. A deep crack appeared in the ground, but it missed the enemy.

As if wielding a giant axe had not affected her agility at all, the maid spun around the moment she landed, the giant axe slashing out with her body as she spun, as if she had transformed into a destructive storm that swept in.

This domineering "hurricane" swept away everything nearby, turning everything that was unfortunately caught in it to dust.

His spiritual intuition was screaming alarms, and even though it was only visible to the naked eye, Morian dared not be affected in the slightest.

He made a fist with his right hand, and spiritual energy gathered, compressed, and shaped in his palm, instantly forming a blazing white spear in his hand.

After a brief moment of charging, he threw the spear with all his might.

Whoosh-!

The blazing white spear trailed a dazzling trajectory, precisely striking the core of the "hurricane" and hitting the rapidly spinning axe blade.

boom!

The explosion rang out, flames shot out in all directions, and the shockwave kicked up dust and gravel from the ground, causing plumes of thick smoke.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

The brown-haired maid slowly emerged from the center of the explosion, her giant axe broken in her hand.

There were several charred marks on the hem of her skirt, but no obvious wounds on her body, and her face remained calm, as if nothing had happened.

That's enough.

A middle-aged man's deep voice came from the direction of the mansion.

Upon hearing this voice, all the fighting spirit and killing intent in the maid's eyes immediately vanished.

Then she respectfully returned to the queue, clasped her hands in front of her, and showed the polite smile that one should have when entertaining guests.

Not only her, but the other seven maids also bowed at the same time.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw Earl White walking slowly towards the mansion not far away.

He was wearing a dark gray suit, his blond hair was neatly combed, and he had a gentle and polite smile on his face. Charlotte, who looked apologetic, followed beside him.

"As expected of the renowned detective of Bet City, truly extraordinary." Earl White smiled faintly, applauding without reservation, then walked up to Morian and extended his right hand, "The White family welcomes you, Mr. Morian."

As expected, it was a test... Morian sighed inwardly and reached out to shake hands with the Earl.

While it may be a test, your maid is being far too aggressive.

His lips twitched slightly, and he released his hand, bowed slightly, and said, "You flatter me. I was just taking a lucky break just now."

"Trickery?" Earl White chuckled, his eyes seemingly seeing through everything. "To be able to deal with the head maid for so long is no small feat. Detective, you are too modest."

Fortunately, it was only the head maid. What would happen if all eight maids were this strong? Morian noted this down and sighed.

At this moment, Earl White turned to the side and said, "The outside is not the place to talk. Please come in, Mr. Morian. We still have a lot to discuss."

Charlotte nodded slightly, a genuine smile in her eyes, including a hint of apology for the probing.

"It's my pleasure, Your Excellency," Morian replied, picking up the leather trunk from the ground.

Following the count through the mansion’s spacious hall, they entered a long corridor.

Here, closed doors line both sides, while sunlight filters through the side windows, casting a warm glow on the deep blue, elegant carpet.

At the end of the corridor was a spacious and bright reception room. The combat maid who had been there earlier was already standing by the door. As soon as they entered, she pushed open the door, then stepped aside and bowed.

The reception room is rectangular and faces south, with large floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, providing excellent natural light and making it ideal for long meetings.

A large tea table is placed in the center, with exquisite white porcelain teaware on the tabletop and various cakes and pastries on a silver tray, accompanied by the rich aroma of coffee.

The tea table is surrounded by soft leather sofas, which are very comfortable to sit on. There is also a bookshelf next to it, with some exquisite and brand-new books neatly arranged, which seems to serve more of a decorative purpose.

"Please have a seat." Earl White made an elegant gesture of "please" and pointed to the sofa opposite the tea table.

Morian sat down as instructed. The sofa here was softer than he had expected, much more comfortable than the half-soft, half-firm sofa in the office, and offered excellent support.

He carefully placed the suitcase behind him, then rested his hands naturally on his knees, sitting upright with his back straight, not daring to be impolite.

Without being prompted, the maid silently walked to the tea table and began brewing coffee, her movements fluid and practiced.

Count White watched the maid's movements, then turned to Morian, and spoke with a gentle smile:

"Detective, before we begin our formal conversation, I must apologize for my earlier probing."

"Although the method is a bit abrupt, Ava—" he continued, looking at the head maid standing by, his gaze sincere, "possesses the etheric property of 'precise control,' meaning that even if you fail to dodge the attack, she can stop at the last moment without causing any real harm."

At this moment, Ava, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly, her expression as calm as if the brief battle had never happened.

"Of course," Earl White put down his coffee cup, "this is also a small testament to the fact that your performance so far has been perfectly adequate."

Morian picked up his coffee cup, calmly meeting the other person's gaze: "Prove whether I'm worthy of cooperation?"

"No, it's to prove you're capable of handling the troubles ahead."