Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

Lance stopped and turned to look at her. In the twilight, Cielsa's purple eyes shone brightly, reflecting the last rays of daylight.

"No," he said.

"Why?" Cielsa asked anxiously. "Although I can't beat professionals, I can handle a few thugs! My archery and swordsmanship are pretty good!"

Lance shook his head: "No means no."

"But……"

"No buts."

Lance rolled his eyes at her. "Do you think I'd let you steal my kill?!"

"Oh..." Cielsa said sullenly.

……

Meanwhile, in the abandoned leather workshop three streets away, the atmosphere of the Blood Wolf Gang was gradually becoming eerie.

A thin, small man said cautiously, "Boss! Boss, something terrible has happened!"

Inside the hall, a dozen or so men were drinking around a long table.

Seated in the main seat was a burly man with a hideous scar on his left cheek—Scar Wolf, the leader of the Blood Wolf Gang.

He was tearing into a roasted lamb leg when he heard this and looked up impatiently: "What's the panic? Is the sky falling?"

"It's Scarface and his gang!" the skinny man said worriedly. "They...they haven't come back yet!"

Scarface stopped moving. He slowly put down the lamb leg, wiping his greasy hands on his trousers. "When did you go out?"

"They went out around three or four o'clock! They said they were going to collect protection money from some area this week. Usually, they should have finished collecting it in no time."

"It's already dark, and they still haven't come back."

"I suspect it's the mastermind behind the gang from the street next door. Now... their fate is unknown!"

"His fate is unknown? That means he's dead!" shouted a guy who had never gotten along with Scarface.

"I'm at 8 AM!" The skinny man and the scarred man were quite close, and he immediately cursed at the guy who was cursing the scarred man, "You son of a bitch, I'll f*** your ass!"

"Alright!" Scarface shouted, stopping the two.

The hall fell silent.

Those drinking stopped, those playing drinking games fell silent, and everyone looked at Scarface.

Scarface stood up, walked over to the skinny man, and grabbed him by the collar: "Are you sure they didn't go anywhere else? Not to the casino? Not to a brothel?"

"I...I've looked everywhere!" the skinny man cried, "It's nowhere!"

"Then let's keep looking!"

Scarface picked out a bald man and five others. "Bakichi, you take two men and go look for them."

"Yes, boss." The footsteps of the five men, including Bakichi, gradually faded into the distance.

An hour later, the footsteps returned.

Bakichi walked in first, while the rest of the people were a few steps slower because they were carrying the body.

Bakichi's face was much uglier than when he left. He walked up to Scarface, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Found...found it."

Where are they?

"...Three corpses, in a small alley."

Scarface closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "How did he die?"

The bald man swallowed hard. "There are charred marks on his body, like he's been burned, but not quite. His skin is charred, but his clothes aren't..."

A collective gasp filled the hall.

Scar Wolf opened his eyes, his eyes devoid of any emotion, yet frighteningly bright: "It's magic."

These three words are like three giant stones, crashing down on everyone's heart.

The hall was deathly silent. Someone tried to pick up their glass again, but their hand trembled so badly that half of it spilled. Someone tried to say something, their lips moved, but no sound came out.

"It's a mage!!!" someone exclaimed. "Where did this mage come from!!!"

"No, not necessarily!" another man quickly said, "It could also be a spell scroll! Those rich young masters and ladies might carry a few with them..."

"What's the difference?" Bakichi roared. "Are we someone who can afford to mess with magic scrolls?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! These three spineless cowards, where did they get the guts to offend a mage!" another person shouted.

"You must have seen wrong!"

"Where's the body? I need to perform an autopsy!"

"The body's here!"

The members who were outside carrying the body finally brought it back.

The crowd gathered around the corpse and examined it carefully.

"Damn it, they were actually killed by magic!"

"So what do we do now?"

"Should we avenge Scarface and his gang?"

"Alright! Since those three were killed by the Mage, they certainly deserved it!"

"Exactly, exactly! Just say a few words and that's it! Who knows if the Master can even hear us!"

"Exactly! You dare to seek revenge against the Master?!"

One person glared at him coldly and said:

"Shouldn't we avenge them? Just because the enemy might be a mage or a powerful figure, does that mean we should submit to them and abandon our brothers?!"

"You're arrogant!!!"

The other man, dissatisfied, retorted, "Does my entire Blood Wolf Gang only have you as a warrior, a hero, a righteous man?!"

"Coward! Wimp!" the man cursed again.

"If we don't avenge Scarface today, shouldn't we avenge yours tomorrow? If we do, why shouldn't we avenge everyone? If we don't, then my Blood Wolf Gang... heh heh..."

"Does this mean the Blood Wolf Gang will be finished if we don't listen to you?!"

"Hard to say."

"How dare you!" Bakichi roared.

"Whether or not to seek revenge is none of your business! Who's in charge of the Blood Wolf Gang, you or the boss?!"

"Alright, shut up, all of you!" Scarface roared suddenly, his expression filled with grief. "Scarface... Scarface! You died such a terrible death! Boss, I'm so sorry! Croak—!!"

"Should we still avenge him?" one of them asked.

"Death is not scary."

Scarface turned and walked back to the main seat.

"Death is like a cool summer night, allowing one to sleep peacefully without worry."

He stood there, his back to everyone, and remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, he pounded his chest and exclaimed, "Quack! It wasn't the sorcerer who killed them, it was this cannibalistic world that killed their teeth!"

He turned around again, his expression serious, and said:

"We're moving tomorrow."

There was a moment of silence, then someone whispered, "That...that makes sense!"

“That’s right,” another person quickly chimed in, “I completely agree.”

"I fully support the boss!"

"Should we move today?"

"Moving tomorrow should be fine, right?"

"We can't expect that sorcerer to show up at our door tonight, can we?"

"How could that be? You're just scaring yourself."

That's what they said, but the atmosphere in the hall didn't lighten up much.

The crowd looked at each other, and in the end, no one dared to say anything more.

Scarface sat in the main seat, slowly gnawing on a leg of lamb.

The firelight danced on his face, illuminating the hideous scar and the deep-seated fear in his eyes that he could not conceal. He paced around a few times before going up to the second floor.

"Bang!!!"

A loud bang.

"Hey ho ho, you little trash, your strictest father has come to uphold justice!"

A figure appeared.