"What is it, Uncle Zimo? Why did we stop?"
The voice of a young lady came out from the midst of an escort. In fact, it wasn't just any young lady, but rather Syl, the friend of the woman who was the cause of Leonel's current predicament, but also, ironically maybe the reason Leonel was still alive.
The escort was quite long, containing at least 50 individuals. Aside from one large chariot which Syl's voice came from, the rest road odd war horses with twin horns and an underbelly covered in thick scales.
Uncle Zimo was the very same older man with sparse hair that had taken Syl away from Rie just days ago. But, at the moment, he stood in place at the head of the escort, his hands folded to his back and his gaze narrowed. The issue was that he seemed to be staring into empty space. Other than an unkempt road before him amidst a thick forest, there was nothing else.
Just when everyone was beginning think Uncle Zimo had gone crazy, the ground trembled slightly and a young man slowly appeared.
For a moment, it seemed as though the whole of the world revolved around him.
The young man wore heavy leather robes that exuded the wild air of a beast. His hair, shimmering of gold and bronze swayed slightly beneath the wind, accentuating his sharp, handsome features.
Though his eyes were colored a dull green, they held a hidden sharpness within them that remained calm even in the face of such a large group.
It was clear that this young man was still in the Third Dimension. Anyone with Internal Sight could see the faint rejection of the world around him. Yet, somehow, the pressure he exuded was so far beyond that.
Uncle Zimo's gaze narrowed.
"Is there a reason you called me out?" Leonel questioned.
Despite the numerous eyes on him, his voice was steady and calm. However, it seemed to break an illusion everyone had just been under.
Whether it was by coincidence or design, the aura of the previous Leonel had made everyone ignore a few things. For one, no one had noticed the little mink around his neck until now. And, most importantly… no one had noticed the black mark that hovered before his forehead until now as well.
Upon realizing this, Uncle Zimo's expression became more hostile than it already was, causing Leonel to frown.
Leonel was getting really tired of people being hostile to him just because of this mark on his forehead. He had even left the city, only for this nonsense to happen anyway.
The worst part was that Leonel was certain that he was no match for this man. He didn't know enough about the Fourth Dimension to properly measure this man's stats, but all he needed to know was that this Uncle Zimo was far stronger than his previous self. As for how his current self would stack up… Leonel had no idea, he hadn't even had a chance to measure his limits.
Uncle Zimo took a step forward, causing Leonel's furrowed brows to darken.
"I suggest you watch yourself. I'm not in the greatest of moods." Leonel said coldy. "If you insist on attacking me without reason, I'll ensure that your whole escort is swarmed by beasts and Invalids."
Leonel's sudden words stunned Uncle Zimo. Maybe he had never expected someone within the Third Dimension to speak to him like this. Thee weren't many even within the Fourth Dimension who dared to say such words.
However, Leonel was clearly not in the mood to mind his feelings.
First, he was branded like a slave. Then he was forced out of the city without a place to sleep. Then he almost died during his breakthrough, only to find out that someone had snatched something that was his as a child. Even though he had gotten it back now, with Leonel's personality, he was still more than just a little pissed.
And now, instead of crossing over him without a word, this damned old man stopped the whole escort just to bring him out from the ground and suddenly wanted to target him for something that wasn't his fault?
Leonel found that his patience for nonsense was getting shorter and shorter as time passed. The longer he spent in this new world order, the more his charismatic, easy going self was whittled away.
Uncle Zimo's shocked appearance suddenly gave way to a sneer and then laughter. It wasn't just him, many of the soldiers and warriors within the escort couldn't hold it in any longer.
Yet, Leonel didn't seem to have heard their mocking chuckling.
He flipped his palm over, a deep black bow appearing in his hand. Even the sun that peaked through the heavy foliage above could only be wholly absorbed by its surface.
The little mink on Leonel's shoulder bared its little fangs, growling.
Leonel's aura seemed to change once more, sharpening. A slightly cold wind circled around him, causing the dried leaves at his feet to swirl about.
He casually nocked an arrow and faced the escort, his indifferent gaze locking onto Zimo.
It was clear in an instant that he wasn't joking in the slightest. If this old man continued to piss him off, he really would do something.
Uncle Zimo stopped laughing and frowned.
"Do you really think any beasts would be attracted by your mere Third Dimensional Force? Do you think I would need my Fourth Dimensional Force to deal with you? Do you think this is a fairy tale?"
Leonel's gaze remained without expression. It was as though he hadn't heard Zimo's words at all.
His entire demeanor seemed to say 'try me'.
His own Third Dimensional Force wouldn't attract Invalids here, but what if he activated his Winter Four Seasons Realm comprehension? He had already reached the pinnacle of Crystallization, what if he broke into the Fourth Dimension with his Soul Force right here? And even if he ignored all of that, what about his Scarlet Star Force? Was there a beast or Invalid in the world that could withstand its temptation?
At this point, Leonel was truly daring Zimo to act. He would gladly bury this arrogant prick right here.
At the same time, Uncle Zimo was growing more and more pissed. A mere Third Dimensional ant actually dared to speak to him this way? The worst part was that he really didn't dare to call Leonel out on his bluff.
Even if he truly believed Leonel was spewing nothing but nonsense, he had a responsibility to protect Zimo. Even if there was only a 1% chance, he was trained to not risk it.
His gaze turned hard as he stared down Leonel, but the latter met his gaze without a worry.
"It's you?"
Suddenly, a voice cut through the atmosphere.
Leonel frowned. Not only did he recognize the voice, just hearing it made him more pissed than he already was.
At that moment, two women peeked out from the carriage, one of whom was Rie, the very woman who caused much of Leonel's troubles in this world.
The moment she spoke, Leonel's glare landed on her, causing her trouble breathing to come back several folds stronger. She nearly collapsed where she stood.
Uncle Zimo suddenly took a step forward, but…
SHUUUUUUUUUU!
He had hardly moved when an arrow landed barely a centimeter before his foot.
In that instant, he froze. This wasn't because he felt the danger of the arrow. It was slow and for someone like him, dodging it would have been possible. The issue was that he hadn't even finished lifting his foot when the arrow landed before him right in the area he had wanted to step toward.
The awkward sudden stop shifted his momentum backward, causing an arrow that wouldn't have been lethal to him regardless to make him look ridiculous.
Leonel's gaze left Rie and landed back on Uncle Zimo, his expression becoming even colder. Now that he knew this escort was led by that woman, his impression of them was even worse.
"Boy…" Zimo's voice came out in a low growl.
"Uncle Zimo, stop." Syl's voice suddenly calmed the atmosphere once again. "Young man, how about we have a chat?"
Leonel frowned and looked away from Zimo once again. What did this woman want?