Therefore, apart from them, there were no other figures on the road.
Colin understood in his heart.
He had anticipated this situation.
He just hadn't thought it would come to light so quickly.
Now, it seemed he had greatly overestimated Hart and his companion.
However, he reconsidered.
This was quite normal, as Hart and his companion were clearly aiming to plunder his Golden Four-leaf Clover or auction it for Magic Stones.
Previously, on the bustling streets near the port, surrounded by a crowd, just raising his voice slightly had attracted a lot of attention.
Under those circumstances,
Hart obviously wouldn't act violently, but would stabilize him and take him somewhere more convenient to make their move.
This was in part to avoid damaging the reputation of the Law Enforcement Team.
On the other hand, perhaps they didn't want other members of the Law Enforcement Team to know, to avoid sharing the profits.
Unfortunately, Hart didn't know that he had already realized everything… let alone understood his true strength.
"What's wrong?" Hart, ahead of him, stopped when he saw him pause and asked curiously, then sincerely added,
"Let's get going, trust the Law Enforcement Team. We should get in quickly to clarify the real situation."
"Alright."
Colin smiled, his expression unchanged, and continued following them towards a villa that clearly wasn't the Law Enforcement Team's station.
Entering through the black gated door topped with spikes, they passed through the front garden along the path.
Mark then dropped the pretense, quickly moving ahead of him and taking the lead.
Meanwhile, Hart from the Law Enforcement Team positioned himself behind Colin, blocking his retreat.
Mark, leading in front, frequently looked back but failed to see the panicked expression he anticipated on Colin's face.
Observing Colin's calm demeanor, identical to earlier, Mark felt irked, feeling something was amiss.
He slowed his pace slightly, looked back, and mockingly said to Colin,
"You fool, do you really think this is the headquarters of the Law Enforcement Team? Look up and see where we really are."
Hart, following last, frowned upon hearing Mark's words but was too late to stop him, so he focused on Colin's reaction, preparing for a potential fight.
A moment later,
His expression grew puzzled.
For some reason, Colin showed no reaction to Mark's words, as if he hadn't heard them.
Mark, walking in front, frowned upon seeing this and thought Colin was too foolish to grasp what he was implying.
So he straightforwardly clarified,
"I know that Golden Four-leaf Clover is yours, not our Haiya Chamber of Commerce's, and the gentleman from the Law Enforcement Team behind you knows it too.
If you're not a fool, you should understand what I'm saying."
"Be wise and hand over all the Magic Stones you gained from auctioning the Golden Four-leaf Clover; perhaps this will spare your life."
They had just reached a clearing.
Mark stopped, turned around, and glared fiercely at Colin.
Hart adjusted his position, teaming up with Mark to surround Colin in the middle.
Colin calmly observed everything as he had expected.
Tap, tap, tap—
Unbeknownst to when, a group of Half-armored Haiya Gang Knights also approached, forming another layer of encirclement around the three of them.
Mark was not surprised; these modified knights were whom he had quietly ordered the guards at the entrance to call upon when he entered.
Perhaps they would not be very effective, but it was worth trying.
He had also instructed the guard to call two familiar gang members, both Peak Wizard Apprentices.
They were probably still on their way and might need some more time to arrive.
Nevertheless, that was not a concern, having him and Hart, two Peak Wizard Apprentices, especially since Hart was from a traditional School, much stronger than his Gang Wizard capabilities.
Although on the surface Hart and he appeared as Peak Wizard Apprentices, realistically he might remain as a Peak Wizard Apprentice for life while Hart was only momentarily at this stage.
Despite many thoughts in his mind, reality moved swiftly. He watched Colin, furrowed his brows slightly, and impatiently emphasized:
"Hand over the Magic Stone quickly, don't waste our time."
If Colin could be coerced into handing over the Magic Stone willingly, that would undoubtedly be the best option.
If not, they would at least capture Colin and force him to reveal the location of the Magic Stone.
Otherwise, killing Colin would be futile if they did not know where his Magic Stone was.
Colin looked at everything unfolding before him and smiled faintly.
"What if I said all the Magic Stones have been used up by me; what would you do then?"
"Used up?!"
Mark asked back instinctively, his expression darkening.
Hart from the Law Enforcement Team also frowned.
The worst-case scenario had occurred, he felt the Golden Four-leaf Clover in his pocket and thought to himself,
'If they really have been spent by him, it might be more worthwhile to deal with Mod now.'
But quickly, he reconsidered, reminding himself that he had a legitimate reason and could use the authority of the Law Enforcement Team to return the goods purchased from Colin to the merchants.
The only worry was... that Colin might have bought some services or other products that couldn't be returned.
As he was deep in thought, he heard Colin speak faintly again:
"I was deceiving you, most of the Magic Stones from the auction are still with me."
Hart's expression froze, his train of thought instantly interrupted. A surge of anger rapidly filled his mind.
But even angrier was Mark.
With a thought from Mark.
Ssst!
A thick dark-red vine suddenly appeared beneath Colin's feet!
The vine, like a giant python with black poisonous spikes, wrapped itself around Colin's left leg, quickly entangling his entire body and tightly binding him!
It formed a dark red cocoon.
Seeing Colin completely bound without resisting, Mark's expression eased slightly, and he snorted coldly.
His eyes were cold, thinking that soon he would make Colin understand what pain felt like!
On the other hand, Hart was watching the dark-red vine ball, his anger gradually subsiding.
But before he could look away,
In the next second!
Bang—!
A brilliant orange-red flame burst forth from within the vine cocoon, instantly setting the entire cocoon ablaze.
It quickly turned to ash.
The black ashes left by the dark-red vine drifted down like snowflakes, and as the bright firelight gradually disappeared, it revealed Colin unscathed.
This move combined the Fireball Technique with High Temperature Tolerance.
By keeping the output intensity of the Fireball Technique within the endurance range of High Temperature Tolerance, one could achieve harming others without injuring oneself.
Both Mark and Hart were momentarily stunned.
The next second, Hart was the first to react, preparing to attack again.
Swoosh!
A faint light streaked through the air.
Pfft!
A sudden intense pain in his abdomen caused his gathering magic power to disperse abruptly, making him let out a muffled groan.
When he regained his senses, to his surprise, it wasn't just him.
Mark and the Half-armored Knights beside him were also lying on the ground, continually moaning.
The sun was bright at that moment, but Hart felt no warmth, only a bone-chilling cold.
Fear crawled up his heart like a slippery long snake.
The scene before him made it clear that he had undoubtedly kicked an iron plate!
Not daring to think too much, he quietly pulled out the Communication Crystal from his pocket.
Amidst the wailing crowd, Colin stood quietly, glancing at Hart with an indifferent expression.