Gazef strode over with a longsword at his waist, his brow furrowing as his heavy gaze swept across the ruined ground.
The chest and back of his coarse long-sleeved shirt were soaked with sweat, steaming in the current temperature.
Upon closer inspection, a layer of sweat could be seen on Gazef's forehead; this clearly wasn't from rushing over, but looked more like he had just finished training or had been forcibly interrupted during the process.
There was no need for further inquiry.
Specialized guards had already finished reporting the sequence of events to Gazef.
"I am Gazef. The Royal Guard has given me full authority over the matters here." Gazef walked into the area, looking at the Emerald Leaf Witch and the others as he spoke first.
"Adventurers fall under the management of the Adventurer's Guild. Problems caused by normal adventurers should rightfully be handled by the Adventurer's Guild; the Royal Guard has no right to interfere excessively."
"However, you have already caused a massive impact on the citizens, and this matter must be handled properly."
Gazef was expressionless, showing no sign of favoritism or any intention to downplay the incident.
"Free Will" and "Blue Rose" were both currently very famous adventurer teams. Not to mention the rest, the leader of "Blue Rose" was even a high-ranking noble.
The various Royal Guard units and patrol forces within the Royal Capital were clearly unwilling to provoke them.
The commotion caused by both sides had lasted so long, yet no one had stepped in until it ended; perhaps someone among them intentionally wanted the dispute between the two adventurer groups to escalate.
There might even be nobles secretly interfering, brewing some sort of conspiracy.
But no matter the situation!
Since he had appeared here, he would never allow the situation to escalate further, and those harmed citizens must receive fair compensation.
Gagaran's eyes brightened slightly upon seeing Gazef: "Tsk, long time no see, Gazef. You're developing quite the Aura."
"Young Miss Gagaran... Ms. Gagaran."
Gazef had originally wanted to pretend he didn't know him, but since he had spoken, he could only respond.
Those muscles and a physique even sturdier than his own made him retract the words "Young Miss" and change it to "Ms."
After saying this.
Gazef stopped speaking. He needed to handle both parties now; if he appeared close to one side, it would both incite dissatisfaction from the other and make the watching citizens think there was some sort of deal between them.
Most importantly.
He could not allow those nobles who loathed him to bring trouble to His Majesty the King, whom he served with death-defying loyalty and who had promoted him.
"I hope you all cooperate. Arrest those two and take them away." Gazef scanned the crowd and spoke coldly, raising his arm with a wave.
In fact, arresting everyone was Gazef's true inner thought; even the Adventurer's Guild should rightfully follow the laws of the country.
But clearly, that was just a thought.
Neither side were ordinary adventurers; if he arrested everyone, the resulting trouble would only be greater.
Four elite soldiers immediately stepped out from the group surrounding them, walking towards the Emerald Leaf Witch and Tina respectively.
"Is this how it ends?"
"Tina, you'll have to bear with it for a while." Gagaran didn't seem surprised by this outcome; instead, he smiled and spoke to Tina with some ease.
"Understood."
Tina curled her lip, looking like she was surrendering.
"Heehee, don't be afraid, little sister." Tia let out a strange-sounding laugh.
"Who the hell would be afraid!"
Tina glared and looked at Tia.
Gazef saw that there was no problem with "Blue Rose," which had worried him the most, and his heart settled. However, just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly!
A surge of mana fluctuated.
"Corrosive Destruction!" Facing the two soldiers walking towards her, the Emerald Leaf Witch backhandedly released an attack spell.
She was no human; no one except her master had the right to command her, let alone her surrendering obediently.
This sudden scene!
Everyone was stunned, or rather, they hadn't expected the Emerald Leaf Witch to attack under such circumstances.
This "being arrested" situation might be a disaster for ordinary people, but at their level, it was nothing more than a formality.
Because it happened so suddenly.
Seeing the surging acidic, corrosive liquid, horrified expressions appeared on the faces of the two soldiers.
"Damn it!" Gazef's face changed drastically, but it was too late to rescue them.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a white light flashed through the air, appearing before everyone's eyes.
A Flame Archangel, fully encased in bright silver armor with a pair of bright yellow wings on its back, blocked the path of the two soldiers.
Hiss!
The acidic liquid slammed into the Flame Archangel, immediately making a "sizzling" sound as clouds of pale green mist rose from the surface of the armor.
The two elite soldiers retreated a few steps in fear, their faces pale and their legs weak; if there hadn't been so many people present, they might have collapsed to the ground.
An angel?
The eyes of Gagaran and the others flashed.
"Attacking the guards—are you provoking the nation!" Gazef had already drawn the longsword at his waist.
The Emerald Leaf Witch ignored Gazef entirely. Instead, she took a step back and bowed her head respectfully toward a direction behind her.
Tap, tap, tap.
A young man in a pure white priest's robe with a black lining walked quickly toward them. His striking face was currently showing a look of distress and helplessness.
At first glance.
One would think he was a gentle person, instinctively feeling a sense of goodwill toward him.
Especially that black hair, which was somewhat similar to Gazef's brownish-black hair, making him stand out among the predominantly blonde crowd.
"Emerald, apologize." The black-haired youth's calm voice rang out first.
Almost the moment he finished speaking.
The Emerald Leaf Witch, who had been incredibly cold and seemed to hold no one in her eyes, bowed her head toward the two pale-faced guards without the slightest hesitation: "I'm sorry."
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
The two guards were stunned, their bodies trembling.
The other party was a powerful and proud Magic Caster, yet... she actually bowed her head to them?
On Gazef's cold face, a look of astonishment also appeared as his gaze shot like lightning toward the black-haired youth walking over.
An indescribable sense of dissonance inexplicably rose in his heart.
Compared to the Emerald Leaf Witch's direct act of violence, the other party's apology felt even more unbelievable to Gazef.
The expressions of Gagaran and the others also changed.
They had just interacted with the Emerald Leaf Witch, and although it wasn't long, they could grasp her personality.
"Our deductions were completely wrong, Tiny." Gagaran pressed his hands on the handle of his hammer and whispered.
Evileye did not speak; the figure wrapped in the red robe seemed to be thinking about something.
Lyle indeed had a bit of a headache right now.
When he saw Gazef arrive, he had already realized how things would be handled; he had to abandon his original plan to stay out of it.
He naturally understood the Emerald Leaf Witch's personality, and Enri currently lacked experience and couldn't handle the upcoming situation.
Lyle could only step in personally to handle the problem, but he hadn't expected the Emerald Leaf Witch to move so quickly.
"Honestly."
Lyle muttered to himself as he walked into the center, looking apologetically at the two elite soldiers: "You two, are you injured anywhere? I have healing potions here."
"N-No."
The two elite soldiers shook their heads stiffly, clearly not having recovered from the shock of the Emerald Leaf Witch's apology.
Whoosh—
The Flame Archangel flapped its wings, emitting a faint Holy Light as it moved away from the front of the two elite soldiers.
"Regarding what just happened, I apologize to you again on Emerald's behalf."
Lyle waved his arm, making the Flame Archangel dissipate into points of light. Then he reached for the magic leather pouch at his waist and pulled out two bottles of Regeneration Potions worth ten gold coins, handing them to the two soldiers.
"This is my compensation. I hope it satisfies you."
Looking at the deep blue luster of the Regeneration Potions in their hands, a flush returned to the soldiers' pale faces, and their eyes lit up.
The reputation of "Regeneration Potion" was immense.
Especially high-quality "Regeneration Potions"—although this "Black-haired Genius Alchemist" sold them for only ten gold coins.
As long as one found a Magic Caster who could use "Preservation" magic to extend the expiration date of the high-quality "Regeneration Potion," which usually only had a seven-day shelf life, to one year.
Then its value would increase several times over.
"We don't blame Ms. Emerald."
"It was our problem." The two soldiers quickly clutched the Regeneration Potions, bright and flattering smiles appearing on their faces as they spoke.
Hearing their words.
Lyle nodded gently. As long as these two said that, he didn't need to worry about Gazef using it as an excuse to make things difficult.
"I have heard much about you, Your Excellency Gazef. We have no intention of becoming enemies of the Kingdom."
Lyle turned around and spoke warmly and apologetically, "I will personally pay for all the damage here and the losses caused to the citizens."
Gazef did not speak immediately, but instead carefully sized Lyle up.
"Then we shall trouble you for the expense."
Gazef said calmly, raising his palm and waving it.
The two soldiers looked at each other, glanced at Lyle, and then walked to the Emerald Leaf Witch, cautiously making a gesture of invitation.
Soon.
The Emerald Leaf Witch and Tina left with Gazef under the escort of the soldiers.
Soon, only Lyle and the members of "Blue Rose" remained in the area.
Lyle and Gagaran looked at each other and nodded with a smile, then both turned and left with their respective team members.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"