Everyone was still frozen in shock when Stoll vanished from where he stood. His greatsword swept out in a broad arc, its heavy roar carrying a terrifying pressure that struck straight at the soul.
The Cassalanter family's guards' pupils dilated. Time seemed to stretch endlessly as they desperately tried to flee, but their legs felt as though they had been filled with lead. Their minds reacted, but their bodies couldn't keep up.
The greatsword suddenly slowed. The blade turned sideways, changing from a slash into a crushing blow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three guards were blasted away one after another. Their upper bodies were unharmed, but both of their thighs had gone limp like noodles. Yet barely any blood spilled—the precision of the strike was astonishing.
"Ahhh—!"
"Help..."
Their agonized screams echoed through Delzorin Street, drawing crowds from every direction.
With Stoll setting the example, Makaria and the others instantly understood how much force to use and stopped holding back.
In less than half a minute, more than a dozen guards were sprawled across the street. No one knew how many bones had been broken. They couldn't even crawl, and their screams rose and fell without end.
Any seasoned adventurer could tell just from the sound that none of them would die—not yet.
But they wouldn't be living well, either.
At that level of injury, ordinary healing potions were already useless.
Still, in Waterdeep, injuring someone and killing someone were two entirely different matters. And when it came to nobles versus commoners, the distinction was even greater.
If there was a legitimate reason behind it, the difference became greater still.
"Anser!" Gwyneth's normally composed face paled. She shoved him hard, urgency filling her voice. "Go, now!"
"This is self-defense. Get on the ship first."
Holding the Arcanefire Longbow, Anser casually cast an instantaneous, Extended, Twinned, Distant 6th-level Fly.
A flash of magical light enveloped Stoll, the other three, and Gwyneth as they all rose into the air.
"Cool. I like Fly."
Makaria sheathed her longsword, grabbed one of the moon elves, and flew straight toward the Dragonfly Ship.
Knowing every second counted, Gwyneth looked deeply at Anser before taking the other companion and flying at full speed into the open hatch.
Anser waved, signaling them to leave first.
Hovering dozens of meters above the villa, he looked down at the growing crowd below and the City Watch racing toward the scene in the distance. With a metallic hiss, he drew his sword. Platinum radiance burst from its blade with dazzling brilliance.
"So this is Waterdeep?"
"What an eye-opener."
"Illegally imprisoning people. Coercing them. Extorting visiting nobles. Despicable. Revolting. Completely without limits.
"If nobles can simply cover the sky with one hand and do whatever they please, then why pretend to uphold the rule of law and justice?
"It makes me sick!"
His voice boomed like thunder, carrying the force of a dragon's roar as it spread in every direction, making everyone's chest tremble.
The surrounding crowd immediately widened their eyes. Their gossip instincts flared to life as they hurriedly questioned one another, and discussions erupted everywhere.
"What happened?"
"Which paladin lost their temper?"
"Go get Second Brother! There's a huge spectacle!"
"Looks like the Cassalanter family's guards. Heh... a dog never changes its ways."
"Oh, now you're an expert? Lord Cassalanter is Waterdeep's greatest philanthropist."
"..."
Anser was very satisfied with the effect.
He wasn't venting for the sake of it.
He wanted the truth out in the open before the Cassalanter family had the chance to pull any tricks.
Who said striking first automatically meant you were in the wrong?
The Cassalanter family had effectively imprisoned and coerced people—that was a fact.
He had rescued them—that was also a fact.
This time, he had the moral high ground, the legal high ground, and the right motive.
He wanted to see exactly how Waterdeep's Noble Court would deal with this.
'Get everyone to safety first.'
His draconic wings beat once, whipping up a powerful gust as he accelerated toward the Dragonfly Ship even faster than before.
Not long after he left, two members of the City Watch arrived. When they saw the devastation and recognized the crest on the guards' uniforms, they immediately blew their whistles and called for reinforcements.
But after hearing the surrounding witnesses' accounts, they were completely dumbfounded.
To put it bluntly, the City Watch were the city's police. Their primary duties were patrols and maintaining public order.
The perpetrators had used a magical vessel, and the incident involved an old noble house. It had already gone far beyond the scope of an ordinary public security case.
Fortunately, they soon spotted griffon riders racing toward the scene in the distance. Realizing their superiors had already received the alarm, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the Dragonfly Ship and Anser had already left the city. Guided by an attendant, they began searching for the Rose Orchard Winery.
Halfway there, Anser spotted Kelson of House Wyndrivver.
The man was riding his horse at an agonizingly slow pace. If not for the dejected look on his face, anyone would have thought he was simply out for a leisurely ride.
Anser was furious.
With a hawk-like dive, he swooped down, grabbed Kelson by the waistband, and hauled him high into the sky.
Kelson shrieked like a stuck pig, but the howling wind poured into his mouth. When he twisted around and recognized Anser, he immediately fell silent.
Yet even with his eyes squeezed shut, the sight of those six wings beating proudly remained burned into his mind, wave after wave battering his nerves. His liver seemed to tremble, and his legs wouldn't stop shaking.
"Show me the way!" Anser barked coldly.
Trembling, Kelson pointed toward the lower right.
More than ten minutes later, they reached their destination.
Rose Orchard Winery lay southeast of the city, bordering Undercliff. Vast vineyards stretched across the surrounding countryside, and the air itself carried a faint fragrance of grapes.
The Dragonfly Ship's hatch opened, and Stoll and the others flew out one after another, hovering behind Anser.
Gwyneth was astonished. Anser's Fly spell had lasted far longer than it should have.
But this was no time to dwell on that. Sweeping her gaze across the estate, she quickly spotted several familiar figures.
"There!" she called, looking at Anser.
"Saving them comes first. Anyone who gets in the way gets beaten!" Anser waved his hand.
He had already spotted the griffon riders approaching in the distance. They had to finish this quickly. The longer they delayed, the greater the chance something would go wrong.
Makaria and the others acknowledged the order and followed Gwyneth down to rescue the captives. Greatsword in hand, Stoll flew nearby, standing guard.
The estate's alarm bells rang frantically as squads of guards rushed out, forming defensive lines.
The Dragonfly Ship was impossible to miss. The intruders had flown straight into the estate the moment they arrived. If the guards still failed to react after that, they certainly wouldn't be collecting tomorrow's wages.
"Who are you people? This is private property belonging to the Cassalanter family, protected under the Code Legal of Waterdeep! No one is permitted to trespass—" the captain of the guard shouted.
Makaria ignored him completely, wrapped an arm around one of the moon elves, and flew toward the Dragonfly Ship.
Meanwhile, under her companion's guidance, Gwyneth searched for the remaining captives while Adolf and Giant Tail protected her from both sides.
"Put them down!" the guard captain roared in fury, immediately leading his men forward. "Stop them!"
"Nice uniforms. Shame about the people wearing them."
Stoll dove from above, bringing his greatsword crashing down.
Startled, the guard captain braced himself, but he couldn't even follow Stoll's movements.
The greatsword surged like crashing waves. Blow after blow came without pause. Before the force of the third strike had even dissipated, the captain's shield had shattered, his body had been launched through the air, and a trail of blood sprayed behind him. By the time he hit the ground, he was already unconscious.
"Pathetic!"
Laughing loudly, Stoll shot sideways more than a dozen meters, cutting off the rest of the guards before charging straight into them.
The guard captain had barely managed to survive one brief burst of Stoll's power.
The other guards couldn't even last a single exchange.
Stoll fought like a god of war, rampaging through them as though no one could stand in his way. The guards were tossed around like rag dolls.
Had he not been deliberately holding back, the scene would have been far more gruesome.
Anser wasn't surprised.
No matter how powerful the Cassalanter family was, they couldn't possibly assign peak-tier adventurers as personal guards for their younger members. Having a high-level Fighter serving as captain of the guard was already an extravagant luxury.
In Waterdeep, someone of Stoll's caliber would be qualified to command the Griffon Cavalry.
Anser didn't join the fight.
A single Mind Sliver from him could instantly kill a full-fledged adventurer. Once he made a move, lives would be lost, and that wasn't his intention.
Still, watching Stoll mow through the opposition was immensely satisfying.
It felt like taking a huge bite out of an ice-cold watermelon in the middle of a scorching summer day. All the frustration he had bottled up over the past two days melted away.
When he had first transmigrated into this world, he had lived on the edge every single day, trembling in fear and longing for the peace of his previous life.
But after growing accustomed to the law of the jungle, arriving in Waterdeep had left him strangely uncomfortable with its peace and rules.
When I was weak, no one protected me.
Now that I've finally gained the power to slay dragons, why should I bind my own wings and submit to these rules?
I can be reasonable. I can obey the law.
But your reason and your laws cannot be written from beginning to end with privilege and naked power, dressing up filth and bloodshed through the authority to interpret justice.
With that thought, he gave Kelson a shake and pointed toward the winery below.
"Which one is Rezo?" he asked coldly.
"You've rescued them. Just leave while you still can," Kelson said, having finally calmed down enough to offer some advice.
"So you do realize I'm rescuing people."
Anser snorted and rebuked him impatiently.
"Identify him."
Resigned to his fate, Kelson slowly raised a hand and pointed.
"That one... the man in the red robe by the window."
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