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nDarius facepalmed. 'How could anyone start off so stupid? Did Foldo really send out this imbecile of a brother to lead the group… no wait, his side has only sent out those my apprentice wants to get rid off!'

nDarius was shocked speechless. It seemed he had underestimated Foldo's ruthlessness. The fellow had handed his mantle to his own sibling for an effort that seemed lucrative and shiny on the surface.

nOne could only pity his ambitious sibling who had no idea that inevitable death awaited him at the end of this road.

nHowever, the issue remained as to how the bandits were going to defeat Shanks. Even if Darius and Gunner stood back, the three groups would lose every single one of their men and hardly tickle Shanks.

nAfter all, there was a reason why they had refused to touch Shanks ever since he had constructed the homestead, only Darius' seductive offer removing the strain of logic inside their heads as it was suppressed by greed.

nNow that they were in front of Shanks and had witnessed his inviolability as well as his invulnerability in battle, they were having second thoughts.

nWhile Darius and Gunner handled monsters, Shanks had been busily slaughtering the bandits superficially, leaving the 'extra hands' the Diato and Foldo bandits along in the dirt while the core members remained relatively intact.

nOnly the Garwen bandits remained relatively intact, because they were ranged fighters. However, if Shanks were to rush over to them, they would also be thinning out.

nYet the threat they posed was not to Shanks as a person, but to his people. He couldn't risk these bandits killing any more men from the homestead, as many families had already been ruined in just the span of a few minutes.

nWhat's worse, if one of them somehow managed to sneak past him to abduct or harm Portia… Shanks didn't know what he would do. That was why he had reminded them of all his cards.

nHe wanted to scare the bandits off for now and then deal with them later once he had sorted everything here out.

nMeanwhile, the bandits wanted Shanks to stand down and would even allow him to leave with his family.

nOnce he was gone, they could split the huge amount of crop between themselves, take anything of value from the settlement itself and most importantly they would take the remaining peasants here to have their fun with them.

nBoth sides glared at the other, convinced that their own side posed the greater threat. This created a staredown stalemate that made Darius frown, as things were playing out too slowly for his liking. Fortunately, he did not have to wait for too long.

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"Ah!

"

nEveryone's head snapped to the source of the cry, which happened to be Derek. Behind him, one would see the form of Jorge materializing, her dagger penetrating the shoulder of the lad lightly.

nShanks roared in anger and charged Jorge, who fled pathetically by using a special footwork skill and some smoke bombs to further conceal herself. Worried more about his son, Shanks left the rogue and knelt over the sweating, wheezing Derek.

nNoticing his son's pallid color and the shortness of his breath, Shanks quickly checked the wound to see a purplish-black liquid dripping from it.

nWith a venomous expression, he rose to his feet and glared at Foldo's brother.

"Using poison on my son? Let me make this abundantly clear to you. Should my son perish today, all of you will follow him into the afterlife. You, your families, and any relatives you have in this world. I will find you and will bring you down, even if you were to hide in the deepest pit of Armadon. This I swear on my soul!

"

nShanks' solemn vow frightened everyone who heard it, including Darius and Gunner. The sheer intensity of it stressed that he wasn't lying. Should Derek die today, Shanks would do everything he could to complete his promise.

nThis naturally discouraged the bandits as fear seeped in, even into Foldo's brother. However, his bluster soon came back when he remembered that they were the ones who held the chips in their hand.

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"Of course, none of us wishes for Derek to die today, Sir Shanks. Simply leave the homestead with your family and head back to Ando. We shall provide you the antidote once you're far enough away.

" Foldo's brother began with a gentle endearment.

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"We will send out a man with the antidote, who will present it to you when the time is right. However, should you refuse to leave, it will be on you to watch your son die like a dog! You can decide to hunt us if you like, but that won't bring your dead boy back to life.

" He finished with utter belligerence.

nThe remaining fighters of the homestead paled at this development, while Darius nodded internally. Things were playing out as they should. The threat of Shanks was not something they could beat at their skill level and with their numbers.

nDarius himself also did not want to risk his own life. Obviously, he wasn't going to loan them his Dagger of Death or any other rare item to execute the man. Getting it back would become difficult and on the off chance it was used against him, his death would be the most foolish ever.

nAlthough it would surely amuse Vena and Caesar.

nShanks stood ramrod straight, staring at the bandits opposite him with utter malice and hate in his eyes, for suddenly attacking his people, killing them coldly, and poisoning his son.

nEven moreso, putting him in this horrible situation where he had to make a choice where neither option was even worth considering. Shanks felt suffocated, like he was trapped in an airtight box with no air that was pressing in on him with every second.

nHe could visibly see his son weakening with every passing moment, and the more time he wasted, the less the chance Derek could recover after taking the antidote.

nAt the height of his tension, just when Shanks was about to break mentally and concede, he heard a young voice speak with a tone of amusement.

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"And what makes you idiots think I will sit here and allow you to kill Friend Derek?

"

nAll eyes turned to Darius who had folded his arms behind his back and was walking towards the meeting point of both parties with Gunner following behind him. The approach of the duo was so striking that both sides paused for a second.

nFor Shanks, it was like seeing an angel, while for the bandits, they grimaced as an unknown variable had appeared.

nDarius gazed at Derek, whose health was dropping faster and faster, then took out an Antidote Potion he had Transmuted around the time he had made his plans with Foldo, the day after to be exact.

nIt had cost him 0.3 CP since the potions he possessed in his inventory were too different from this one, but it was also enough that he could squeeze it in.

nPouring the panacea into the young lad's mouth, everyone watched with mixed emotions as Derek's skin went from pale to rosy in mere seconds.

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