Chapter 36

Chapter 10: Another Dekko

With a loud voice and a towering figure, the giant Ted, who had just parted ways with the Demon Hunter not long ago, reappeared. His bull-like eyes fiercely scanned the newly initiated apostles around him. Behind the giant, two people followed. One was Nova, the ice block man who had been unconscious earlier. Dressed in a new set of clothes, Nova showed no signs of his previous disheveled state. The other was a fierce-looking man with the most striking feature being his dazzling blonde hair, which was completely out of place with his menacing face.

"Ye Qi, is it you causing trouble again?"

After scanning the area, the giant's eyes naturally fell on Ye Qi, who was standing in the center of the assembly hall.

Before Ye Qi could speak, the two people who had been following Koster earlier ran up to the giant and whispered to him. After their whispers, the already fierce-looking man's face twisted even more. Staring at Ye Qi, he growled, "Ye Qi, it's you again! First, you killed Tade, and now you've killed my nephew Koster. You've dared to challenge the Dekko family multiple times! Today, I, Pachi, will rip you open and dig out your heart to honor my nephew!"

"Wait!"

Just as Pachi was about to move, Ted reached out and stopped him. Despite Pachi's towering and muscular build, which was impressive among ordinary people, he was no match for Ted, a man who had transcended human limits and was more like a magical beast. Ted's arm, blocking Pachi's path, was like a half-wall, preventing him from advancing.

"Ted, this is an internal matter of the Dekko family. You shouldn't interfere!" Pachi, realizing the vast difference in physical strength, stopped pushing against Ted's arm. He immediately stepped back and invoked the family's honor to pressure Ted.

In terms of strength, Ted was unmatched by anyone! But in terms of words, Ted was no match. Fortunately, Ted wasn't alone! Just as he was scratching his head for an argument, Nova stepped forward: "This is the Demon Hunter headquarters! Not the Dekko family's backyard! What happens here is not an internal matter of the Dekko family. The Dekko family is truly formidable!"

Poisonous! So poisonous!

Ye Qi, who had been standing there watching the situation develop, was surprised again by the cold-faced man's words. He hadn't expected that the icy Nova would have such a sharp tongue.

Not only did he refute Pachi's words in a few sentences, but he also cleverly framed the entire Dekko family, placing them in opposition to the Demon Hunter Guild. If Pachi said something rash in his anger, even if the Dekko family had no such intentions, the higher-ups at the Demon Hunter headquarters would have to reconsider their stance toward the Dekko family.

"Nova... you... this is slander!"

Pachi, who had been at the Demon Hunter headquarters for many years, was not only strong but also had a quick mind. He immediately realized that in his emotional state over his nephew's death, he had said the wrong thing! And it had been seized upon by Nova, who had always been at odds with him. If this were to be spread by someone with ill intentions, the entire Dekko family... thinking of the consequences, Pachi's body trembled. He quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I, Pachi, and the Dekko family are not as you say! I was just momentarily agitated by Koster's death and spoke rashly! But the murderer Ye Qi is standing here alive, and I demand that the headquarters severely punish the murderer!"

In his attempt to defuse the situation, Pachi deftly avoided the sensitive topic and redirected the focus back to Ye Qi.

"Severely punish the murderer? I doubt it's that simple," Nova said with a cold laugh, walking up to a newly initiated apostle and asking, "Tell me, describe what happened in detail."

"The incident was..."

As the newly initiated apostle recounted the events, Nova's cold laughter grew. He then questioned several other newly initiated apostles, all of whom gave the same account. Nova walked back to Pachi and said, "Koster and Ye Qi fought a life-or-death duel. Each relied on their own skills. Koster was outmatched and deserved to die."

"You!"

Pachi glared at Nova but said nothing. Now that the entire sequence of events had been laid out by Nova, it was impossible for him to find fault with Ye Qi. Pachi, with a dark expression, walked toward the site of the fireball explosion—where not only Koster's remains but also the Dekko family's heirloom, the Emerald Leaf, were located.

"Boy, don't get too cocky! We'll see about this!"

As he passed the Demon Hunter, Pachi said menacingly.

"Happy to oblige!"

The Demon Hunter shrugged indifferently.

"Hmph!"

Pachi, ending the conversation with a cold snort, ignored the Demon Hunter and began collecting Koster's remains. However, given the state of the scene, the chances of Pachi collecting all of Koster's remains were no better than winning the lottery.

"Ha ha ha, Ye Qi's flames were truly impressive! They were almost on par with a Moonlight-level flame!" The giant walked up, ready to pat the Demon Hunter on the shoulder, but the Demon Hunter, who had learned from his previous mistake, skillfully avoided the gesture. The giant, not taking offense, continued, "Nova, you were skeptical earlier! Now that you've seen the Moonlight-level flame, are you still skeptical?"

"Tch!"

The cold-faced man, who had just helped the Demon Hunter, turned his head away in disdain.

"Ha ha ha, see? Nova is a good person, except for his bad temper!" The giant, pleased, boasted to the Demon Hunter, "Yeah, Ye Qi, you're a good person too! You're right up my alley. Let's..."

"Ye Qi!"

Before the giant could finish, a roar came from behind, and Pachi, eyes red, rushed to Ye Qi and shouted, "Hand over the Emerald Leaf!"

"What are you talking about?"

The Demon Hunter looked at Pachi, confused.

"Don't play dumb! Didn't you take the Emerald Leaf that Koster was using? If you hand it over now, I'll pretend nothing happened!" Pachi, eyes bloodshot, glared at the Demon Hunter, gritting his teeth.

"Hmph! I was about ten meters away from Koster, and I had just finished my attack when you all came in. Where could I have taken the Emerald Leaf from?" The Demon Hunter stood his ground, staring at Pachi. "Pachi, if you want to find trouble with me because I killed Koster, there's no need to go through all this trouble! Just say it!"

"If not you... then it must be one of them?" Pachi, taken aback, thought about what the Demon Hunter said and immediately turned his gaze to the other newly initiated apostles. The loss of the family heirloom had driven Pachi to the brink of madness, and without thinking, he shouted, "Whoever took the Emerald Leaf, hand it over now! Otherwise, I'll search you!"

Before Pachi could finish speaking, the faces of the newly initiated apostles around him changed. They all looked at Pachi with hostility—awakening was a rare occurrence, and the few who managed to stand out among countless others naturally had their pride. Pachi's actions were like slapping them all in public!

Instantly, the rebellious nature deep within the Demon Hunters' instincts erupted!

All the newly initiated apostles gradually surrounded Pachi—the murderous intent in their eyes clearly showed what they were about to do!

And the Demon Hunter standing to the side smiled brightly.