14: I'm in the right no matter where you sue me.

"What's going on?" Evil Axe sensed something was wrong and blurted out a question.

Shield Mountain and Hawkeye exchanged a silent glance, their faces as pale as death.

Although the four were some distance from Russell and couldn't hear his words clearly, Russell's combat stance and locked-on target clearly pointed toward the four at the cave entrance.

But Russell's combat stance and locked-on target clearly pointed toward the four at the cave entrance.

Though Evil Axe felt a sense of hostility, he couldn't quite understand the scene before him.

"What is he trying to do—"

Before he could finish, Russell, in the distance, drew his sword and slashed.

A familiar white flash streaked directly toward the four at the cave entrance.

Boom!

Dust scattered as the cave entrance collapsed into a pile of ruins.

Being on guard, the team members had jumped away early, dodging the slash in advance.

Hawkeye emerged from the dust, carrying Evil Axe. "Dwarf, I saved you again."

From the sudden attack to the sudden rescue, everything happened too fast for Evil Axe to react. He remained dangling from Hawkeye's hand, looking completely dazed.

When the dust finally cleared, Russell had already arrived before them, longsword in hand.

With a smile on his face and a deepening sense of mockery in his eyes, he flicked his wrist. Another sharp white slash shot straight toward Ronan among the four.

This slash was fast and fierce, no different from the one that killed Wolf Fang. It was not something an ordinary Adventurer could withstand.

Fortunately, Ronan's Spiritual Power net had already been deployed.

Relying on his precise prediction of the slash's direction and path, he dodged the strike the moment the opponent moved.

If the target of this strike hadn't been him but the other three teammates... they would likely have shared the same fate as Wolf Fang.

After dodging the slash, Ronan quickly stood up.

Then, he abruptly raised his hand and fired a "Scorching Ray" without hesitation.

This was a spell he cast following his inner impulse, consuming his Spiritual Power almost without reservation; its power was far beyond that of the restricted version.

With the assistance of the Spiritual Power net, he locked onto Russell's position without needing to use his eyes.

The Ray was fast and accurate, heading straight for Russell's chest!

However...

The expected scene of the Ray piercing through Russell did not occur.

Instead, the crimson Ray hit the silver armor, and its power was instantly halved before being reflected away.

Russell's silver armor actually possessed a certain degree of magic resistance.

The reason for saying "certain" was that Ronan noticed the armor's magic resistance was limited.

The armor clearly couldn't block a Scorching Ray of extraordinary power as easily as it could a normal zero-circle spell, as it sustained some damage.

Russell noticed this as well.

He looked down at the damaged armor on his chest with a look of astonishment.

"I didn't think a wild mage like you could manage something like this..."

"However, looking at your current state, I doubt you can cast many more spells of that level..."

"I really can't cast it many more times," Ronan panted, admitting it openly.

"But even if you increase the power of your slashes, don't think you can hurt me."

He pointed at the longsword in Russell's hand, which was continuously accumulating white flowing light, and said calmly,

"Don't waste your effort."

"Hmph!" The disdain in Russell's eyes was unmistakable. "A wild mage who hasn't even mastered a Meditation Method, still talking big in this state."

"What if I add this?"

As Ronan spoke, he slowly pulled a crystal ball from his robe.

The three tense people beside him widened their eyes instantly, the same question popping into their minds:

When did he take that thing?

This crystal ball was the concentrated elemental orb that had fallen to the ground after Wolf Fang died, left ignored by everyone!

Earlier, they were shocked by the County Princess's identity and busy wondering if they had offended her.

Taking advantage of that moment, Ronan had naturally taken Wolf Fang's remains as spoils of war.

I'm just picking up something nobody wants; no matter where I'm judged, I'm in the right.

Among them, the most useful item was this concentrated elemental orb.

Ronan had waited until Russell was close enough to ensure an effective deterrent before bringing it out.

The power of a concentrated elemental orb went without saying; not only was it powerful, but it could also be triggered instantly by thought alone.

Now, with just a thought, Ronan could trigger an explosion and take the opponent down with him.

"I suggest you don't move!" Ronan suddenly shouted, holding the concentrated elemental orb high.

This abrupt move startled Shield Mountain's group, but the one truly frightened was Russell.

Just now, he had only slightly exerted force in his elbow, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the mage, and was immediately detected!

Such precise capture of detail... He suddenly realized, "I see, this area is already within your Spiritual Perception..."

"That's right, your every move is under my control!"

"If you plan to strike at close range... then don't blame me for detonating this concentrated elemental orb early and taking us all down together!"

"Hmph! I didn't realize this was actually a concentrated elemental orb."

"I didn't pay attention before. To think lowly Adventurers could afford such a thing... you certainly got a bargain."

The tense situation eased slightly because of this.

"Why do you want to kill us?" Evil Axe suddenly asked, unable to understand the man's behavior. "The County Princess clearly gave the order, and you agreed to help us."

"Help you lowly Adventurers?"

"Hahahaha... you're making me laugh!"

Russell couldn't help but double over with laughter, taking a while to calm down.

"Has no one told you that the Mercenary Blood Pact and the Adventurers Guild are rival organizations?"

"Just because of that?" Hawkeye was stunned; he had never been involved in organization-level conflicts. "Then how will you explain this to the County Princess?"

"As long as I kill you all, who will know if I helped you or not?"

Russell chuckled. "After I left, you died at the hands of other enemies. There was nothing I could do..."

Saying this, the flowing light on his longsword gradually faded, and he sheathed it.

"Since it's come to this, let's both take a step back."

"I won't help you, and your deaths will have nothing to do with me."

After speaking, he turned around, unconcerned about being attacked from behind, and walked out of their sight.

Only after he had completely left did the group snap back to reality.

Even without Russell, they were still surrounded by nearly a hundred Goblins, a situation that remained precarious.

"Staying here is not an option. Let's split up and run!"

Shield Mountain immediately switched to command mode and said to the three,

"Split into two teams! Hawkeye and I will be one group, White Night and Evil Axe will be the other. Escape the Monster Forest first, and we'll meet back at the Guild in the city."

"Is that okay with everyone?"

Shield Mountain's eyes were resolute as he looked around at his teammates, and they nodded in affirmation.

"Captain, does this count as executing the Final Plan?" Evil Axe felt like he was seeing a familiar scene.

"It doesn't count, we still have teammates with us... At a time like this, don't worry about that!"

Ronan also felt they had to break through and leave this place as soon as possible.

His Spiritual Power was basically exhausted after that last Ray.

If he fought now, he could only consume his last point of wish power to restore his Spiritual Power through a wish.

"Lord White Night, let's go."

With a call, Evil Axe instantly entered his berserk state, prioritizing clearing a path for Ronan.