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In the middle of the night, Rojen once again silently appeared in the courtyard.
He swept his gaze around the area, but still found nothing.
"Someone is watching us!"
The feeling was incredibly acute, and he was certain of it. But as for who the enemy was, he couldn't figure it out.
That left Rojen with a heavy heart. Because for this to happen, there could only be one explanation: Whoever was lurking in the shadows had power at least equal to his own.
"Could it be the Marines…?"
He suspected it might be, but didn't dare make any reckless moves.
Rouge's delivery was imminent; any major disruption could be dangerous, and he couldn't risk alarming the enemy.
After a few more glances, Rojen quietly left.
Moonlight like silver frost bathed the land.
At the moment when the half-moon just cleared the sky, a faint, blurry figure appeared silently on the rooftop of the wooden house.
He stood there quietly, completely still, not emitting even a hint of presence under the shadowed moonlight.
Standing atop the roof, his gaze calm, he took a single step,
And in that single step, he was already down in the courtyard.
Then, with another flicker, he reappeared by the window of Rouge's room on the first floor.
It was a glass window, with curtains drawn tightly to block the interior from view.
But this was no obstacle for him. With a wave of his hand, a sharp aura sliced through the window seam.
"Ka-chak."
A soft click.
The window opened.
The figure pushed it open slightly more, and gently blew a breath inside.
Whoosh...
The breeze lifted the curtains. Bathed in moonlight, he got a clear view of the room's interior.
Inside, there was a bed. On it lay Rouge, peacefully asleep, her breathing calm and steady. With just a glance, the man scanned over Rouge, but then, his eyes shifted to the small creature lying curled beside her: Lordling.
The moment his gaze landed on Lordling, a subtle change flickered across his otherwise calm expression.
"Target confirmed."
He said silently in his mind. The curtain gently fell back down. The window was quietly shut again.
Mission: accomplished.
Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly froze.
"Who are you?" A cold voice rang out behind him.
He slowly turned back, and under the pale moonlight, saw a figure standing ten meters away, aiming a gun directly at him.
The gunman's expression was cold and focused. But the black-clad man offered no reply.
Then, in the next instant, a sharp and deadly aura locked tightly onto his position.
His expression finally changed. He immediately shifted sideways three meters in a flash of motion.
Trens' eyes widened with shock.
It was the first time he'd ever seen someone dodge after being locked in by his weapon's aim.
Who is this guy in black, radiating such an icy presence? Trens turned his gun again, locking on once more.
But at that very moment, the man shifted again, this time, lunging forward five meters in a single stride, rapidly closing in.
Trens narrowed his eyes, his expression growing even sharper.
A terrifying sense of danger swept toward the intruder, who, sensing the threat, blurred into motion again. This time, he disappeared completely from Trens' field of view.
"Gone?!"
Shocked, Trens scanned the area, and finally spotted the man on the rooftop, about ten meters up.
In a flash, Trens swung his weapon again, aiming once more at the mysterious figure.
But in the very next instant, that man flickered again, completely vanishing from Trens' line of sight.
"So fast!"
Trens was stunned. He had never seen anyone move like that, to leap ten meters into the air in just a heartbeat.
"Who the hell is he?!"
Meanwhile, the man who had evaded Trens' aim was also shaken, his eyes flashing with seriousness. Now standing beneath a large tree roughly a hundred meters away from Rojen's courtyard, he was still amazed.
"That kid... actually forced me to this extent."
He had dodged three times, and each time, that young man had managed to re-lock onto him almost instantly. That razor-sharp killing intent had stopped him from advancing further.
In fact, during the second attempt, he had originally planned to rush in and kill Trens on the spot, but the overwhelming sense of danger at the brink of death had forced him to retreat.
He didn't dare charge forward recklessly. That gun… seemed to possess some mysterious, terrifying power.
"I need to report to the team leader."
With deep, unreadable eyes, his body flickered a few times, and vanished without a trace.
The next morning, Rojen heard about the incident, and his face turned grim.
Last night, after sensing that unfamiliar presence, he had been on alert. But ironically, it was Trens, who had woken up in the middle of the night to pee, who ended up running into the intruder by chance.
Yes, Trens had literally stumbled into the encounter while half-asleep needing the bathroom.
If not for that absurd stroke of luck, not a single person in the house would've even noticed the presence.
"That guy just flickered his body, and instantly leapt 4 to 5 meters. I couldn't even see how he moved! Also, he can move in the air, he can fly! But what really shocked me… is that he could dodge after I had locked onto him with my gun. That should be impossible!" Trens was serious and intense as he spoke.
Even in those few brief seconds the night before, he had genuinely felt the presence of death.
Rojen nodded slowly, his expression growing thoughtful.
"Soru, Geppo, and Kenbunshoku…"
In a short amount of time, he had already identified the techniques used.
That made his expression even more grave.
"The Marines wouldn't act so sneakily. And someone who possesses all three of those abilities... would never be dispatched lightly."
Then who was it? The sudden appearance of this mysterious enemy left Rojen completely puzzled.
Marine? Close… but not quite.
"Today, carry on as usual."
Suppressing his suspicions, Rojen spoke to Jason and Crocodile.
They nodded silently. Even though they didn't understand why the captain needed so much treasure, they didn't question him either.
Over the next few days, while Rojen accompanied Rouge, he continued observing their surroundings with great care.
But, nothing happened.
As for Trens, ever since that night, he had become noticeably more dedicated to his training. He spent half of every day, twelve full hours, seated in meditation, refining his Inner Energy.
Ten days passed, and not a single ripple stirred. That made Rojen even more uneasy.
Because he knew, it didn't mean the enemy had given up.
It meant they were planning something.
"The calm before the storm…"
He had experienced this feeling many times. It was all too familiar now.
But even so, Rojen was no longer afraid.
Thanks to Jason and Crocodile's efforts, his system balance had now reached a whopping 1.08 billion belly.
With that kind of wealth, he could summon a top-tier boss-level character.
And with absolute power, all schemes and conspiracies would crumble!
Meanwhile, not far from Rojen's courtyard, a group of figures had gathered together.
"Team leader, all nine of us are present. Should we move now?" One of them asked with a smirk.
"No. 4, you're talking too much." A chilling reply came from somewhere.
(End Of This Chapter)