"Leinajin, tomorrow, take some people to block them. Let's see if Benjamin is just posturing again."

"I'll go and see what level that person is."

"In times of chaos and strife, some may want to get a piece of the pie… If there's nothing else, you may all leave. I need to rest. We'll talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow."

Hearing this, Leinajin and the other man said nothing more, lightened their steps, and slowly left the room.

"Creak~ Thud"

As the door gently opened and closed, only Earl Bard remained in the room. He lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with a melancholic expression.

Whenever there is chaos, heroes are bound to emerge.

He could clearly feel the changes in the environment; the elements were now richer and more active than before. In such an environment, both breakthroughs and advancements were easier than in the past.

He suspected that the Adventurer from the Adventurers' Association didn't just come to rescue; he might have also come to participate in this war in the Hartwin Kingdom.

If it were before, he might have risked it all, choosing to let the Glenbagen Family ascend to a higher level through a bloody struggle.

But after experiencing his own son's betrayal, he realized he was old. That kind of "old" wasn't physical weakness, but a weakening of will.

Looking around, he found that no one in the Glenbagen Family could inherit his mantle and protect the vast Glenbagen Family in his stead.

If he died, the Glenbagen Family might quickly split. Even if it didn't, a Glenbagen Family without him would find it difficult to survive this war in the Hartwin Kingdom.

Just like the Pello Family, which he drove out of Kara City, a Viscount family with several Extraordinary Ones was instantly reduced to ashes in the flames ignited by the Rebel Army.

He didn't know what fate the Glenbagen Family would face after his death.

He dared not die, and he absolutely could not die.

Earl Bard's gaze gradually shifted from confusion and melancholy to determination… He had to lead the Glenbagen Family through this war, allowing the Glenbagen Family to safely transition to the next era.

… …

-Adventurers' Association-

The reason Benjamin and his group chose to directly announce the evacuation time was because they knew their actions couldn't be hidden from the two factions within the city.

Therefore, it was better to announce it in advance so that the people in the Adventurers' Association could prepare for the evacuation.

After announcing the evacuation time and briefly introducing Liens to everyone, Benjamin and his group began to systematically arrange personnel statistics, pack luggage, carry food, and other tasks.

They aimed to have everything ready before the evacuation tomorrow morning, so that everyone wouldn't be flustered during the evacuation.

As for Liens, Benjamin and his group didn't want the most important combat strength here to be exhausted by these trivial tasks.

Thus, Liens, who didn't need to handle miscellaneous affairs, returned to his quiet room.

"Come out… Do I have to invite you out?"

Liens calmly stared at a shadow formed by the sunlight outside.

Before he finished speaking, a vast force of heaven and earth converged into an invisible hand, plunging into the mutated shadow, preparing to pull someone hiding in the shadow into reality.

"Hmm… slipped away? Quite fast."

"That should be Shadow Realm Magic… Advanced magic textbooks introduced this magic. It's very special; it seems only those with specific aptitudes can use it."

"Interesting… Did that Shadow Realm exist from ancient times, or was it created by that existence? It can allow a First-Tier Extraordinary One to achieve an effect similar to spatial travel."

Looking at the shadow that had already detached from its Shadow Realm-like state, Liens showed a thoughtful expression.

After a while, he still hadn't found the special energy representing the Shadow Realm within the range covered by his "force," so he gave up on the idea of catching the visitor in reality.

Lying flat on the bedding spread on the ground, Liens closed his eyes and entered the Instance .

"Phew… I almost got caught."

"What happened?"

Looking at the man who suddenly appeared beside him, Ben asked about the situation he encountered with both confusion and seriousness.

Since they met, it was the first time he had seen the other party's face show a panicked expression; usually, the other party was calm and composed.

"Didn't we receive intelligence that the Adventurers' Association announced they're leaving tomorrow? So I went over to check the situation, and I almost couldn't come back."

"That foreign aid invited by the Adventurers' Association is truly terrifying. He could even interfere with me while I was in the Shadow Realm."

The man suppressed the panic from his hasty escape and returned to his usual demeanor, responding to Ben.

Ben's expression was still somewhat puzzled. He knew what the man meant by the Shadow Realm; the man hadn't hidden his magic and often used it in front of him.

So he knew that the Shadow Realm was a special space hidden within shadows.

But having always stayed in Kara City, working to liberate Kara City, his knowledge of Extraordinary Ones was weak, and he wasn't clear about the significance of what the man said.

The man also knew Ben's situation, so he continued to explain: "I once tried it on Earl Bard. He could at most sense the shadow being alienation, but he couldn't interfere with me while I was in the Shadow Realm."

"Is the person you mentioned stronger than that Earl?"

Ben asked with a hint of anticipation.

"Not necessarily. Special means and actual combat power are not entirely linked. For example, me, although Shadow Realm Magic is peculiar, that Earl could kill me with one sword."

"However, judging from the Adventurer from the Adventurers' Association's elemental reaction and the powerful aura when he attacked me, he should at least be a Second-Tier Extraordinary One."

"With his existence, the Adventurers' Association will be able to safely lead their people out of Kara City this time."

"Can we win him over?"

Ben looked at the man expectantly. If they could win over the Adventurer from the Adventurers' Association, they would have hope of defeating Earl Bard and thus liberating Kara City.

"It's difficult… People from the Four Great Powers rarely directly participate in the civil wars of various kingdoms. They mostly just control the intensity of the war and reduce civilian casualties."

"Moreover, after that incident, the Adventurers' Association and even the Church of Heavenly Light already have a very bad impression of us."

"Sigh… We originally only wanted to use those gangsters as cannon fodder to reduce civilian casualties during the war."

"Now, it's become somewhat unmanageable, and it even led to that situation, causing the deaths of a large number of innocent civilians."

Ben and the man looked at each other, both sighing.

The chaos within the Rebel Army had now become an intractable problem. They wanted to eliminate it but were unable to act.

Besides the interference and obstruction from various factions, it was also because after losing the divine envoys from the gangster faction, they no longer had enough strength to contend with Earl Bard.

"Go and notify those people. Tell them to restrain their subordinates and stop causing trouble for the Adventurers' Association."

"Tell them directly: although we can't directly kill all of you, killing a chicken to scare the monkeys is possible. I hope none of you will become that chicken."

At this point, Ben revealed a sinister expression, clearly having endured those guys for a long time.

"I understand."

The man nodded in response, then used magic to leave the room through the shadow in the corner.

After the man left, Ben slumped into his chair, his naturally fierce face filled with powerlessness. He didn't know what he could do to save the current Rebel Army.