Although the bronze plaque of the Golden Palm Trading Company at the door instinctively disgusted these tax collectors, their duty made it impossible for them to ignore such an anomaly. Moreover, their futures were all staked on the company—whether regarding the path of the Transcendent or their savings, they were united in prosperity and adversity.

However, before they could form a battle line and slowly approach...

BOOM!

A loud explosion erupted, and flames shot into the sky.

A large hole was blasted into the pristine white marble walls of the Golden Palm Trading Company's auction house.

Three agile figures burst out, leaping onto the nearby buildings with just a few bounds, like monkeys.

By the bright moonlight and nearby lights, Ron and his companions could see that the three figures were three eerie clowns.

They were dressed in ridiculous clown costumes, wearing colorful wigs, and their faces were painted with thick layers of makeup.

Especially noticeable were a red nose, a blood-red mouth stretched to the earlobes, and bloodstains splattered on their bodies.

This almost human, yet not human appearance instantly triggered The Uncanny Valley.

It stripped them of any normal clown's sense of humor and instead sent shivers down one's spine.

One was juggling knives, another was tossing several red spherical bombs.

The one in the lead held up a Nautical Chart, admiring it carefully under the Moon for a while, revealing an exaggerated smile that a normal human could never achieve.

"Heh heh heh, the defenses of International Port are just so-so. The Intelligence bought from the black market was correct; I got the treasure map of Silvergold Island here without any effort. All the treasures on Silvergold Island are mine now!"

Obviously, a city being too free and too vibrant wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Even though many insiders and covert spies had quietly disappeared in this International Port, it still hadn't completely dissuaded some from wishful thinking, especially the self-confident Mid-Sequence Transcendents.

Black market Intelligence?

"It's intruders! Open fire!"

They instantly realized that the opponent's actions seemed far from impromptu, and the source of Intelligence leading them here was also highly dubious. But now was not the time to dwell on such matters.

As the armed personnel of the port authority closest to this location, Ron decisively ordered an attack.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Trails of fire crisscrossed the night sky, enveloping the three clowns.

But the excessive distance and the upward angle of fire meant the bullets posed little threat to the strange clowns.

They dodged the gunfire on the rooftops as if they were performing in a "knife-dodging" circus act, effortlessly evading all the bullets.

"Heh heh heh... How boring, so boring. Is this all you've got?"

The shrill laughter pierced the night, as if mocking the guards for their weakness and incompetence.

Meanwhile, they kept throwing red bombs, setting off severe explosions in the nearby buildings.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Flames and smoke swept up debris and wood splinters into the sky.

At this time, the guards responsible for the auction house's vault, led by the Treasure Guardian James—who had once fought Bruh—also chased out. They were ash-covered, blood-stained, and their faces were extremely grim.

"Be careful! They've broken my [Minotaur's Key], which I use to guard the vault! The clown in the lead has an ability called [Clown's Trickery], which easily broke through my power's upper limit and unlocked the Mysticism lock. This person must be the leader of the Clown Pirate Group, a Third Order Transcendent, Bone Gobble Joker Klarus Gold!"

The core ability of a Treasure Guardian at the Second Order was [Minotaur's Key]. It ensured that they were the Mysticism-based lock of the vault; no one could take a single Gold Coin from inside without knocking them down first. The more valuable the vault, the stronger the power the Treasure Guardian could exert.

At this moment, however, James, under Class suppression, was overcome by the clown's lock-picking ability, and the treasure map he guarded was smoothly stolen.

"Worthless! All of you are boringly worthless! This is a little gift from the clown; please accept it. Everyone should be as happy as I am! Heh heh heh..."

In the midst of unintelligible laughter, Bone Gobble Joker Klarus Gold raised his hand and scattered beautifully wrapped gift boxes all around.

"Get out of the way!"

Some were too slow to dodge and were instantly ensnared by Fire Snakes emerging from the gift boxes; they had just enough time to scream before being rapidly incinerated to ashes.

Among them were Remit People and the tax audit team from Pioneer Company.

Then the Fire Snakes spread toward nearby buildings, igniting a raging inferno.

Chaos at the port began to spread in tandem.

Bone Gobble Joker Koraskin clearly didn't take International Port seriously at all. According to Intelligence reports, ever since the port opened, it had achieved no noteworthy victories, the lone exception being the repulse of the Barbary Pirates when the Allied Army "happened to be around."

Power and fortune, power and fortune... though this world of gain values connections, it also demands ruthlessness! Lacking either power or prosperity, one is doomed to a harsh fall.

"The port is under attack?"

"It seems like someone hit the Golden Palm auction house."

"Shouldn't we also...?"

Nearby, some naturally chaotic, ambitious figures couldn't help but feel tempted by the scene unfolding. While they might lack the courage to act alone, once someone took the lead, kicking off a massive "zero-cost acquisition" spree wasn't out of the question.

If foreign invaders wanted to destroy International Port, a matter of life and livelihood, they would certainly unite in common cause. But the threat of a mere clown was clearly not severe enough; to them, the weaker the official administrators, the better. They yearned for a completely unregulated free market, where they could use any unscrupulous means to rake in the most illicit profits.

Who doesn't love to loot during a fire?

But what they didn't know was that good fighters often go unnoticed.

The Golden Law monitored every corner; under normal circumstances, most problems were prevented before they could even arise, discreetly resolved before others noticed the danger.

A renowned physician once remarked that his eldest brother was the best in medicine, his second brother was next, and he himself was the least skilled.

Confused, people asked, "If your medical skill isn't the highest, why are you the most famous?"

The physician answered, "My eldest brother specializes in treating 'pre-illness'—conditions before they manifest. He often controls and eradicates the source of an illness at its very onset, so his work is not widely known. My second brother excels at treating illnesses in their early stages. Fewer people pay attention to this, so he is also not widely known. As for myself, the patients I treat usually present with fully developed, complex, and difficult diseases. These cases draw much attention from those around, so naturally, my reputation has become the greatest."

The Remit People only had themselves to blame for conducting too many unsavory dealings. The auction house was built with large quantities of Law-Breaking Stones that could shield against the Law Network and various transcendent abilities, becoming a blind spot in the Golden Law's surveillance.

It wasn't until the upheaval commenced that the alarms were triggered.

The three robbers had just landed on the main street when they were immediately detected by the Law, drawing the true defense forces.

A streak of gold light shot across the sky, materializing into Catherine's incomparably beautiful face. Her golden hair whirled about wildly, and her voice, though melodious yet filled with wrath, could be heard across most of the city:

"Georgetown is now in a state of martial law. All unrelated personnel, please stay indoors. All non-combat employees of the company, stand down and evacuate the nearby area. Storm Cloak, seal off the harbor district. Captains of the Privateer Fleet, deploy your Marines to stabilize the city..."

Orders were methodically issued one after the other.

The entire port city came alive like an awakened beast, or like a precision machine, immediately kicking into high gear.

The mood shifted entirely.

Simultaneously, facing the three unyielding clowns, Catherine barked an order:

"Mithril Guardian, summon!"

CLANG—!

Silver-white Divine Light exploded in the sky above the city. With a sound like thundering gold and iron clashing, six resplendent, giant figures descended with a blast of air, hurtling toward the three clowns.

"You scum dare to cause trouble in my Dragon Nest! To raise money to support the grand construction of Torrent Fortress, I've just developed... the sixth phase of premium ocean-view properties in the harbor district! You all deserve to die a thousand deaths!"