This trading square was split down the middle:

Half sat within the centaur settlement—buzzing with voices and heated bargaining.

The other half sprawled across open grasslands with scattered folks, mostly spell-slingers keeping their identities under wraps.

Carlos's getup didn't raise any eyebrows in this part of the district where everyone was bundled up tight—totally normal.

He posted up at a small stall near the two Shadow Hammer Servants, playing the part of a browsing customer, picking through the merchandise.

Suddenly, a pitch-black fragment caught his eye.

If he wasn't seeing things, this was exactly what he'd been hunting for from those ruins, complete with patterns that were actually ancient script.

"See something you fancy?

Buy it quick if you want it—don't waste my time."

The stall owner was a black-robed figure with a seriously pissy attitude.

To dig up this batch of goods, he'd lost a precious piece of spirit gear.

He'd figured on making bank, but hardly anyone gave a damn, which only made him more cranky.

Bunch of blind idiots!

This masked guy had been poking around for several minutes, making the black-robed figure figure him for another tire-kicker.

Hearing this,

Carlos thought: What a charming fellow.

With a mental command, a towering black shadow materialized as powerful Dark Purple Force Field spread out, wrapping around the black-robed figure like a vice.

The black-robed figure's heart sank. The crushing pressure from all sides locked him down so tight he couldn't even blink.

Centaurs! What the hell, centaurs!

He screamed internally—he'd paid his entrance fees! Getting jumped in broad daylight with everyone watching, why weren't they stepping in!

But the black-robed figure's hopes were about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Centaur guards responsible for keeping the peace here started to move in.

But spotting Carlos, they suddenly developed selective blindness and wandered off elsewhere.

'You... centaurs... you bastards... I'll...'

The black-robed figure was livid and baffled.

What's to stop others from pulling the same stunt? Weren't they worried about losing their precious trade fair?

The centaurs had thought of that,

But you don't mess with a half-elf emissary.

Besides, if they couldn't control half-elves, couldn't they at least keep these small-timers in line?

Carlos swept everything from the stall into his storage space while the black-robed figure dangled behind him, suspended by Purple Vortex's Dark Purple Force Field.

'Damn—drew too much attention.'

The centaurs ignoring Carlos's little power play didn't go unnoticed.

Combined with Purple Vortex effortlessly nabbing the black-robed figure,

These low-level spell-slingers felt the fear creeping in.

Realizing the massive gap between them and this guy, they completely lost any fight they might have had.

Spell-slingers farther out packed up and bolted.

Those nearby kept their heads down and mouths shut, praying their wares wouldn't catch this rule-breaking masked maniac's attention.

As for those two Shadow Hammer Servants, they barely glanced over. Realizing this wasn't their target, they turned back to their search without so much as a twitch.

"Right—these Shadow Servants are about as emotional as a brick wall."

So,

These two Shadow Hammer Servants kept prowling through the trading area, their dead-fish stares sweeping over everyone and pissing off plenty of folks.

But everyone was too spooked by that weird aura to do anything about it.

The major merchant guilds weren't scared of these Shadow Hammer Servants, but some among them knew exactly what they were dealing with.

Shadow Hall wasn't the kind of outfit you wanted to poke with a stick—better to mind your own business. Looking was free, after all.

Behind the Shadow Hammer Servants, Carlos openly tailed them with Purple Vortex in tow, getting people wondering just who the hell this masked guy was.

"Weird, who is that masked freak?"

"Is he planning to jump some Shadow Hall goons?"

"Watch it—that skeleton monster feels wrong on every level. I... I've only felt power like that from city-state commanders..."

"Holy shit!"

Among them, a black-robed figure carefully tucked herself into the crowd, bright eyes behind her mask studying Purple Vortex with keen interest.

...

"What the hell are these two Shadow Hammer Servants after?"

Wandering around constantly, like they were hunting for something or someone.

After Purple Vortex showed up, Carlos quit bothering with the sneaky act.

If these two Shadow Hammer Servants didn't produce results soon, he'd handle things the direct way.

...

Suddenly, both Shadow Hammer Servants snapped their attention toward one spot, their massive hammers somehow now gripped in their hands.

"Hold it right there!"

The hammers pointed at a black-robed figure wrapped up tighter than a mummy, even sporting a seamless face mask that showed no eyes.

Such getups weren't weird around here initially—black-robed figures were a dime a dozen, hiding identities for safety was standard operating procedure.

But being wrapped up so completely without showing even a hint of skin was pretty damn rare.

Judging by the build, not very tall, probably an outsider rather than a centaur.

The two Shadow Hammer Servants closed in with hammers raised.

The black-robed figure kept backing away, but those retreating steps were all wrong, like someone just learning to walk—totally unnatural.

Shadow Hall's reputation for stirring up trouble was legendary. Before anyone figured out what was going down, most of the watching spell-slingers decided to play it safe and look the other way.

The centaurs felt the same. Over the years as the old chieftain got more decrepit, their grip on things had gotten a lot shakier.

"Strip off that robe!"

The Shadow Hammer Servants barked coldly, moving to rip the black-robed figure's outer layer clean off.

The black-robed figure panicked internally. Gritting her teeth with no other options, she bolted and actually ran straight toward Carlos.

Despite her clumsy walking, her movements were smooth and surprisingly quick.

The Shadow Hammer Servants didn't react fast enough before the black-robed figure reached Carlos, looking up:

"Lord Valois, please help me."

Her voice was like a cool spring breeze and sweet as chiming bells.

"Well, well? You know who I am?"

Carlos's eyes narrowed. Though Ginya had announced his name when the centaurs rolled out the welcome mat, word shouldn't have traveled that fast.

"I recognize..."

Just then,

The two Shadow Hammer Servants wheeled around, their stares drilling into Purple Vortex with serious wariness.

"Where shadows reign, light flees!

You must return to shadow's embrace!"

Supposedly threatening the black-robed figure, but really name-dropping Shadow Hall to try and make Carlos back down and butt out.

"Since when does Shadow Hall have the balls to mess around in the northern territories?"

His tone could have frozen hell over.

Before he finished talking, overwhelming Dark Purple Force Field swept over them, instantly swallowing both Shadow Hammer Servants whole.

Black patterns across their skulls erupted as they roared their throats raw, but it was useless.

Facing that terrifying Dark Purple Force Field, they couldn't budge an inch, frozen like bugs in amber!

"Holy hell! Those are Shadow Hall's hammer jockeys!"

"My gut was right—that skeleton monster is off the charts!"

The watching spell-slingers eyed Purple Vortex with growing dread and fear, quietly backing away to give the area a wide berth.

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