The strangeness of this situation continued to bother me. I saw no reason to suspect Levi. Most importantly, this was his organization. And if there was anyone who should be suspected of having a ulterior motive, it would fairly be me.

And that was right — I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to take the Boundless Wave Clan for myself.

Just as Levi had a hidden agenda to search for this inconspicuous Peter Pan and take him for himself.

’Who would have thought that the passing statement White Feather made as a rumored tale was actually true.’

At the same time, I was thinking about how things would progress from here. I didn’t want to question Levi any further; it was already strange enough. But I at least hoped that he had some plans to complete the job in order to receive payment from the Boundless Wave Clan.

I knew right now he was hoping that they’d have taken tumultuous damage, but there was nowhere I could see that happening, what with those esoteric signature skills that White Feather had.

She was a martial artist, and whether it was originally her or her summon — or the two of them together — she was now nothing short of transcendental, taking those skills to another level.

She had the strength, and she had the essence. She was currently siphoning quite a handful from me as we spoke, and while I wanted to check on her with the mental link, I restrained myself. Simply because I was also curious to see for myself how she would turn out.

To see how strong she was.

Nightyell was mended in time — in fact, more than enough time. Although her flight was not quite stable, Gilbert did not have much difficulty flying us back to the Boundless Wave Island, while Tristan and Nisha were to take care of the other goods.

Levi, Gilbert, Kassie, and I touched down on the soil of the Boundless Wave Island.

From our landing point, we could sense a grim massacre ahead.

Levi’s expression hardened darkly.

"Oh, this can’t be good."

I glanced at him and stared forward.

"I agree."

Gilbert, meanwhile, managed to stay away from Kassie and me as much as he could afford to.

’No, really, what did Kassie do to him?’

I manifested the Frostfang and carefully observed all the blood-stained bodies that littered the floor as we walked deeper into the island. The town was eerily silent, with more bodies scattered across the ground.

Levi also looked around with a small smile staining his face. It was slightly difficult to tell what he was thinking with that smile.

We finally approached the entrance gate and could hear the ferocious cacophony of battle that had broken out in the Clan building.

For a moment Levi paused, scratching the back of his neck and looking at the situation inside the Boundless Wave Clan with a weary look on his face.

I glanced at him.

"You must be tired after that intense battle. How about you let Kassie and me handle this?"

He shifted his gaze to me and replied lazily.

"Really? Can I do that? Then I’ll be leaving it to you."

He left no space for me to reply and turned back, walking to settle down beneath a ship, leaving Gilbert, Kassie, and me standing there.

Gilbert and I made eye contact. Then he nervously glanced at Kassie.

"I-I w-will be preparing the ship for departure."

He uttered this and hurried away before I could even respond.

I was left staring at him in disbelief.

’What departure?’

I released a sigh and walked forward, Kassie following behind me.

I entered the main Clan gate, which had been yanked open, blood stains smeared across the wide door. My expression darkened as I stepped inside. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And a trail of smoldering flames began to follow my prints.

"Be careful. Combat is not about destroying everything. You need to be able to preserve your environment and cause only minimal damage — especially when you will bear the consequences."

I quickly gave her a sharp glare.

"Tell that to Maggie, not me!"

She shook her head.

"I could never reason with that religious witch."

Afterward, her helmet appeared over her head, completely sealing her face and rendering her silent.

She nodded once, and then I barely perceived her movement. It was as if she simply vanished. Her figure appeared high in the sky, closing a wide chasm of distance in a single leap. She landed somewhere within the cacophony.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled.

’First, I have to locate White Feather.’

Now that I was here, I finally deemed it necessary to use the link, and I called for her attention mentally. However, there was no response. I tried again, there was still no response.

While I was about to call her once more, a soldier of the Crystal Deep Clan came bearing his sword in a reckless swing at me. I simply cast him a contemptuous look and shifted to the side, letting his wide swing slide past me.

The pommel of my sword moved with minimal effort, and I slammed it against his temple, causing him to drop.

’He can’t be dead from that, right?’

I studied his still body with uneasy concern and shook my head.

’Is this the quality of men in the Waterlands?’

Another one was coming. He stepped forward with commendable footwork and launched an upward strike toward me, but I appeared beside him in an instant and slid my blade into his neck with a lethargic movement.

Following him, more of them came in quick succession, but I simply slashed my sword in different directions, tearing their torsos before their eyes could even catch my movements.

I thought about it.

’Are they slowpokes? Fool, you should backstep when you see something you can’t react to. Did you skip fundamental class?’

Even I, who didn’t have fundamental class training, knew that much.

They kept falling to the sides as they ran toward me, landing with heavy, wet thuds on the ground. I merely walked forward, not even deeming it necessary to use my attributes yet.

It was getting easier to see their movements and predict their patterns of attack, which was why I simply swung in the direction I anticipated and took them down with what must have looked like unfair speed.

[Strategic Apex has leveled up]

’Oh? Amusing.’