Before, the situation evolved too fast and he lost his rationality. After all, Avin's power was beyond their imagination. His body screamed out danger signals and he wanted Avin dead! He was a Perception Realm combatant, and he was watching the battle carefully. With his senses fully deployed, he could sense the tiniest openings and capitalize them. The thirty people were really distractions for the true killing blade, him and the vice-captain! But once the Third Hand was annihilated, and with ease at that, the captain was startled back to reality. All the sudden, the captain lost confidence in his massive body that could bend metal. It seemed so fragile in front of Avin. Therefore, Captain Murvin abandoned the idea of fighting and opted to use a hostage instead.
His fingers dug into Freon's skin as he tightened his grip. Freon was already unconscious and half-dead, barely alive from the constant attendance of the physicians. There was no response from him, even with the captain squeezing his throat. With a single thought, the captain could kill Freon! He smiled as he regained control of the situation, believing that Avin would capitulate. The simple fact that Avin came all this way to save Freon showed that. If Avin was smart, then he would realize the circumstances and surrender. That way, at least they could show something for their failures to the Third Shadow! Captain Murvin turned to face Avin, expecting to see his despairing expression, but all he saw was… indifference.
"Are those your final words?" Avin spoke calmly.
The smile on the captain's face froze. "What?"
"I'm asking if you're done. You haven't answered my questions yet."
"Don't try to bluff us!" the captain doubled down as a cold sweat broke out across his body. "We have a hostage here! If you don't want us to kill him, then you better surrender like a dog."
"Hostage?" Protector Avin sneered. "If we're talking about hostages, then I also have one."
"What?" the man was dumbfounded.
"Take a look at your man."
Captain Murvin realized that his vice-captain stopped talking. He turned his head stiffly to see… Vice-captain Uldat frozen solid like a stone sculpture on display. His expression was perfectly preserved, depicting unspeakable horror. A Perception Realm could not resist at all! The captain felt a chill travel down his spine. When did Avin use a spell? Why had he not seen it? His senses were already pushed to the limit, focusing his entire Martial Perception on Avin. Even the slightest twitch would be captured by his senses. However, the speed of Avin's casting was beyond his understanding. Although it was farfetched to be considered truly instant, for simple spells, Avin could cast them nearly instantly! The Magic Circle could blink in and out of existence, faster than the captain could see!
"Now, if you don't want your…" Avin started but stopped himself when the captain began laughing hysterically.
"Naïve! Too naïve! If you think I care about any of my subordinates, then you're sorely mistaken. We're not the type of group you can extort like this."
"I see," the man narrowed his eyes and understood. With a thought, the vice-captain burst into a billion pieces, turning into shrapnel. Since he was frozen solid, there was no blood and gore. He simply shattered, mingling in with the debris around them. Like that, Vice-captain Uldat of the Third Hand was killed! Avin continued, "It was my mistake to try such a roundabout tactic. I should have just dealt with you directly."
"Don't make me repeat myself. What can you do? You move a finger against me, and I'll kill him!"
Avin started walking toward the captain without a care in the world. The captain instinctively wanted to step back, to maintain that comfortable distance. As long as Avin did not intrude on it, Captain Murvin felt he could respond to any threat in time. With Freon in his grasp, an instant was enough to kill him. This distance was necessary to force Avin into surrendering! However, he could not move back. His legs were stuck! Fear! Fear was overriding his body's commands, preventing him from taking that step. That was natural though. Avin was an unfathomable monster, far stronger than anyone or anything he had ever seen. It had transcended the likes of Sir Winstin, making the strongest knight a child in comparison. Against the unknown, even the most battle-hardened of warriors would feel trepidation and this captain was no exception.
His muscles bulged, his veins pulsed, and he gritted his teeth. Captain Murvin mustered all his willpower, but it was not enough! Every step Avin took, the pressure he exerted increased by two-fold. The level of suppression on Murvin was reaching unimaginable levels with every second! Avin's eyes were whirlwinds that threatened to destroy the captain's sanity. His fear continued to grow without limit as Avin appeared like a towering giant, stretching toward the skies! With one hand, he could flatten mountains! With the other, he could split oceans! His might was invincible! Although it was merely an illusion, who could say that Avin could not do these things? No one knew, and that thought terrified the captain. Who could resist him? What a joke! That was right… This was nothing more than a joke. A sick dream. He must be dreaming…
By the time Avin was standing within arm's reach, the captain's mind was already on the verge of breaking. Because Avin's aura could already encompass the capital city in a cacophony of fear, it was easy to channel it onto one person. Captain Murvin was facing the full strength of a Blue Depth Core singlehandedly! That level of pressure was truly beyond imagination. It was like a thousand oceans crushed his body, mind, and soul to pieces. No matter how well trained he was, ultimately, his mind was far from sufficient. This was indeed the most straightforward method that Avin could use. He won without making a single move!
"Now then, shall we try this again? Who are you, who is your backer, and why are they doing this?"
Captain Murvin's eyes were dull and listless, almost in a trance, as he said in fragments, "Third Hand, ordered by the Third Shadow. Wanting to enslave and sell…"
"Third Shadow?" Avin frowned. "You mean the Whispering Shadow?"
Even though Avin secluded himself from the world to raise the Adnire Family in secret, he was not ignorant. He knew that the Whispering Shadow was a goliath in the underground world, close to the apex of power in the world. Besides the three great civilizations, few organizations could be its match! Although Avin could suppress the Third Hand by himself, it was nothing much. The true power of the Whispering Shadow was its vast connections, sprawling across the Alzar Kingdom and Zino Kingdom! Who knew how many allies they had under their banner? It was unthinkable. Avin might be strong, but was he invincible? Absolutely not. He had limits as well, as shown when he was nearly beaten earlier in the fight at Freon's home. The fact that the Whispering Shadow was involved became infinitely more complicated.
While Avin's attention was drawn, Captain Murvin bit his lip right down to the root, spewing blood everywhere. The tremendous pain brought him back to his senses. Roaring in rage and shame, the man decided to just kill Freon! He could not stand this humiliation! Crush! His arm was already thicker than Freon's legs. Just how much power resided in them? His muscles bulged and burst with enormous strength to directly destroy Freon's neck! Everything happened too fast for anyone to react. But just as the captain was about to celebrate this small victory, the impossible happened yet again. His hand tried killing Freon, but like a solid wall, he found that Freon's throat was impossibly tough! He could not kill him! In fact, long before the captain took Freon hostage, this was done by Avin. He could triple-cast magic, so was it so unexpected? The entire idea of a hostage was made a joke long ago!
"You can join your friends in the afterlife," Avin snorted.
With a wave of his hand, a wind scythe emerged, slicing through the captain's body through the middle. The two sides slumped as the glimmer of life disappeared. Captain Murvin of the Third Hand was killed! And just like that, the Third Hand was annihilated by Avin's hand alone. How pitiful was the Whispering Shadow to anger three of the most powerful beings in the human world? The Sword King Sin, who betrayed and destroyed the First Hand. Lord Wenmord, who betrayed and led the Second Hand to destruction. Protector Avin, who suppressed and annihilated the Third Hand… Remember, the events in both cities, Algard and Firecast, were happening simultaneously. In a handful of hours, the Whispering Shadow lost a massive portion of their strength. If the leaders learned of this, they would be coughing blood for months! They really dug themselves too deep a hole!