Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Warrior women continuously emerged from the various passageways, followed by the sound of the ground shaking.
"That sound, it's that brute." Aisha reacted immediately upon hearing the sound, which indicated her disdain for Phryne Jamil of the Ishtar Familia.
Aisha's reaction was enough to show her dislike for Phryne Jamil.
It's worth noting that Aisha is not one to casually nickname others, yet now she straightforwardly used a nickname.
"Ugly freak, you actually dared to speak! And how could someone as beautiful as me have such a nickname?"
"It's your misfortune to encounter me here; I'll just leave you behind." Aisha's words evidently angered the approaching figure, whose coarse and angry tone could already be heard.
"Phryne, don't create unnecessary trouble."
"Our target is the leader of the Hestia Familia!" The coarse voice had barely finished when another voice followed closely. However, this attempt to direct the conversation clearly only angered the other party further.
"Are you teaching me how to do my job!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the large figure of the ugly freak appeared in front of Aston and Ais, followed by Ishtar Familia's Level 3 adventurer Aisha Belka and other adventurers.
The two were surrounded by a large group of warrior women.
"With such a big formation surrounding me, and looking ready to start a fight at any moment, may I take it that this is Ishtar's doing?" Although surrounded, Aston was completely calm, casually glancing around, his gaze resting on a figure cloaked in a hood, smiling as he spoke.
Without thinking, Aston knew this person was likely the target, the foxy lady Haruhime, known for her Uchide no Kozuchi skill.
"What are you looking at!" Noticing that Aston was ignoring her to look at Haruhime, Phryne immediately became furious.
Aisha also noticed this and subtly shielded Haruhime behind her.
"Answer my question." Aston didn't respond but instead asked again for confirmation.
"Ah, it's indeed Ishtar-sama's will. Ishtar-sama has ordered us to capture you."
"However, I've decided, before taking you back, I want to have a good taste of you. Feel honored." Faced with Aston's continuous disregard, Phryne's rage reached its peak, her eyes blazing with anger as she spoke, stepping towards Aston with a look of certainty, not taking him seriously at all.
Hearing this, Aston, who originally wanted to say more and gather more statements as evidence, couldn't hold back any longer.
With a mere thought, Aston's figure instantly vanished.
Aston's disappearance shocked everyone present, but soon they located him again. Seeing Aston's current position caused the pupils of the Ishtar Familia members to shrink.
"Phryne, be careful!" people from the Ishtar Familia shouted loudly.
"Hm?" Phryne was still searching for Aston's figure when she heard the warning from her people, not immediately realizing what was happening.
By the time Phryne understood her companions' reactions, it was already too late.
A sharp presence came from above her head, Phryne felt a pain throughout her body, and then she lost consciousness.
With this strike, Aston used Instant Kill, directly killing Phryne with one blow, and Phryne's body lightly fell to the ground.
Aston, in front of everyone, instantly killed a Level 5 first-class adventurer.
The entire area fell into a moment of silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as everyone stared in shock at Phryne, lying on the ground with a bloodied face, uncertain of life or death, and Aston standing beside her.
A few seconds later, people began to regain their senses, staring at Aston in horror.
"It's a lie, right? The captain is a Level 5 first-class adventurer and got instantly killed!"
"Retreat!" Aisha was also shocked by the scene, quickly recovering and decisively issuing a retreat order.
Among the battle women who came this time, there were no Level 4s, and aside from Phryne, she was the strongest, the primary decision-maker.
Aisha immediately understood what this scene meant.
It meant that all of them together couldn't possibly be a match for Aston.
Being able to instantly kill Phryne, his strength was definitely that of a top-tier Level 6, perhaps even Level 7.
With such power, even if Haruhime could increase everyone's level by one, they would not stand a chance.
Clearly, the plan to kidnap him was utterly unfeasible.
The situation now called for an immediate retreat to minimize casualties.
However, it was clear that Aisha and her companions wanted to retreat, but Aston wouldn't give them the chance.
Aston, standing beside Phryne, began to shimmer with lightning. In the next moment, he disappeared from everyone's sight...
The entire cave was instantly filled with lightning. A lightning figure moved rapidly through the cave, and with every flash, several members of the Ishtar Familia were seen falling to the ground, emitting black smoke.
The speed was so fast that Aisha couldn't catch a glimpse of Aston's figure. In just a few seconds, all Ishtar Familia members were left unconscious, emitting black smoke.
Only Aisha and Haruhime were unharmed.
This was intentionally done by Aston.
Haruhime was the person Aston wanted to win over, and Aisha was spared because of her care for Haruhime.
"What do you mean by this!" Holding her large knife, Aisha frowned and questioned Aston.
"Considering you've been taking care of Haruhime, I'll spare you this time."
"I'll be taking Haruhime with me."
"Everyone here, except for that toad, is not dead," Aston replied with a light smile.
Looking at Aston, Aisha's pupils shrank again.
Somehow, Haruhime, whom she had been protecting, was now standing beside Aston, holding his hand, trembling and daring not to move.
"What do you mean!" Regaining her senses, Aisha questioned Aston.
However, Aston had no interest in further discussion with Aisha. After signaling Ais, he took the non-resistant Haruhime and left the scene, leaving Aisha with a fluctuating expression.
"The Ishtar Familia is finished!" Looking at her companions on the ground and the uncertain fate of Phryne, Aisha gritted her teeth and muttered softly.
On the other hand, after leaving with Haruhime and Ais, Aston took out a magical communication device.
"Lili, Eina, it's time to act. Head to the Pleasure District with Hestia and take down the Ishtar Familia!"
"Understood, Aston-sama!"
"Understood, Aston!"
"Ah, sir, may I ask why you did not attack me?" Haruhime, being led by the hand by Aston, mustered her courage and asked.
"You're Mikoto's friend, so I won't harm you."
"Besides, the reason I drew you all out was specifically for you," Aston, playing with a crystal ball that recorded the scene, said cheerfully.
For Aston, it didn't matter who made the first move, as long as it could be proven that the Ishtar Familia was the one stirring up trouble, not him.