With those words spoken aloud for everyone present to hear, they all gasped in surprise while looking at him in shock and horror.
Peng Li-Yue stared at him with wide eyes as her face turned red instantly due to embarrassment while gasping audibly through gritted teeth as she glared angrily at him, wishing that she could kill him right now.
"Savage!" She exclaimed loudly as she threw a punch towards Leo's face in hopes of breaking his skull but missed since he simply dodged her strike with ease by stepping sideways.
"You miss." He said nonchalantly while dodging another attack coming from the girl with no effort whatsoever before countering by smacking the back of her neck using his elbow which made her stumble forward onto the ground.
Leo let out a sigh as the fight ended. He looked at his hand that was already healed by Nanites before looking down at what he did.
'Ah, this is bad.'
He should leave this place immediately.
'I am getting too caught up in the moment and act like I usually did in the game.'
After realizing what he did, he walked out of the room. Outside, Nabi was standing there with her hands crossed below her chest while smiling at him.
"Please leave the rest to us. Thank you for not killing them." The owner said as she bowed respectfully. "We will definitely compensate for this again. May I ask for your name?"
"Just call me Leo. And no worries. I won't get serious or kill unless I have a job. As a mercenary, killing rude people will only tarnish our reputation."
"Mercenary? Forgive me ignorance, but what do mercenaries do?"
"They serve as soldiers, guides, bodyguards... Basically anything related to combat and war. We will side with whoever has the highest bid."
"I see..." She nodded at him before bowing again. "Then please come here again if you wish to eat. Our hospitality will be the best for you."
"I will definitely come again. I love your meat." He replied with a smile before leaving the restaurant and went on his way toward the city.
'That was a mess.'
Now, he lost his appetite and his energy was wasted dealing with that spoiled young girl.
'I only joked about her inviting me to bed because she's already 22 years old. But I guess all young people in this world are so sheltered that such a joke can make them beet red. And they are also sensitive. Just ignoring them a bit makes them fly at me with their swords.'
While he was walking down the street while shaking his head, a sudden notification rang in his ear.
[You have a call.]
"Hmm?"
Taking out his small Coco communication device, he put it on his ear and heard a voice he was familiar with.
"Leader, I've completed my task and managed to secure all materials for the base and double our fund. Chiaki is currently loading everything into storage rings."
"Good job, Jessica. Can you find an inn for us to stay for the night while you're at it? And instruct both Jack and Shui to promote our mercenary group in various bars. There will be many martial artists drinking there and our group will become popular quickly by doing that."
"Understood."
As soon as the call ended, Leo realized something important.
'If I am being honest... I didn't think that I was that strong in this world. But I guess my estimation is wrong. I know my subordinates are super strong, but I guess I am also REALLY strong in this world.'
He called out his status window and looked at it.
[Status Window]
Individual name: Leo
Status: Healthy.
Nanites: 99%
The battle and regeneration earlier only took 1% or even less of the Nanites in his body. And as long as there was 1% left, they could recover like cells, including repairing his body and healing any wound inflicted on him.
He could even rip his arm off and reattach it in a few minutes without feeling anything like he was an undead.
'Now, the real question is... How can we secure our second job? Should I take a visit to Hao Clan or Beggar Sect? If I pay them, they would be willing to spread our name throughout the area easily.'
Although he had many plans in mind, there was one thing that he was certain of...
'I am looking forward to our first client in this city.'
***
Peng Li-Yue sat quietly inside the carriage as it went back to Peng Clan's manor in silence while trembling with fear and anxiety from what she just experienced earlier. The guards, whose tip of their noses were cut, looked at her worriedly as they saw how pale she was.
"Young Miss..." One of them called out hesitantly, wondering what happened back then. "Do you need anything?"
However, no answer came from her at all. Peng Li-Yue didn't even bother to look at him. She simply kept staring down at her lap with her teeth gritted tightly together and her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white from rage.
Peng Li-Yue blushed a little bit before clenching her hands even tighter than before while thinking about the person she met earlier that day.
'The humiliation!'
That man's teasing made her feel extremely humiliated which led her to rush there today in order to get revenge by punching him. She wanted to avenge her honor as an esteemed daughter of Peng Clan's Head, a woman who came from one of the 5 Great Murim Clans. Unfortunately...
'I can't... Can I even call myself as part of the Peng Clan like this? I ran away from home with just two guards because I don't want to get married. Father is angry at me for my selfishness, but I couldn't bring myself to get married with someone who I don't love. Not with those ugly pigs.'
Because of that, she couldn't face them anymore. And now, she had to swallow her pride and return home in defeat after losing to a savage like him. It was humiliating.
However, there was something else that bothered her.
'What is that man's deal? Is he not afraid of our family?'
She pondered silently while recalling how effortlessly he defeated her and two men who were trained to be elite guards.
'He's too strong to be just a mere martial artist. Perhaps he's actually one of those hidden masters mentioned in stories?'
After thinking for a moment, she shook her head. If that was correct, then she shouldn't have provoked him like that in the first place. She should've avoided him instead because those kinds of people never tolerated those who provoked them.
And besides, even if he was a hidden master, how could she not have heard of him?
In the end, she decided that she would take the humiliation and used it as motivation for herself. After all, Peng Li-Yue really wanted to get stronger and become more powerful so that she could defend herself better. She wanted to prove herself that she wasn't just a spoiled brat anymore.
Her arrogance earlier came from her anger and frustration toward her current situation. It was not because she didn't recognize his strength, but because of how inferior she felt when compared to him who was clearly more superior than her.
"Young Miss?"
"It's nothing." She answered shortly.
Before long, the carriage arrived at Peng Clan Manor. It stopped and Peng Li-Yue stepped out. When her feet just touched the ground...
"Li-Yue."
She heard a familiar voice.
"Father... And mother?"
Turning around, she found herself facing a man sitting on a wheelchair. Beside him stood a beautiful woman dressed in expensive robes, her face filled with concern as she stared at her daughter.
"We need to talk." The man, Peng Sheng, said firmly with narrowed eyes, "Follow me."
Peng Li-Yue knew that there was no way to avoid this conversation, so she complied obediently without saying anything else. Without a doubt, her father wouldn't let her run away now.
'Is this Karma?' She thought as she disappeared into the building with her father and mother. 'Someone, please take me away from here'