While Alex complained about Marla in his mind, the lead Edgar protector and strongest of the bunch, Drew, watched the knights and Hal closely then he turned his attention to the defeated assailants,

A few of them were in the Peak stage of the Cosmic Pearl realm and it was how they had managed to survive the onslaught and yet for some reason, they could not even call upon a single unit of that strength.

The brutal manner in which their comrades had been killed had completely shattered their spirit.

He turned to the Knights again.

Amazing!

He could not help but comment as he realized that strength was not the only thing the Blood knights had.

The pressure they released also seemed to have an advanced effect of intimidation, which essentially meant that, it did not matter what stage they were,

In the Cosmic Pearl Realm, they had no rival.

He would have to choose his words correctly.

That said, there was not much he could think to talk to then about.

He did have a question though,

"Um, so what happens to us now?" He asked the Knight closest to him, taking care not to look at Hal.

The fact that Hal was involved with this men, not to mention that they served him was definitely eyebrow raising but it was something he would rather not think about here.

Getting the rest of the scions out of the forest was most important at the moment and he would prefer not to jeopardize that by speaking of such dangerous things.

Alas...

*Bam!*

"You've got some nerve"

...he still received a fist to his face which tossed him right into his comrades.

They tried to stop his motion by supporting him but,

*Wham*

The force that had knocked him back was too strong for them to stop.

Now, Drew could understand Alex's grievances.

What had he done wrong?

Was it a crime to ask a question now?

"With my Master here, how could you ask me what happens to you now? Obviously, it's his decision" Said the Knight that had struck him.

Drew's eyes widened,

"That was my offense?" He growled and stretched his hand as he began to condense Cosmic Energy to blast the Knight with.

"So what if you're strong, I'll still blast you"

The Knight sneered,

"Bring it on"

And that was exactly what Drew did as he let loose his Cosmic Attack.

To hell with the Consequences!

He would not take such blatant disregard sitting down.

So what if he died (which was very likely considering the prowess of the Blood Knights), if he did not defend his honor, who would respect him even if he survived.

The Blood Knight began to protect himself with Cosmic Energy when Hal spoke up,

"That's enough"

He swung his hand casually and his Cosmic Attack dispelled of the fully charged one Drew had released.

Drew was not surprised by the display, if his Knight could perform such feats, then it was within reason that Hal could do the same or even more.

However, he (Drew) had already stood up for himself and he has no intention of stopping now.

"It is you that's got some nerve. You had your men infiltrate the Edgar forces, even after he offered you immunity against your Father. How can you be so ungrateful?"

Drew breathed deeply in and out as he finished his rant while Hal simply looked on in total silence.

The Blood Knights clenched their fists at Drew's audacity and began to move forward when Hal thrust his hand in front of them to stop the approach.

He looked at them out of the corner of his eye and they walked back in an haste.

They knew they had overstepped their bounds too much already.

Hal then looked Drew in the eye,

"Ungrateful? On the contrary, I think this proves I've been very grateful. After all, look around." He said and gestured at the surroundings.

To the lifeless bodies of the Plebeian assailants his Blood Knights had killed and hence saved the Edgars from a total massacre.

"My men have saved your skin or will you deny that, had they not interfered, you and the others would be dead by now"

Karon clenched his jaw before he looked up sharply,

"If that was so, then why did they wait that long to help. This was obviously for your own selfish reasons. Don't try to deny it!"

"What is going on here?" Asked a loud voice and Darryl Edgar walked out of a thicket of trees and beheld the bloody scene.

Seeing that someone had arrived that could finally put things right, Drew and Alex secretly rejoiced.

Darryl expression was completely natural when he saw Hal.

Of course he knew before hand that Hal was there, After all, it was Hal that had ordered him to come.

When Hal had told him he was to remain on the outside even after he had been told of what was going on.

He had been angry and frustrated.

His son was in Danger and he was not allowed to help.

When he had told Hal of his concerns, Hal had chuckled and told him that if Alex would survive, he would survive but he had no interest in actively protecting him.

When he saw Alex alive and only a little injured, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief but he was careful not to let it show, after all, there was a reason Hal had called him here and any sign that he knew the situation prior to arrival was bound to ruin it.

"What is going on?" He asked again but his voice was appropriately tight this time around.

It was the voice of a worried warrior trying to keep his emotions in check.

And so Drew relayed all that had happened to Darryl. He left nothing out and was surprised when neither Hal or the Blood Knights interrupted.

They let him finish, in fact, their countenance was no longer savage, instead it was mellow.

Even their Blood Red eyes had reverted to their natural eye color.

When Drew was done, Darryl closed his eyes briefly,

"I see" he said and then turned and walked towards Hal with steady footsteps.

When he was in front of him, Alex grinned at the Coming retribution.

Surely, his Father was about to avenge the injustice he had faced.

He raised his hand to the back of his head which was still stinging thanks to the smack and chuckled,

"Yes, Father, get 'em" he said quietly.

But to his mighty surprise, his Father, Darryl Edgar, the strongest after the Patriarch, Hector Edgar, fell to his knees at the feet of the teenage boy and his Blood Knights.

"Thank you for saving my Family"

Silence!

Intense Shock!

What the hell?

"Master Darryl..." Drew began but he was interrupted by Darryl who yelled at him and all those present,

"Kneel!"

Disgruntled and confused, the Edgar scions and the Edgar protective forces knelt.

Only Drew and Alex remained standing.

The former because he demanded an explanation and the latter because he had not recovered from the shock.

"Father..."

"I don't want to have to repeat myself" Darryl said and it was clear that his patience was running thin.

Once the two had knelt grudgingly, Darryl spoke again,

"I am grateful for Hal Payne's help" he said and Drew's eyes widened,

"What?"

"Look around, you were slaughtered. Your number did not matter, because you were encumbered with the task of protection, you were practically sitting ducks for the Plebeians. Even if they reacted late, It does not change the fact that they did and the rest of you survived thanks to that"

Darryl said but Drew could not let it go and he was about to speak again when Darryl interrupted,

"Do you see Karon? Do you?" Darryl asked with his voice rising even higher.

Being the Mayor's Right hand man, Karon did not need to defend himself to any of them, neither did he feel the obligation to explain himself and that was why Drew had not bothered to question his sudden disappearance.

But now that he thought about it, he had to admit that it was not like Karon to neglect the safety of his men or the future of the Edgar family.

"There is a reason for the shortage of Cosmic Armament Cultivators and even other Peak stage Cosmic Pearl realm Cultivators and I will not go into those reasons here. Just know that you owe your life to the intervention of Hal Payne and his men"

Drew clenched his fists then bowed his head,

"Thank you for your help"

Alex did the same.

Hal watched him lower his head and grinned,

"Don't mention it. I'm just doing my civic duty"

At those words, Alex looked up and would have yelled,

'What civic duty?'

But, he could not help but keep his mouth shut when he remembered the Blood Knight's heavy smack to his head.

Once all Edgar scions had thanked Hal and his men (and unlike Alex and Drew, they did so wholeheartedly), Darryl stood to his feet and led the Edgars away.

As they walked, Drew could no longer hold it in,

"They absorbed something from the men they killed. They are demons and you will have us thank them?"

Darryl sighed,

"I already appreciated their help so let it go.

Besides, what if they are Demons? In times of need, we need to be prepared to make a deal with the Devil"