The two troops again stood face to face. “The Guardians are here for the newcomer,” Calvin said with his rifle pointing at Brody.

“He’s not with us,” Brody shouted again and hit the ground with his baton.

Calvin squinted a bit and tried to see through Brody’s angry face. He could see his head barely tilted down. His eyes stared at him without a curve on his eyes or mouth. “We don’t need to develop every conversation into skirmishes,” Calvin’s face was covered with a slight reluctance.

“No, we have to!” with a shout from Xilix, a crystal rhombohedron flitted into the air. The blue-ish crystal hovered and stopped upon Calvin, but a shockwave blasted the whole army back for 40 inches before Calvin could react to what had just happened.

Calvin rolled on the ground with his rifle off his hand and tried to get up but got forced down by the light blue illuminator around him. The illuminator was a silky fog surrounding the whole troop. Some started to yell and bawl, and some already fainted.

“Wait! Councilor Harrell didn’t ask for war! We are just here to send a message,” Calvin shouted hastily with his hands raw and face dusty.

“Yeah, after you tried to assassinate me,” Glanexeem strode out of the crowd as the crystal started to shine even lighter than it was.

“What?” Brody quietly soliloquized. He was confused with several questions he couldn’t ask in the situation.

Before the crystal glowed lighter, a blue-ish cyclone stormed the crystal. The gale broke through the energetic shield and devoured the rhombohedron as it passed through.

“Everyone retreats!” the sound of General Demock arrived at the same time. He stood far enough to avoid the illuminator. He had a megaphone in his hand. The top of the handle was connected to an apertural slot with a cassette inside.

The cyclone destroyed the pattern of magic power inside the crystal, like a cup of water poured on a computer. The crystal smashed on the ground like glass became pieces. Glanexeem quickly covered his face with his left arm. He was sincerely bothered and annoyed.

The illuminator faded into the air. Some ran immediately after the glowing manacle was gone. Calvin lifted his body halfway up with his hands. He observed Xilix with his eyes squinted in reasonable doubt. His ears could hear Demock yelling to him and his troops, but both eyes were focused on Xilix’s fist that was briefly grasped.

“Calvin! I order you to retreat!” The general got mad within 3 seconds. Calvin was the last few to leave.

The cause of that cyclone landed down. He was Sky Passerby. He landed slowly like a helicopter. Standing in front of the broken crystal, he looked at Glanexeem and turned to the crowd. His helmet covered his whole face. No one could tell his expression or emotion.

“Who is this guy? He broke my represser, so he could be one of the Guardians,” Glanexeem put down his arm with a golden laser gun hiding in his blazer sleeve, and his eyes judging the man from top to bottom.

“Who are you?” Brody stepped a pace toward Sky Passerby. A drop of sweat was on his forehead. His voice was stressed, and his eyes were slightly goggling alarmingly.

“A friend of Tireless,” Sky Passerby answered with a tranquil and cushy tone. “Who is that?” Xilix asked in confusion. His eyes wheeled between the two people for about a second.

“He’s a vigilante,” Brody rotated his head to Glanexeem and turned back to Sky, “I think we need to talk inside.”

“Dismiss!” the slender man behind Brody shouted as they walked into the campsite. The campsite was quite a large community. One-floor houses were sporadically located on the site. Roads were wide with big or small iron sheet wigwam and tents made of woods and huge rags.

“I don’t know if I should believe you,” Glorier sat in front of the wooden table. The man in green sat across from her. “You see that Epior has two hearts. Why does it have to take one from the third tier?” she questioned with one of her hands on the table and another one on it.

“You remember that power cut in Epior?” Tireless answered with an obvious inhale before he uttered, “It happened a month after cassette tech first came out and a week before the heart in Inrua was stolen. There must be some connection between these things.”

“I can agree with this,” Barnala stared at the table and turned her head back to Tireless. She really had no reason to trust the council anymore, “You know. I used to think you are a bad guy.”

“My bounty is high,” Tireless’ eyes avoided Barnala’s, and he snickered at himself. He has never laughed in front of Brody or Sky Passerby. He was the one that lost his ability to enjoy.

“So why did you come to Renarde Hound? Why did you finally decide to come after their wanted is out for so long?” she had never seen Tireless before, and his wanted paper had been hanging for precisely ten years. Tireless had never cared about those wanted paper and never attempted to have a trip to the second tier.

“You know Sky Passerby? We are investigating the whole heart thing and the council,” the man lay on the chair. A sharp squeak was made in the timeworn wood. “You may join, and I guess he can find you a fine place for your sister.”

“You mind taking down your mask?” Barnala reached her hands to the band of her kitsune mask. She untied the band and took the whole mask with the bandana off. “We need trust to work together, right?” her white hair was shown to Tireless, including the two red threads.

Tireless glimpsed at Glorier’s face, then moved his sight away instantly. His hesitation didn’t last long. He slowly pulled off his ski mask and pulled down his green scarf with another hand.

Hair between brown and golden and a pair of azure blue eyes embellished his handsome face. He focused his eyes on Barnala Glorier with a brief hesitation.