Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Kirk clapped his hands, unfazed. "Haven't done this in years. Hidden World probably forgot where I got my nickname. Who told you to stick out so much?"

James frowned at the blood on the carpet. "Your methods are getting sloppier. The hotel's gonna complain."

Kirk pulled out a tissue and covered the stain. "Commander, I finally get to do this again. Cut me some slack if I'm rusty."

Leo and Elmer glanced at each other, both seeing fear in the other's eyes. They never thought Kirk was this ruthless.

James cut in. "Throw him out. I want to see what they do."

Dwayne dragged the half-dead Firebird out like trash. When he came back, he muttered, "You got the nerve to call me bloody? Even I had to clap at your work."

Kirk leaned back on the couch lazily. "Had no choice. This bastard knows what we look like and wants to broadcast it. Gotta make an example."

James asked, "Can you sense the strength of the people outside?"

Kirk's face turned serious. "Two are about my level. If it comes to a fight, I can hold them off, but I won't be able to guard you up close."

Dwayne and Leo both said they could handle regular Lv.9 fighters.

Elmer said firmly, "If anyone wants to touch Mr. Smith, they'll have to get through me first."

James felt helpless. He was the weakest link in the group. Rubbing his forehead, he said, "Stick to the plan. Find a spot that's easy to defend. Let's go to the rooftop. Only one door up there."

Firebird's miserable state scared everyone. The mercenaries stayed back until Nightmare's group had been in the stairwell for a while before they dared to follow.

In the next room, Tessa and Evelyn had been holding their breath the whole time.

Evelyn's face was pale, her mind full of worry. "I know James. He would never act this passive unless he's in real trouble."

Tessa tried to comfort her. "There's nothing we can do right now. The most important thing is keeping ourselves safe."

But Evelyn looked at the crowd downstairs and made up her mind.

On the rooftop, the wind was sharp.

Firebird's fate had pissed some people off. A group led by Randal Potts, a peak Lv.9 fighter, charged up.

Randal's eyes were cold as he pointed at James. "You're Ghost Wolf? I've been wanting to test you. Let's go!"

Kirk stepped in front of James. "Our Commander doesn't fight just anyone. You're not qualified."

Randal noticed the blood on Kirk's clothes. "You're Viper? What a waste."

Then James charged straight at Randal's fist.

Kirk nearly lost it. "Are you crazy?"

James got knocked flying, his shoulder torn open with blood pouring out. He forced himself to stay on his knees, a small smile on his face. It was risky, but he'd confirmed his guess—his Cultivation Level hadn't disappeared. It was just hidden in his body and only kicked in when he was in danger. As long as he didn't die, he wasn't a joke.

Kirk knew he couldn't keep defending. He dropped all defense and went all out on offense.

On the other side, one of Randal's men, Lin Xiao, saw an opening and rushed at James.

Just then, a figure ran onto the rooftop—it was Evelyn. She saw James covered in blood and charged over to help him without thinking.

Randal laughed. "This girl's got guts. Wants to die together?"

James panicked and yanked Evelyn behind him. "Get out of here. Stay and you'll die with me!"

Evelyn stubbornly tried to pull him. "Then we try!"

Randal kicked at them. At the last second, Evelyn threw herself over James. A shadow flashed in and blocked the kick—it was Chris.

Chris looked terrible when he saw James covered in blood. "If I'd been any later, you'd be dead."

James gasped, "End this fast. We need to leave right now."

Chris didn't argue. He turned to face Randal.

With Chris there, the fight flipped.

Chris grabbed Randal with disgust. "This city needs a pendulum." He tied a rope around him and hung him off the building, letting him choke and struggle.

After dealing with Randal, Chris joined the fight.

Kirk took the chance to finish Randal instantly, and the others quickly took out the rest.

James dragged a shaken Evelyn to the side and said coldly, "Do you know how dangerous that was?"

Evelyn snapped back, "You were basically dead. I wasn't thinking about danger. Weren't you supposed to be strong?"

James closed his eyes to rest, too tired to argue. "Go back to the room. Once I'm better, we'll head to Coldwater City."

Evelyn shook her head hard. "I'm not leaving. You're like this. How can I leave you alone?"

Kirk finished treating his wounds and said to Evelyn, "Evelyn, there might be more danger. You should go back to Coldwater City with your friend."

Evelyn clung to James's arm. "I don't have any injuries. I won't slow you down."

Kirk looked at Chris. Chris sighed and nodded. Forcing her to leave wasn't realistic.

Elmer woke up from unconsciousness, looking ashamed.

Kirk decided, "Next stop, Uruguay. We'll go by water. The area's messy—good for hiding."

They agreed to meet at the water route checkpoint in an hour.

An hour later, Roy and Manuel showed up. They were shocked when they saw everyone covered in blood.

After boarding, Evelyn watched James, pale and barely hanging on, and felt her heart twist.

Jagger handed over some strong medicine. Evelyn's hands shook as she treated James's wounds—the deep gashes were horrifying.

Manuel reassured her, "This medicine heals flesh. It hasn't worked yet because he kept getting hurt again. As long as nothing else happens, he'll recover fast."

Kirk winced while treating his own wounds but still muttered when he looked at James, "Dragging these injuries for a week and getting attacked over and over... that's rough."

Kirk rubbed his chin, thinking. "Though, I feel like the Commander's body isn't as bad as we thought."

He glanced at Leo feeding Elmer medicine. "Compared to Elmer right now, the Commander looks pretty tough."

Leo finished giving Elmer the medicine and said helplessly, "He's injured. It's not gonna heal overnight."

Kirk nodded, then remembered something. "Oh right, what about your teammates? They helped in the fight. They okay?"

Leo waved it off. "Don't worry. They took off a while ago."

Kirk relaxed and looked at the water. "Good. No one dying is already lucky."

Dwayne snorted from the side. "Lucky? If luck hadn't been on our side, more than one or two would've been down."

Manuel frowned at Dwayne. "Can you stop? The one who can shut you up still hasn't woken up."

Dwayne shut his mouth.

Kirk laughed.