Lear looked at the message in front of him.

« We are in trouble….the express car will be hijacked within a few minutes... the number of enemies is unknown. I have only encountered an armed man as of now. I am not sure if they have any mages on their side.

And one more thing….don't engage with them at any cost…. I will come to you…In case you can't avoid it….kill them before they can use their communication device….. these bastards have planted bombs on the entire express car….the number of bombs is unknown….I have identified one outside the washroom, right below the sink. Can you diffuse it? I can't.

Anyway, try to think of a way out...I will do too...

And yeah….that girl...stop her...she has got some guards. I am afraid that with her temperament she will do something troublesome after all...she is…»

The message only read till there. Max couldn't write the last part since he ran to take the bullet on him while protecting that lady and her child.

«Lear: Are you alright?»

Lear asked but didn't receive any reply.

Lora seemed to be telling him something but he was too busy to listen to her. Only when she got up, did Lear react. He caught her by the wrist and pulled her back. He intended to make her sit on the seat….but for some reason, it ended on his laps.

"Y-You!" Lora looked at him with wide eyes. Her face was getting red due to anger and embarrassment as she could feel people's gaze on her.

"Don't shout…" Lear immediately put his hands on her mouth. His face had turned serious and the look in his eyes had turned grim.

"Listen to me…"

Lora didn't know what to do. This was the first time something like this was happening to her. When had someone dared to touch her? Not only did this guy touch her but even made her sit on his laps and had come so close to her face.

This was harassment. She was already deciding to give him a death sentence when Lear spoke, "I don't seem to recognise you. But if you have brought guards along, you should not be someone ordinary. Honestly, I don't give a sh*t...I was just here because of a bet…. "

Lora's eyes widened and her mouth opened, before she could speak, Lear spoke again.

"I know I am being honest and I feel a bit bad too, but the situation has forced me to do this…."

Lear thought that she was someone from upper-class society and nothing more. Even though he felt a bit bad doing it, he had no option. Besides, if he just told he was a Barnes, she would probably be grateful that he even took a bit of his time to talk to her.

"I just want to tell you one thing…. We will be in trouble in a few minutes….if you order your guards to do something funny...we all may die here...I am serious…." Lear spoke as he looked right into her eyes. His face was only inches away from her.

Lora looked at his eyes for a second before finally escaping his grasp.

As she stood, her eyes met her guards.

She looked at Lear once again and this time, she finally realised why this guy looked familiar.

'T-This...isn't he trash of the Barnes?!'

She finally recognised him. She looked at her bodyguards and gestured to them that everything was fine.

She was obviously not going to let Lear go. But, his words were still clear in her mind. She didn't think he would make a joke like this.

"What's happening? You better not be joking?" Lora asked with a frown as she sat beside Lear and glared at him.

If this guy really did dared to joke. She would throw him out of the moving express car right at this instant.

"We are being hijacked….being reckless will be a death wish….they seem to be using bombs…" Lear replied in a short manner. He still didn't stop thinking about how to get out of this mess.

Lora looked at him as if she was looking at a fool.

"Is this a joke? The Association and the Union themselves look after the security of express cars since they are the main source of transportation...there is no way tha-"

Lora's words were not even yet completed when a few masked men rushed into the cabin.

"Freeze!! Don't move!!"

Three men were armed with rifles while the two behind just stood there. One had a sword on his waist and the other had a long wand-like staff.

The moment, the passengers saw people with arms, they freaked out.

"Shut up! Whoever opens their mouth dies.." the man with a sword shouted.

Lora's four guards immediately stood up. But before they could move, Lora signaled them not to move and hide themselves.

She then looked at Lear with an odd look on her face. He had been seating all along talking rubbish. How did he know that something like this was going to happen?

….

On the other side, Max got out of the washroom. His spirit snake appeared beside him on his command.

"Protect her.." Max commanded and it disappeared with a flash.

Max knew that his spirit snake was the best option to use in this situation. But he couldn't feel at ease leaving the lady behind like that for some reason.

"Commence operations! Team's on standby move and take control of the situation."

Max heard the command.

'I need to find all the bombs quick...if I can do that and get them to master, I am sure he can tear through the land to get the explosives out….it may result in a lot of destruction and loss, it's still better than people dying.'

'But I need to get Lear out first….that guy knows how to act.'

As for his master, Max sighed when he thought about it, he should have asked him which cabin did he have his seat in.

Max suddenly turned and walked toward the gate which was locked tightly.

He grabbed them with his bare hands before forcefully pulling them apart.

"Whoosh"

Max felt a strong wind on his face which was almost pushing him back. But he still pushed ahead and got out while grabbing the side rails.

The underground tunnel was dark. The light from the express car provided a bit of light and Max could see there was another track beside him.

He really didn't wanna imagine how it would feel if he fell of the express car at this speed. He used his new dagger and stabbed it into the steel frame and used its support to close the gates back again with his other hand.

Max slowly raised his head and brought out his old dagger from the spirit world as he began to use them as climbing tools to get above the express car.

"Damn! Isn't this thing a bit too fast….. I will definitely not come out with only a scratch if I were to fall off it…"