Desmond laughed while sharing cups of lukewarm water with the rest of his crew. They had just received the monthly tributes from the towns and villages in their territory, a good number of ores, and water. The bountiful feast on the table looked ever more pleasing, a collection of whole lizards cooked to perfection.

"Lads and Gals! Ever since the butcher disappeared, we no longer need to worry about the Four Lords pounding down on our doorsteps. We can finally eat and drink in peace!" Desmond cheered, and all of his crew cheered along. Downing his entire cup, he sighed in satisfaction.

Around a year ago, a terrifying existence started slaughtering people all over the Burning Valley. Hence, the stranger was named the butcher. Desmond nearly spat out in anger from remembering how hard those days were. The envoys from the Lord of Brightburn came nonstop for information and tributes, saying that war was coming.

What war? A war never happened. The butcher disappeared, and now things went back to normal. Desmond no longer had to worry about the pestering envoys except for the end-of-the-year offering. Rival gangs were no longer as active and desperate to fight for survival, keeping to their territories without fear of losing them.

"Yes, everything is back on track!" Desmond shouted in delight, roaring in laughter. He popped open a bottle of blood wine, the smell was as bad as normal blood, but the taste was intoxicating. He reached out to pour into his cup when a loud explosion shook their big hut.

Staring at the dropped bottle of blood wine and the puddle it formed on the table, Desmond became infuriated, red to the ear. He snarled and shouted, "What the hell was that?"

"It sounded like it came from the front gate, Boss. Someone might be here." One of his underlings responded.

"What kind of idiot would–" Desmond stopped when he heard someone shouting over him.

"Excuse me, marauders. Let me speak to your boss! I'm the leader from now on." The loud, boisterous shout was challenging him.

Desmond snarled. Provoked by the blatant taunt and disregard for his authority, he exited their main hut. The entire front gate was ruined, demolished into a pile of scrap and rubble. By the wreckage stood a man with black hair and black eyes, tall and well dressed, another man who had half his face covered with short purple hair and a gold eye, and a deer beast.

"What imbeciles dare to intrude on my home? I am Desmond, leader of the Firebears. I'll kill you both!" Desmond shouted, lifting his ruler sword. He pointed his prided armament toward the three.

…….

"Is this really the right way to go about the plan?" Oscar sighed. The leader of the marauders, Desmond, stared at him with bloodshot eyes. He glanced at Avril, who disguised herself as a man to Sevon's suggestion to avoid any mishaps or unwanted attention. Though he agreed, it was a shame for Avril to cut her hair.

Sevon's plan for him and Avril was very simple, to take over the outer regions of the Burning Valley. However, simple was a very strong word and not fit to describe the huge undertaking required to conquer the place. For Oscar, taking over the entire outer region with just the three of them was suicidal.

He needed more than just him and Avril to take over the entire outer region. He needed followers who could fight alongside him in bigger and greater battles, as Sevon explained that Oscar would become a pseudo-Fifth Lord of the Burning Valley. While he understood the reason, he didn't like the idea of a target being painted on his back.

The Four Lords were wealthy from monopolizing the central region, but they also relied on the tributes from the outer regions to accumulate the extra resources they needed. By cutting off the yearly tributes from the outer region, Oscar would force the Four Lords to delve deeper into their pockets for their endeavors and budget or to act against him.

'All of this to draw out their main forces…they didn't send out their core armies against Adam. To think that losing their source of income would goad them into acting rather than lives.' Oscar already felt some contempt for these Four Lords. Compared to Celestina, their rulership was severely lacking.

"Hello, like I said, I'm the new leader here now. I won't ask you to bow to me, but you are all under my command." Oscar cracked his neck and took out his new grade-three armament, a black buckler. A hint of nostalgia welled in his heart toward the buckler, reminding him of the old days back in the Pavilion. He made it as a constant reminder of where he needed to be. He had to get back. Oscar glared at Desmond and the others. "If anyone thinks differently, step forward, and we can decide."

"Hah. You kick down the door, barge into my home, and challenge my authority?" Desmond plunged his ruler into the scorched ground. A hearty smile covered his face. "Where do you get the gall to do so? I have thirty people under me and rule over twenty villages and towns. But I do like your spirit. Serve under me, and you'll be well fed."

"I guess negotiations have broken down. Well, it wasn't a negotiation anyway." Oscar released a burst of Reis from the bottom of his feet. In an instant, he slid across the ground right before Desmond. Before the marauder's slowly widening gaze, Oscar lifted his foot and kicked forward with a push of Reis. Desmond tipped over and fell on his back, his eyes spinning around in their sockets.

"W-what?" Desmond stuttered, getting back to his feet.

Oscar released Reis from his elbow and shoulder, forcing his knuckles onto Desmond's jaw. Once more, Desmond fell to the floor. The confusion and awe on Desmond's face invoked some empathy from Oscar. He had suffered the same way against Adam. Even with the Prinstyct active, his movements became invisible and untraceable.

"That's twice now. I could have killed you twice now, but I need followers, and you're useful if you had managed to climb up to this station. So, will you regard me as your leader or continue fighting?" Oscar took a step back to give Desmond some space. Ideally, surrender would be perfect. However, Desmond stood up with a stern face.

"You should have killed me while you had the chance!" Desmond shouted, Ein gathering around him. A blaze coated his ruler and condensed into a deep red, not letting a single ember escape the surface. A ferocious smile stretched across his face as a large flaming bear manifested next to him.

"A bear anima…that takes me back." Oscar smiled, recalling the petite girl, Mary, with their disproportionately sized bear anima. How was she doing with Austin? While his thoughts turned to home, Desmond charged, burning the scorched earth to a further crisp under his feet. The superheated blade and bear claws swiped toward him.

Oscar surrounded his limbs in Eirin, the Pseudo-Guise, and extended it to his buckler. He foresaw the future actions of the ruler and acted. From a single swing of his bulwark, Desmond's ruler was knocked away, his arm nearly dislocating from its sockets. Furious flames sprouted from the bear. Oscar punched, his fist covered in a golden drill, spinning with the shrieking of metal, and broke through the bear anima's claws.

Not wanting the flames to envelop him, Oscar released an Eirin Shattering Wave, reducing the bear to pieces and blasting away the inferno. Desmond was caught by the edge of the blow and fell again with half his body broken.

"Boss!" The other two Middle Knight Exalts of Desmond's gang wanted to rush him. However, Erden stomped ahead with great pressure, sending an earthquake to halt them. Avril's roots grew and entangled the others.

"That's three times now. You should have gone all out from the start, but you squandered the chance I gave you to fight for real. Do you yield now?" Oscar crouched to talk to the fallen Desmond. "I don't want to kill you, and you'll reach a greater height. How about it?"

Desmond gasped and struggled to get to his knees. Once on them, the weary and injured man bowed his head. "You won. The Firebear gang is yours."

"Boss, what are you–"

"Enough!" Desmond shouted. "If they wanted to kill us, they would have done so already. Where on earth did monsters like you three come from?"

"This place is just too undeveloped. Follow me, and I'll teach you how to truly fight, not as a random marauder but as a true warrior." Oscar reached his hand out.

"I accept. The strong lead and the weak follow." Desmond grasped Oscar's hand and was pulled up to his feet. Suddenly, he was healed greatly, thanks to Avril's scroll anima. "Healing the enemy after defeating them? What makes you think I won't fight or betray you right now?"

"You're welcome to try. But then, I will kill you." Oscar's eyes went cold and emotionless. He switched places with Demon to produce the intimidation needed to reign them in. It worked, seeing how Desmond shrank back from Demon's eyes, which resembled a dark void, an abyss.

"I understand. Then, what's the plan, new boss?" Desmond coughed, his pale face returning to normal.

"First, tell me about your territory, your operations, and the skills of all your members," Oscar asked.

"I understand. Firebear gang, greet the new boss!" Desmond barked.

"Welcome, new boss!" The rest of the Firebear gang greeted him.

"Boss, since you're the leader now, what do you want us to be called from now on?" Desmond asked.

"A name…." Oscar rubbed his chin. He smiled. There was one name which he wanted to pay homage to. "We'll be called the Azure Sea Company."

With the aid of the Azure Sea Company, Oscar sought to find his way back home to the Blue Ocean Pavilion.