Chapter 250: A Lame Trick

While the duo focused on Tommy, Nicholas noticed Jared and frowned. He remembered seeing Jared at Glen's house; a vague feeling that Jared was different had lingered, though he couldn't pinpoint it. After all, Jared was an energy cultivator; a mere mage couldn't detect his spiritual energy.

"Who are you? Robbing us? Do you know who he is?" the plump businessman blustered.

"Exactly! This is Glen, Horington's mayor. Prison's calling!" the thin businessman added.

"Damn you! Shut up and kneel!" Tommy spat, kicking both men to the ground. Accustomed to luxury, they groaned in pain.

"Young man," Nicholas said, eyeing Jared, "tell us what you want. Don't hurt us." He sensed Jared was in charge.

Jared's lips curled in disdain. "You know what I want. How dare you use the Soul Capturing Technique in Horington?"

Nicholas scowled, suspecting Jared was a mage, given his knowledge of the technique. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter."

Jared turned to the emotionless Glen, then sent a surge of spiritual energy into his head. Glen trembled, then his eyes flickered back to life.

"W-Where am I?" Glen asked, shocked.

"Mr. Lowe, these men used the Soul Capturing Technique to bring you here," Jared explained.

Glen, surprisingly, didn't berate him. Instead, he stared at the downed businessmen and the visibly anxious Nicholas, utterly bewildered.

Jared pointed at the businessmen. "Explain everything to Mr. Lowe."

"Speak!" Tommy pressed his blade to their necks.

The businessmen recoiled, about to confess, when Nicholas grabbed a bag and violently shook it. Wisps of black mist erupted, filling the room.

Fear paralyzed Glen, but Tommy remained unfazed; he'd seen such spirits at Lagrange Monastery, and Jared had warned him.

"A lame trick," Jared sneered, then inhaled the black mist.

Nicholas stared, dumbfounded. Glen was equally baffled. He'd never witnessed such a thing.

Thud! Terrified, Nicholas knelt before Jared. "Spare me! I've learned my lesson…" he pleaded, groveling. He saw Jared as a more skilled practitioner of the same dark arts.

"Explain everything to Mr. Lowe," Jared ordered.

Defeated, Nicholas recounted the events to Glen.

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