The next day, as promised, Ryu went to the guard post and asked for the captain from the previous day, Goran.

However, Goran came out looking apologetic and told Ryu that the thugs he had arrested the previous night had been released.

"I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head.

"What do you mean?" Ryu asked.

"There were some circumstances..." Goran said, not elaborating further.

To find out what Goran was hiding, Ryu attempted to read his mind. For a brief moment, Ryu's eyes turned golden.

Although the time was fleeting, Goran noticed the change in Ryu's eye color.

"It seems you can't hide anything from me. A magic eye, huh?"

Ryu remained silent and stared at Goran.

"Well... actually, Bordertown is not originally under our (the Third Guard) jurisdiction, but under the First Guard..." Goran said, reluctantly.

He explained that yesterday, a woman asked for help while the Third Guard was patrolling near Bordertown, so they intervened.

"However, the captain of the First Guard, Bolt, heard that we arrested criminals in their territory and demanded that we hand them over. We had no choice but to do so, but he claimed there was insufficient evidence and released them," Goran explained.

"It's like that captain is a friend of the thugs," Ryu said.

It was likely that Bolt was secretly connected to the criminal organizations in the slums, turning a blind eye to their crimes for money.

Perhaps he felt emboldened to expand his territory into Bordertown, which was previously considered off-limits, because he had the support of the guard.

"There have been rumors about Bolt for a long time. I've been trying to investigate, but I haven't found any evidence..." Goran said.

It seemed that Goran wanted to expose Bolt's corruption, but he couldn't find any evidence.

"So, if we bring witnesses, could he be convicted?" Ryu asked.

"...? Well, maybe. But even if we arrest them, I don't think they'll talk. It seems they fear retribution from their organization more than the guard."

Ryu smirked.

"I'll be on my way. Those released thugs might come for revenge, so I better be ready for them."

"Hey, aren't you being reckless? You should hide somewhere for a while..." Goran said.

"It's fine. If they're persistent, I'll just crush them."

"O-okay... I've heard about your feats. You're the Dragon Slayer, right? You even cleared the Eastern Dungeon with ease, haven't you?"

However, Ryu ignored his words and left without a word.

"So, you just ran away?!"

Kenzo yelled at the thugs, A, B, C, and D, who had been punished by Ryu.

It turned out that they were part of Kenzo's team.

Kenzo was furious because he had been beaten up by Ryu himself earlier that day.

Kenzo's team wasn't really a criminal organization; it was just a gang of thugs that had started with a few people and gradually gained more members. They were, in essence, just thugs.

However, Kenzo was gradually trying to distance himself from being a thug. He wanted to join one of the three major criminal organizations in the slums, "Four Night Butterflies", and had been hanging around their territory.

The "Four Night Butterflies" hadn't officially accepted them as members but were using them when they needed them (meaning they could discard them if necessary).

The expansion of their territory wasn't a direct order from "Four Night Butterflies". Kenzo was tempted by the promise that if they achieved results, they would be officially accepted as members.

The release of the arrested thugs was a personal decision by Bolt, the captain of the First Guard, who was secretly connected to "Four Night Butterflies". However, Bolt would undoubtedly boast about his favor to "Four Night Butterflies" later and demand money from them.

As a result, Kenzo and his team would owe "Four Night Butterflies" a favor.

This was an unfavorable outcome for Kenzo, who was aiming to climb the ranks of "Four Night Butterflies".

He had to find a way to make up for it.

Besides, he couldn't be looked down upon by someone like Ryu, a weak and gentle guy.

Kenzo had previously been bothering Ryu, taunting him, and sometimes even physically abusing him. He had tried to recruit Ryu into his gang, but Ryu refused, so he had his team beat him up.

But this time, he wouldn't accept a light punishment like before. He would torture Ryu thoroughly, then kill him and display his body in the slums.

He had to show the people in the slums the strength of his team.

Kenzo gathered all his members and headed towards Ryu's apartment.

Ryu had returned to his apartment and was sleeping in his bed, but his precognitive ability woke him up, sensing danger.

Ryu used his magic eye to scout the area around his apartment and confirmed Kenzo's presence.

He decided to leave the apartment himself, as he didn't want to disturb other residents by causing a ruckus in the middle of the night.

"What's going on at this hour?"

Kenzo, who was surrounding Ryu's apartment, was frustrated that his surprise attack had failed, but at the same time, he felt a sense of mockery that Ryu had come out on his own initiative instead of simply running away.

"You think you can get away with this?! You're going to pay for it!" Kenzo yelled.

"Don't shout so loudly, it's a nuisance," Ryu said.

The next moment, Kenzo and his team found themselves in a forest. Ryu had used teleportation magic to move them all together.

It was already dark, so they felt something strange, but they didn't realize they had been teleported for a while.

They were deep in a forest at night, in an open meadow that Ryu had previously burned down. It was dark, but the moonlight was surprisingly bright, illuminating the area.

"Where... where are we?!"