Looking at the two people before him, who seemed to be struggling, and the magic cast bar that immediately appeared again to dispel the restraints, Sean felt it had been a long time since he'd fought one-on-one with wizards. That cast bar, in front of a high-level witch like Freya, would be almost instantaneous.
"It's useless. Your magic can't undo this chain, and it can't be undone by you either," Sean said.
At these words, the other party's cast bar paused briefly, but within a few minutes, the dispel cast bar appeared again. It seemed a few words weren't enough to scare these people off.
Silence.
This time, he directly used magic to interrupt the quietly appearing cast bar.
"Looks like I need to reintroduce myself, but I hope you won't try any tricks in front of me, because I know every move you make," Sean said, watching their surprised expressions.
"You—"
The voice was a girl's, but she had short hair and dressed more like a man.
"Hmph, since you've caught me, do as you please—kill me or torture me. But I hope you'll let my two companions go. This attack was my idea alone."
"Tatsumi."
The other two bound girls called out the man's name at once.
For a moment, Sean almost wanted to complain—was that really a "do as you please" attitude? Hey, didn't you just claim to be revolutionaries? That's quite revolutionary spirit, but isn't your combat strength a bit weak? Caught by a trap at first sight and you've given up?
Just as Sean's attention wavered, a spell cast bar suddenly appeared above the head of the man tied to the bed. It was fast—barely any time to glimpse the fleeting text—and at that moment, the remaining duration of the restraint abruptly vanished.
Undone.
This...
Though Sean had considered that his magic restraints might not be perfect and could fail to hold them, he hadn't expected them to be broken so quickly. Without the restriction, the worried status above their heads disappeared, but they didn't immediately counterattack. Instead, they maintained the appearance of being bound, still with chains on their hands—only now, the power sustaining those chains wasn't from Sean's side.
"Your name is Tatsumi?" Sean asked.
Closing the magic tome in his hand, since the restraint was already undone yet the other party made no move, they were clearly preparing for a sudden strike. Their status showed: Human, Hostile. A level 5 Orderer had easily broken his restraint magic, and one of the two girls was a level 6 Orderer—she could probably undo it quickly too. That meant he'd be fighting all three in this room. If he couldn't react in time, Gehros' Eye might appear over Oro City, which Sean didn't want to see. But if he couldn't win, he'd have to glance toward the nearby window.
"You're Count Sean Vigor?" the man on the bed interrupted his thoughts.
"That's right. And who are you? Rebels of Oro City? I've only been in charge of this city for a few days, and you're already targeting me."
"Heh."
The man on the bed let out a cold laugh, looking at Sean with disdain. Now that the magic restraint was undone, he probably had a sense of Sean's level, making him act more brazenly.
"We're targeting more than just you. You imperial parasites, scum of the people. You think hiding behind those soldiers keeps you safe from being taken down?"
"How naive."
His words were textbook rebellious rhetoric.
Suddenly, Sean remembered what the Grand Duke had said about the rebels, and what Luke had mentioned recently about that group. Could it be these very people?
"Fools. I've done so much for this city, and you call me a parasite of the people?" Sean was about to draw his gun, but their words annoyed him. He stayed up late every night for the city's development, didn't he?
"Hmph, just to satisfy your greed and fatten your pockets," the other sneered.
"Only when the Count's estate is prosperous can the people of this city thrive."
"Excuses for your avarice. This city should have long been in the hands of its people."
"Die!" a shout rang out.
The conversation seemed to be setting up a sudden attack. With a leap, he grabbed the greatsword lying by the bed and, in the blink of an eye, charged straight at Sean.
Bang!
The gunshot hit mid-air.
Tatsumi's eyes widened as he looked at his shoulder. The weapon was clearly a flintlock, yet it erupted with an icy frost at the impact point.
Bang!
Another shot, this time aimed at the two companions bound on the other side. Tatsumi could only block with his sword to resist the attack.
"You okay?"
He slashed through the ropes binding them, noticing a powerful magic attached to them—an enchanted magical item. Crafting such items would require at least a level 10 high-ranking wizard, and the magic tome and wand in the other's hands suggested the Count had a high-level wizard backing him.
"We're fine."
The two women stood up.
Meanwhile, the flintlock suppression didn't let up.
Precision, suppression, slowing—buff skills filled the status bar instantly.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Tatsumi could only use his greatsword and armor to block.
As the gunfire faded, the sound of soldiers echoed from the corridor outside.
"We've been exposed. Find a way to leave first."
"But—"
"If we miss this chance, there might not be another."
"What do we do?"
"Go all out."
The three nodded in unison.
Sean's barrage of gunfire was only effective against lower-level foes. These three were all higher-level than him; to them, it was just a bit more effort to defend.
Just as they made up their minds, Sean noticed a strengthening cast bar appear on all three, especially the man.
Fast—almost within a second.
Hmm, hard to interrupt under these circumstances. When the cast completed, the room suddenly felt scorching hot.
Like a wave of heat surging, Sean sensed an intense, burning force rushing toward him. The small furniture around him was nearly shattered.
Looking at the man again, he saw a faint, translucent armor appear over his body.
Sean had seen this skill before—back in Koga City, when Freya first fought with her spear, she used a similar armored concealment. It was incredibly powerful; one strike had pierced through a building in the Koga Count's estate.
Seeing the man's sword about to come down, Sean didn't hesitate—he leaped toward the window.