Chapter 1049 Take Out The Troubling One The members that were standing on the other side quickly dropped down. There were five of them in total—three men and two women. All of them were crudely dressed, either in leather jackets, open tops, and some of the women were wearing clothing that only covered their chest, revealing their stomach and other areas. It was clear as day that these were not researchers, and even their clothing didn’t match the environment they were in. “I think we should let me handle the talking,” Rickle said as he continued to walk, fearlessly, despite knowing who these people were. In the center of the group was a man in a small sleeveless leather jacket, revealing his arms and even the sides of his hips since the jacket was so small. He even had an odd hat on his head, slanted to the side. “I’m going to give you two a warning right now—that you should turn around,” the man at the front said. “I’m Astal, and you might have heard of me.” “I’m the leader of the Pandemonium Gang in Selfort. I’m sure you’ve heard of the city since it’s a tier 2 one, and my name has spread quite far and wide,” Astal explained with a smug look on his face. All of the Retrievers were part of a gang from somewhere, and all Retrievers were Altereds as well. It was part of their contract, and judging by the fact that Astal introduced himself, he had to be the strongest one here. “Only a tier 2 city, huh? Well, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Rickle said, moving forward. “I have permission to be here. Don’t you know my name—Rickle Epman?” The Retrievers behind Astal turned to look at each other, blinking heavily a few times. “Now that he mentions it, that does look like him.” “Yeah, I’ve seen photos.” “I…” Astal stammered, his lip trembling. “I’m so sorry for not recognizing you, sir!” Astal bowed down almost ninety degrees. “Please, sir, as you said, on your way!” The other Altereds stepped aside, making way for Rickle to walk forward. “See, what did I say? Let me do the talking; this was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Rickle said as he confidently walked ahead, and Dean wasn’t too far behind him. They continued walking, but when they were a few steps past, immediately the Retrievers turned around. Their bodies started to change, and one of the females leapt up in the air, her arm transforming into something that appeared carved like bone. Dean turned around and lifted his hand. He swung his metal bracer, stopping the sharp-edged arm instantly, but he struggled as he pushed against it. As Dean stopped the attack, he looked into their eyes. “This isn’t looking so good. I think they’re all infected Altereds as well!” Eventually, Dean twisted his foot and performed a kick from his side, hitting the person in the stomach. It was powerful and sent them flying through the air. “Ah, so I see your Qi lessons have been going well,” Rickle said calmly, as he avoided some strange yellow substance that came his way. It landed on the floor, seemingly doing nothing, but Rickle wasn’t about to let any part of it touch him. The other Altereds looked ready to charge at Dean, who was closest to them, when the guitar case on his back quickly unzipped. With a spin, Dean grabbed the orange-colored blade. The blade itself was quite thin, almost like a rapier, but the guard was extremely large—around a meter long—yet was light in Dean’s hands. One of the women had completely transformed into a giant green toad-like creature with its mouth open extremely wide and coming toward Dean. “Remember what I taught you about beast weapons?” Rickle said. Dean then pointed the weapon right at the giant Altered, and started to activate his Qi, which in turn activated the power of the weapon. The sword began to shine brightly until orange energy, like a tunnel of flames, came out, hitting the Altered. As it struck, parts of the strange body were burned away. It continued and continued, as the body shrank, until the sword’s attack finally ended, and in front of him there was nothing but a pile of ashes. “JULIEEEEE!” one of the Altered shouted, their body shrouded in the strange black energy emanating from it. Another attacker, with tentacle-like limbs, went to wrap them around Dean, who swung the sword, deflecting it away and leaving a large scorch mark. “What type of weapon did you make me pick?” Dean asked. “I told you about the ranking of weapons. What you have in your hand is a Demi-god tier weapon. Not many Altereds will be able to go against you with that in your hands!” Rickle said, as he continued to avoid the attacks. Then, from under the ground, a giant black beetle appeared. When Rickle saw the face, it was clear that it was Astal. Just like the others, his eyes were completely black. “Got you!” Astal swung his arms, hitting Rickle, and his body was sent flying to the side until he crashed into the wall of the excavation site. Dust billowed everywhere. “That damned scientist, he brought a strong bodyguard with him, but he was a fool to think we couldn’t get to him!” Astal said. “Now to get rid of the troublesome one.” Astal then turned to Dean. “That’s not good,” Dean said. “I’m… not the troublesome one… it’s him, and you might have just woken him up a bit.” Through the dust, glowing red eyes could be seen. *******