Farah had actually been monitoring the situation inside and outside the shop with her Soul Sense this entire time, so she knew exactly what had transpired just now. She had always known that the people from the Roth Family were overbearing and arrogant, but even she had never imagined that one of their guards would actually attack a child simply because he had looked at him funny.
When Farah noticed the guard's intent to attack, she immediately dropped what she was doing and dashed out. She even prepared to use her Cultivation Pressure to stop the guard in his tracks, but to her surprise, Lucas actually reacted in time and launched a successful counterattack.
No doubt this was mostly due to the guard severely underestimating Lucas and not using all of his strength, but the fact that a Second Step Body Tempering Realm boy was able to intercept and throw a Fifth Step Vein Opening Realm man was still a shocking accomplishment.
However, Farah understood that what came next was beyond what Lucas could handle on his own, so she didn't slow down at all and within seconds arrived right behind the boy in a gust of wind.
To the 3 Roth Family men, it was like this Farah had appeared out of nowhere, somewhat bewildering them, but it didn't take long for her words to sink in and further enrage the thrown guard, "Damn woman! You think you can threaten me and live?!"
Not heeding the warning Farah had just given, the man drew his dagger and lunged forward.
At the same time, the middle-aged man and the other Roth Family guard just stood by and watched, not seeing anything wrong with their companion taking revenge for the insult he had suffered.
In fact, if he had not taken action, they would have done so themselves. The duke's men could not be slighted so easily, especially in a backwater place like Redwood Town.
What happened next, however, was drastically different from what the 3 men had been expecting.
With complete calm and indifference, Farah shifted her weight and lightly moved her hands. Although this movement was done in a casual manner, it was so fast that all anyone else in the room saw was a blur.
In the next instant, the dagger dropped to the ground and the lunging guard fell to his knees as he let out a howl filled with pain.
Just like she had promised, Farah had disabled the man's arm, and it wasn't just a simple dislocation but a complete snapping of the bone, forcing the limb to bend at an impossible angle.
Witnessing the entire process, Lucas couldn't help feeling a bit bad for this man. Given how gruesome this break was, and the level of medical treatment available in this world, Lucas imagined that this guard would never be able to fully recover and might even need to have his arm amputated.
However, remembering how this bastard had just tried to attack him, the pity Lucas felt quickly faded and was replaced with disgust. A grown man trying to sucker-punch a boy, only to have the tables turned on him? Such a person was not worth pitying.
Farah had been completely ruthless in her strike, but given that the other party had been trying to stab her with a dagger, that was only natural.
"What!?" Obviously not expecting this outcome, the moustached man cried out in shock.
First, one of his guards was tossed around by a child, then that same guard was casually disarmed by some random woman who then broke his arm. It was too much for the man to take in and he was unable to do anything but gawk for a moment.
As for the other guard, having watched his companion who had a similar level of strength to his own be calmly crippled, he immediately drew his sword and assumed a defensive posture.
And so, a stalemate appeared.
On one side, Farah was now standing in front of him, allowing him to feel completely safe, while on the other side, the 3 men from the Roth Family were feeling very nervous. Or rather, 2 men from the Roth Family were feeling nervous while one of them was writhing on the floor in agony, unable to care about anything other than the excruciating pain he was experiencing.
"D-Do you know what you've done? Do you know who we are!?" The middle-aged moustached man eventually composed himself enough to shout. He seemed to be trying to appear threatening, but the quiver in his voice greatly reduced how intimidating he sounded.
Staring back at the man, Farah simply narrowed her eyes and replied, "I know exactly who you are and what I've done."
The moustached man opened his mouth to retort, but found he didn't have words to say, so the room fell silent again, besides the groaning of the injured guard.
Just as the situation was about to turn awkward, the door to the shop opened and a black robed individual walked inside, drawing everyone's attention.
"Well well well, isn't this a surprise," a young male voice called out.
Sure enough, when the hood was lowered, a handsome man who appeared no older than 25 was revealed, a faint smile of amusement gracing his face.
"Elder Hendrix," the middle-aged man and the still standing guard immediately saluted this young man and bowed their heads, a faint blush of embarrassment appearing on their cheeks.
The moustached man was about to speak again when the man named 'Elder Hendrix' lightly lifted his hand, signaling him to remain silent.
Not daring to disobey, the middle-aged man, who by all accounts appeared to be older, still lowered his head and shut his mouth.
The whole time, Elder Hendrix's eyes never left Farah, a touch of playfulness appearing in his gaze as he looked her over from head to toe. It was only after a good 10 count that this young man's focus shifted to the scene in the shop.
Looking around at the broken counter, the fallen dagger, and the injured guard, Elder Hendrix quickly put together what had happened and let out a faint sigh.
Turning to the middle-aged man, Hendrix ordered him, "Pick that up and get out."
"But My Lord…" the moustached man lifted his head, obviously wanting to protest; however, seeing the young man's eyes narrow ever so slightly, he shivered and choked down any complaints he had, promptly responding, "Yes, Elder."
Without another word, the middle-aged man and the remaining guard picked up their blubbering companion and dragged him out of the shop.
At the same time, Farah spoke up for the first time, "Lucas, go home."
Previously, Lucas had carefully observed the Roth Family's caravan and thought had had an accurate count of all the powerful masters in it, but now that this man named Hendrix was standing in front of him, the boy realized he had missed the biggest fish of all.
Understanding that his continued presence would only be a burden, Lucas nodded obediently and headed towards the back entrance of the butcher shop.
Whatever happened next would be for these two Spirit Initiates to work out.
…...
"Garret Hendrix, it's been a while," Farah said flatly.
"Farah Wilder, it indeed has been a long time," Garret smiled, "Who would have imagined I would find a lost Royal Legion Commander in this little countryside hovel."
Narrowing her eyes slightly at the mention of her former position, Farah stared down the man before her before also flashing a grin, "And I never imagined that snot-nosed little brat who flunked out of the Royal Legion's trials would one day become a dog of the Roths."
For the first time since entering the shop, Garret's smile broke, his face visibly twitching when Farah poked at this sore spot from his past.
Indeed, these two were familiar with one another; in fact, Farah had been one of the examiners who had failed Garret when he had applied to join the Rockwell Kingdom's Royal Legion.
The Royal Legion was by far the largest and most powerful in the Rockwell Kingdom. It was one of the 3 Armies which was headquartered in the capital and was the only one which was always commanded by a direct member of the Royal Family.
It was considered a great honour to serve in the Royal Legion, so many sons and daughters of nobility from around the kingdom applied to join it every year, along with countless commoners hoping to rise in status.
Some 60 years ago, when Garret was still just a Core Formation Realm Practitioner, he had proudly applied to become a Captain in the Royal Legion, but for some reason Farah had long forgotten, he had failed to make the cut. It wasn't until she saw the man standing in front of her again today that she even recalled his existence.
As for Garret, he had never forgotten the examiners who had failed him that year and had held a grudge against them ever since, thinking they had been prejudiced against him for not having a noble background.
Who was right and who was wrong was something lost to history, not that it was important now; all that mattered to Farah was that she had been discovered by someone troublesome, while all that mattered to Garret was that he had found someone he had been meaning to settle a score with.
The tension in the shop rose as the pair glared at each other until finally, Garret flashed his easy-going smile again and laughed, "Well, there's no rush. We can take our time to get re-acquainted once my mission here is complete."
Raising a brow, Farah thought about it for a moment before also smiling fiercely, "I see, you're here to supervise one of the Roth brats' trials, aren't you? Hah, looks like you're just as incompetent as you were all those years ago."
"I'd advise you to watch your words, woman," Garret snapped angrily, "I'm no longer the boy you could so casually dismiss."
"Hmph, you wanna fight?" Farah shot back, "It's true that thanks to your boss I was injured back then, but I can still kick your sorry ass."
Grinding his teeth, Garret snarled, "It's no wonder you were the target of such 'misfortune', you're still just as uncouth and barbaric as I remember."
"Oh? You admitting to the crime, now?" Farah pressed, her tone becoming heavier.
"Crime? What crime?" Garret grinned mockingly, neither confirming nor denying the accusation.
Silence fell once more before Garret flicked his robe and turned to leave, no longer interested in butting heads with Farah.
For all his posturing, Garret still understood reality.
He was a Low-Rank Spirit Initiate, while Farah was a Mid-Rank Spirit Initiate, the chances of him winning in a straight up fight with her were minimal, and even if he could somehow triumph, he would certainly be seriously injured.
Right now, he was on a mission for the Roth Family, so becoming incapacitated was completely unacceptable.
Just you wait, Farah Wilder, Garret thought to himself as he walked towards the butcher shop door, When I get back after the Young Lord's trial, I'll be sure to deal with you!
"Hey!" Farah suddenly called out.
"What?" Garret muttered in an annoyed tone, turning his head back slightly.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Farah motioned towards the broken countertop.
Garret's face twitched again, really wishing he could bash Farah's face in. He hadn't seen what happened before, but Garret understood his subordinates well and was certain it was his men who had started the fight.
Still, all Farah had lost was an ordinary wooden counter, while his side had suffered a crippled arm. It was clear who suffered the bigger loss here, yet Farah was still demanding compensation!
Those damn bastards! I'll skin them alive for being so stupid! Garret grumbled to himself. Of all the people in Redwood Town, they had to pick Farah, a Spirit Initiate and former Army Commander to attack. If that wasn't the height of idiocy, Garret didn't know what was.
Unwilling to even waste his breath, Garret reached into his Space Bag, pulled out a Gold Coin, and threw it at Farah before storming off.
Catching the coin, Farah narrowed her eyes as she watched Garret leave, thinking to herself, Luckily, it was someone I knew, so he was easy to distract.
Given her gruff personality, Farah normally wouldn't have bothered to engage in a war of words with someone like Garret, but in order to cover up Lucas' existence, she figured the best way to go about it was to provoke this Roth Family Elder, forcing him to focus all his attention and anger on her.
Whether she had been successful or not was unclear, but she had done her best for now. All that remained was to wait and see what happened next.
Worst case scenario, I'll just have to take Lucas to meet Teacher ahead of schedule…