Dustin was surprised by the dagger that clattered noisily by his feet. The dagger was indeed the one that Ronald gave him. But after a few drinks last night, he had put it in his room.
He hadn’t paid the dagger much attention this morning when he left for the Hill family residence. He hadn’t expected it would be the weapon that killed Paul!
And because of that, he was now the prime suspect! “Well? Do you have anything else to say? Are you going to tell me that the dagger had been stolen? “Spring asked darkly.
Dustin furrowed his brow. He swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue.
It was true. He indeed wanted to say that the dagger had been stolen. But at this point, no one was going to believe that.
“Rascal, we’ve got solid evidence now. Let’s see how you get out of this!” Autumn roared.
“Dad! Don’t waste your breath on him. Just kill him right now to avenge Granddad!” Torben egged him on from behind.
“Dustin! Did you really kill Sir Paul?” Ronald, who had been quiet the entire time, finally spoke up. “Why did you do it? He had always viewed you as his successor. Why would you do that?”
“We trusted you so much! How could you kill Sir Paul? You beast!” Many members of the alliance shouted.
Paul was a respectable figure. Many of them in the alliance had received kindness and guidance from him. With his death, they were both saddened and angry.
“Sir Reeds, I’m innocent! Someone framed me. Think about it. I hold no grudges against Sir Paul! Why would I do this?” Dustin frowned.
“You’re the only one who can answer that. Who exactly are you?” Spring shouted.
“I know who he is!” Just then, a masked lady stepped out of the crowd. It was Lexi, the one Dustin had gone up against just the day before.
She pointed at Dustin and said venomously, “This man is from Kimboku. He’s an assassin from Shadowslayer. He has been staying undercover in Dragonmarsh to assassinate Dragonmarshian experts!”
The crowd was sent into an uproar.
“What? An assassin from Kimboku?”
“Damn it! No wonder the rascal killed Sir Paul! He’s a traitor!”
“He’s an enemy of the state! People like him deserve to die!”
Everyone was riled up. They had assumed that it was just a personal grudge, until now. But this was tied to the entire nation!
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“I have shown you mercy and spared your life. Why are you spreading lies about me?”
Dustin’s gaze shot over to Lexi. He hadn’t used all his strength in the punch yesterday and had spared her. He didn’t expect his kind gesture would put him in trouble.
“Stop denying it! I heard you clearly yesterday! You’re a spy from Kimboku! You were the one who poisoned all three of us from the Glenstead martial arts alliance!” Lexi yelled.
“So that’s what happened! I was wondering how the experts got poisoned! So this bastard was behind it!”
“We can’t let him get away with this! Take him down*!”
“Charge! Slay the national traitor!”
As the shouts rang out, many martial artists charged forward with fury.
They had already lost all sense of rationality. It no longer mattered to them who was in the wrong.
They were convinced that Dustin was the murderer and were out to kill him!
“Calm down, all of you!”
With a forceful stomp, an explosion sounded. A large crater formed at Dustin’s feet where he had
stomped.
He unleashed a burst of energy. Then, all the martial artists rushing toward him were swept off
their feet.
“This person is powerful! Attack together!”
As tens of the men fell, more of them charged toward Dustin with bloodlust.
Dustin frowned. Just as he was about to channel his energy again, a large group of men appeared.
Their numbers were vast, and they appeared from all around. It was the disciples of the Kirin
Gang!
“Hold it right there! Who dares harm Sir Rhys?” Cornelius, from the Darklaws, shouted. He was at the forefront of the men, leading them forward.
Then, along with the four major guilds, they surrounded all the people from the Balerno and
Glenstead martial arts alliance.
