Without time to think, Lex continued to push open the bar's door, but at the same time, flames shot up from beneath the feet of the three men. These three men were caught off guard by this move; the one hiding behind the door screamed repeatedly, rolling and slapping at the flames on his body, hoping to extinguish them.
The other two were also burned by the sudden flames and instinctively retreated, giving Lex an opportunity to pursue. He brandished a long whip made of flames, and this whip was studded with sharp barbs!
Snap.
Lex struck a Bearded Man, tearing his clothes and leaving his skin a fiery red.
Snap, snap.
Lex struck the other man, knocking the revolver from his hand and sending his hat flying, leaving deep whip marks on his hand and forehead.
Lex didn't forget the one by the door. Flames rose, transforming into a fire snake that quickly shot out. Just as the man finally managed to pat out the flames on his body, the fire snake bit him, then coiled around his leg. A flash of fire, and flames erupted. The man screamed, fell to the ground, hit his head on the corner of a nearby chair, and immediately passed out.
The other two created Confusion and escaped through the bar's window. Lex was about to pursue them, intending to root out the mastermind, just as he had on Skye Island.
He believed these three were not the main culprits, reasoning that they were too weak and might not even be Beyonder.
However, these three men were able to ambush him in the bar in advance, which meant there were others outside watching him and reporting his every move.
The moment he stepped onto the port, he might have already become someone else's prey.
These three behind the door were likely just pawns used to test him. There was a bigger fish behind them.
But Lex didn't get a chance to do so, as several Soldiers rushed in from outside, shouting, "What happened here?"
A Bartender, who had been hiding behind the bar, stood up and pointed at the unconscious man, saying, "This man, along with his two companions just now, ambushed this gentleman."
He pointed at Lex: "But they were all driven away by this gentleman."
Lex narrowed his eyes. How could the Soldiers arrive so promptly? Were they perhaps in league with these people? Were they not Soldiers? Or were they bribed?
Regardless, even a single Soldier represented the Loen Kingdom and the will of the Kingdom. So when these Soldiers asked Lex to explain the situation, Lex could only display his Storm Holy Emblem to first establish his identity, and then recount what had just happened.
Finally, the unconscious man was taken away by the Soldiers, who said he would be handed over to the port's Security Bureau, but whether he was ultimately handed over was not something Lex could know.
Delayed by these Soldiers, Lex had lost the prime opportunity to track them. He had no choice but to give up, then walked to the bar, gently tapped it, and smiled, "A beer for me."
After the Bartender brought the beer, Lex pulled out some change, handed it to the Bartender, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know those three men from earlier?"
Glancing at the money, which was far more than the cost of the drink, the Bartender shook his head: "Those are new faces. I haven't seen them before."
"Alright."
Lex also knew it wouldn't be easy to trace them. Since the Bartender didn't know, he didn't press the issue.
He held the wooden mug, took a sip, and began to ponder.
'I must have been targeted in the ticket hall, and they overheard my conversation with the ticketing Miss, knowing I was going to Bayam and that the Green Emerald wouldn't set sail until 5 PM.'
'A normal person in this situation would naturally choose to spend time in a nearby bar, and there's only one bar near the port, so where to ambush is obvious.'
'Their plan is quite meticulous. Someone is monitoring, someone is ambushing. If the Soldiers are also their people, then they've even prepared a backup plan.'
'The Soldiers' identities should be real. Bribing a few Soldiers is not difficult. As long as they stall me and prevent me from tracking, they will have achieved their goal. And they can also take their accomplice with them, for reasons I cannot refuse.'
'This should just be a test, to probe my way of doing things and my abilities. Now they have obtained relatively detailed information: Rayleigh, a somewhat reckless but powerful Pyromaniac.'
'If they come after me again, they should be prepared with methods specifically against a Pyromaniac. What will it be?'
On the other side of the dock, a row of low-slung warehouses basked in the bright afternoon sun. From a dark alleyway nearby, two figures ran out. One had torn clothes, and the skin underneath was fiery red, like a severe burn, bubbling and oozing blood. The other was in even worse condition, with a fiery red whip mark on his wrist and forehead, those areas also bubbling and peeling, hurting intensely at the slightest touch.
Of the two, a Bearded Man knocked on the warehouse door: "Open up, quick, open up."
The door opened, and the two men, unsteady on their feet, staggered inside, then panted, "We're out, we're out. This hunter is too powerful; we're no match for him."
From the depths of the warehouse, a figure emerged. The sunlight from the window fell on him, outlining a well-proportioned physique. The man was about forty years old, seemed to have some South Continent ancestry, with a brownish complexion, short-cropped brown hair, and restrained blue eyes.
"No problem, I will pay each of you 100 pounds as per the agreement."
"But before that, I need to know, what kind of person is he? What are his abilities?"
The Bearded Man looked up at the brown-haired, blue-eyed man before him: "No problem, Mr. Charles."
"That hunter named Rayleigh, I think he's a very reckless fellow. He must have sensed us before pushing open the Fire Dragon Bar's door, but instead of retreating, he charged in."
"He can control flames. He lit a fire under the feet of all three of us. He can also transform flames into a long whip, and he released a fire snake at Jimmy. Poor Jimmy, his leg is probably ruined."
The man called Charles 'hmmed': "Anything else?"
The Bearded Man exchanged glances with his companion, then shook his head: "That's all. He almost killed us. We didn't dare to linger and escaped."
"The Soldiers you arranged appeared in time and held him back. Otherwise, I think he would have pursued us," the other person said cautiously.
"I understand."
Charles showed a gentle smile: "I can pay you two your reward, but can you two promise not to speak of this matter?"
The Bearded Man quickly said: "Of course, we can swear to the gods."
Charles said: "No need, but you must stay here. You can only leave tomorrow morning. That way, there will be no problem."