Refusing to be outdone, Flaxseed whisked a cluster of glowing talismans from his sleeve. Incantations hissed between his teeth. He snapped his wrist, and the charms burst into streaks of gold that tore across the air toward the unconscious captives.
The streaks struck flesh and detonated in halos of clean light, shredding every trace of black magic clinging to the prisoners' spirits.
"Thank you, honored sir! You have saved our lives!" the newly awakened cultivators cried, dropping to their knees in frantic gratitude.
Flaxseed waved them off with exaggerated nonchalance. "Spare the thanks—run. In a minute, this place becomes a battlefield, and my friend's wrath is something you don't want splashing on you."
They needed no second warning, scrambling from the main hall like deer sensing a wildfire at their backs.
A heavy cadence of footsteps rolled out from the rear chamber—measured and ominous, as though death itself had decided to walk the room.
From the shadows emerged a man draped in a gold-edged robe. His face was lean, eyes venomous—every inch the hidden serpent now baring its fangs. He was Drystan Hexford, master of the Sixth Hall.
"So, Jared Chance—you actually made it," Drystan hissed, voice echoing through the chamber. "Two intruders dare storm my hall and disrupt my ceremony?"
The words reverberated off stone and rune alike, carrying a sovereign menace that threatened to crush the air itself.
Drystan's heart kicked against his ribs, a frantic drum he could not allow the others to hear. His face, however, remained a marble mask—cold, stern, and desperate to hide the tremor gathering behind his eyes.
Jared looked at Drystan the way a hawk studies a rodent already trapped beneath its claws. "Look at you," Jared said, voice low enough to frost the air. "Pretending to be fearless when you're terrified. Drop the act and kneel before me, and I might let you die quickly."
"You fools think you can kill me?" Drystan sneered, the veins at his temples pulsing. "I answer to the Celestial Palace itself. Cormac Kingsley, lord of the Fifth Hall, is on his way. It's your graves that are being dug, not mine."

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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance)
Josephine's first time seeing Jared kill isn't with Leyton but with Falcon. Pay attention to your work....
You need to correct yourself,dear author. Josephine was in the City of Herbs when she was a kid, so why is the city's smell surprising to her?...
I need more chapters...
When can I get the next chapter...