Rohan did nothing but laugh in the faces of these low-lives.

"Even if I wanted to, I’m afraid I didn’t lie when I said I sold it already! You guys wasted your time coming out here after us. I’m surprised you were stupid enough to follow us out regardless, even though you can clearly see that we don’t have it with us."

His words did cause some people’s expressions to waiver, but the impromptu ringleader urged a shout before any of them questioned whether they really were too late.

"Nonsense! You think you can trick us with such a simple excuse? Ever heard of space elemental Genetic Armaments? Ones that let you store things in a small space pocket separated from our own? You wouldn’t be much of an Awakened if you haven’t! We know you have one!" His face turned smug, as if he’d figured Rohan out. "All we have to do is kill you and that treasure, along with all the other goodies you’ve collected, will drop!"

’...’

’The fuck is this guy talking about?’

’Why does he seem so sure that I have a spatial storage type genetic armament!? Those things are so rare that I couldn’t find one for sale anywhere I looked...’

Rohan turned back and looked at Elane, gesturing his confusion with his face.

She was just as clueless, though.

But then, an idea sprouted in his mind. ’Did Rudith spread false rumours about us alongside the Lava Hellebore’s details, just to ensure that we’d really be hunted for it?’

This sounded like the only plausible explanation to him. ’Man, if I ever see her face in here again, I’m giving her another quick death! If she wants to play like this, I’ll make a habit of doing this. You want to make our lives miserable? I’ll make sure yours is straight up hell!’

Rohan started to seriously consider if paying information brokers for her information every time she entered the Origin Ream just so that he could go out of his way to hunt her if she was in a close enough city was taking things a tad bit too far...

He quickly shook these distracting thoughts away, and his face took a sudden shift, becoming deadly serious.

He had to deal with the current situation.

"But instead let me give you a counter offer. I’ll let whoever backs off right now and returns to the city live. Considering you guys came out here to ambush us 30 to 2, I’d say that’s quite a fair offer, don’t you think?"

He let the silence linger after his statement, but not a single person budged.

Some of them even began to chuckle.

Their faces experienced a great shift once he actually moved, however. The people surrounding him quickly came to regret mistaking Rohan’s words as a bluff.

Both sides grew tired of exchanging words, and the first wave of Awakened rushed in from the rest of the group. Rohan could tell at a glance that they were definitely a team that were already together before forming this larger group to hunt him and Elane down.

’Looks like these guys wanna try and take us down before the others gain some confidence so they can enjoy all the benefits themselves.’

Five Awakened burst forward from the front of the group, hoping to overwhelm him before he could build any momentum, while two arrows came in from the rear to limit his movement.

They were composed similarly to Rudith’s group, and Rohan could sense that three of them were Elites, while the other two support types were Ordinary Awakened.

’Quite impressive, really. These guys could even give Rudith’s group a run for their money.’

Rohan moved before the arrows could reach him.

The difference between his old Firestone Skin and his new Molten-stone Skin became obvious in that first instance alone. The moment he activated it, strength flowed through his body that felt much deeper and more substantial than before.

To the attackers, it was as if he turned into a blur, something that was terrified to imagine for Awakened like them.

An enemy’s movements looking like nothing more than a blur made it obvious that their speed was far beyond theirs!

Even for Elane, she was having a bit of difficulty following Rohan.

He looked like a streak of molten orange tearing through the small clearing.

The first man’s sword had only just begun to rise when Rohan’s spear punched through his chest and sent him flying backward into another attacker.

Before either body hit the ground, Rohan had already turned, and the shaft of his spear smashed a third man across the jaw with enough force to spin him in place and leave his neck hanging at an ugly angle.

The arrows meant to pin him down never even came close. One missed entirely as he moved too quickly for the archer to keep up, while the second bounced off his hardened, molten shell of skin with such little effort that it didn’t even leave a mark.

This was when the others understood what kind of prey they’d trapped.

’No, he’s not trapped... if anything, we’ve fell right into his trap!’ The ring leader thought in a panic.

The stronger Awakened in the group reacted fast. Very fast. The Elite ones in particular were the first... to turn tail and run!

"That’s right, run!" Rohan taunted.

They could tell from the moment Rohan first entered battle that he was a terrifying foe to face. If they were composed of a much more cohesive group, then their decision may have been different.

But they knew that this half-hearted gathering of greedy people like themselves would never reach the same effectiveness.

’We need to get back to the city, quick!’

Unfortunately for them, Rohan wasn’t going to give them that chance. He was already kind enough to offer it before the battle began, but they were all too arrogant to take it.

"He’s a monster! A demon!" An Awakened shouted as he ran.

Thud!

He fell to the ground the next instant with a spear protruding from his back.

Whoosh...

That spear disappeared from his chest, then reappeared in Rohan’s hand.

The scene turned to chaos, and Awakened started to scatter in all directions, all desperate to get away from the monster they’d provoked.