Chapter 104: An Unpleasant Confrontation

Ethan walked towards Victor and stopped in front of him.

Victor looked up when he noticed Ethan standing before him.

"I... I’m sorry," he said.

Ethan didn’t reply immediately. He continued looking at Victor, waiting for him to say more.

"I didn’t mean to close the door on you. I just panicked when I saw that man coming after us."

"I know I shouldn’t have done that," Victor added. "But you’re back now, aren’t you? You’re safe. I don’t think there’s any need to keep bringing this up. What do you say?"

Ethan finally spoke.

"You’re telling me to forget about it?"

"I’m just saying that it was an accident. I already apologized."

"An accident?" Ethan repeated.

Victor frowned. He felt that Ethan was making the matter bigger than it needed to be.

"What else do you want me to say? I was scared, and I made a bad decision. But I didn’t know what would happen after that."

Ethan’s expression darkened.

"Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t been able to deal with that man?"

Victor didn’t answer immediately.

"You’re alive now, aren’t you?" he eventually replied. "I already apologized. What else do you want me to do?"

"You’re acting as if this is nothing. I was standing outside with a Seventh Order assassin chasing me. You closed the door while I was still trying to get inside. Do you understand how dangerous that was?"

"I already told you I panicked!" Victor raised his voice. "That man was right behind you! What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and wait for him to catch up?"

"You could have waited until I was inside."

"And if he had reached the door before you got in? Everyone would have been in danger!"

"Then we would have dealt with it together. But you didn’t even give me a chance. You closed the door and left me outside."

Victor’s face stiffened.

"I wasn’t trying to abandon you!"

"But that’s exactly what you did."

Victor looked unhappy, but he didn’t seem to know what else to say.

Before he could continue, another voice came from the couch.

"That’s enough, Ethan. He already apologized. Do you really need to keep going?"

The voice came from Bran. He had been sitting comfortably with both hands behind his head. Since Ethan was taken away, he hadn’t shown much concern. Even when the others were worried about what might have happened to Ethan, Bran had simply remained where he was, as if the whole matter had nothing to do with him.

He had been listening to the argument without saying anything, but when Ethan continued pressing Victor, he finally sat up and decided to interfere.

Ethan turned towards him.

"Did I ask you?"

Bran’s expression turned ugly.

"What’s that supposed to mean? We’re all here, and you’re making such a big deal out of something that has already happened."

"Something that has already happened?" Ethan repeated. "You make it sound like nothing happened."

"Victor made a mistake, and he apologized. Besides he’s the strogest here. What else do you want from him? It’s not like he deliberately wanted you to get killed."

Ethan looked at Bran.

"Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind if someone did the same thing to you?"

Bran immediately shouted. "Don’t put words in my mouth."

"Then stay out of it."

"You..."

"Enough!" Victor suddenly interrupted.

He stood up from his seat and looked directly at Ethan.

"You’re only Level 21. Don’t act like you can lecture everyone just because Roland made you captain. You’re not the strongest person here, and you certainly don’t have the experience to talk down to me like this!"

Ethan wasn’t surprised. He had expected Victor to bring up their level difference sooner or later.

"I never said I was stronger than you," Ethan replied. "And I don’t care whether you’re Level 29 or Level 39. That has nothing to do with what happened."

Victor clenched his fists.

"Then what are you trying to prove?"

Ethan looked at him for a few seconds.

"That level isn’t everything. You seem to think being higher level means you can do whatever you want, but that’s not how it works."

His expression remained calm.

"Whether you believe it or not, I can kill you without even moving a finger."

Ethan said those words without raising his voice.

His expression hadn’t changed either. He simply looked at Victor, but there was something different about his eyes. He wasn’t angry or even trying to intimidate him. It was almost as if Victor’s life meant nothing to him.

For some reason, Victor felt a chill run down his back.

His hand moved before he could stop it. He reached for the greatsword at his side and pulled it out slightly.

The sound of metal leaving its sheath caught everyone’s attention.

Victor froze.

He looked down at his own hand, then back at Ethan. He hadn’t even realized he was reaching for his weapon. His body had reacted on its own.

As a Greatsword Warrior, he had experienced enough battles to recognize the feeling of being in danger. Yet, this time, the person standing in front of him hadn’t even made a move.

For the first time since Ethan had become captain, Victor felt that he might have seriously underestimated him.

Ethan glanced at the greatsword.

"Are you planning to use that?"

Victor didn’t answer.

"Put it away. I haven’t done anything to you."

Victor slowly pushed the weapon back into its sheath. His expression was no longer as confident as before.

Ethan waited until he had put it away before speaking again.

"I don’t care if you dislike me being captain. You don’t have to like me, and I’m not asking you to be my friend. But we’re going on a mission together, and I expect everyone to follow my instructions."

He looked directly at Victor.

"If something like this happens again, I won’t waste my time arguing with you. I’ll beat you to death myself. I don’t care what level you are. Remember that."

Victor clenched his jaw. He wanted to say something, but the words didn’t come out.

Bran also looked displeased. He had wanted to defend Victor earlier, but after seeing what had just happened, he no longer seemed eager to get involved.

Adrian, Gareth, Kael, and Lydia remained quiet. None of them tried to interfere. They had all heard Ethan’s threat, and Victor’s reaction had made it clear that he wasn’t joking.

Ethan looked at Victor for another moment before turning away.

"Let’s get back to the skyship. We still have a journey ahead of us, and we’ve already wasted enough time here."