Chapter 176: The Betrayal

Though the group of three didn’t emanate any intimidating or suppressive aura, the crowd instinctively turned toward the entrance of the mall. Their arrival was like a cold breeze sweeping through a humid afternoon, naturally drawing everyone’s attention.

"That middle-aged man... I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before," the middle-aged man standing beside the female hunter, who had earlier expressed his disappointment that weaponsmiths no longer poured their hearts into forging weapons, muttered.

"What’s he doing here?" the S-class hunter whispered. His expression immediately turned serious as he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Mr. Cooper. Something’s wrong." He had directly contacted the former Hunter Association president, Stanley Cooper.

Under the crowd’s stunned and puzzled gazes, the group of three stopped in front of Leon and the young woman standing beside him, with Marcus taking the lead.

"Hello, Miss Elena." Marcus smiled politely. "I’m Marcus Bellemore, and I’m here to collect the penalty."

Elena was taken aback. "Penalty? What penalty are you talking about?"

"Haha..." Marcus let out a practiced laugh. "Miss Elena, you seem to be quite forgetful. You accepted an advance payment of four million to forge ten weapons, yet you failed to deliver them before the deadline. Surely you haven’t forgotten the penalty clause as well?"

Elena’s expression darkened instantly. "I don’t recall ever signing a contract with your company," she said coldly. "As for the contract I did sign for ten weapons with a four-million advance payment, the deadline is this weekend. I still have two days left. So tell me... when exactly did I become liable for any penalty?"

Although she voiced her doubts calmly, a growing sense of unease settled in her heart.

Someone had offered her an enormous advance payment under a contract with a penalty clause. Karen had taken her share of the advance and disappeared without a trace despite their years of friendship. And now, this group had suddenly appeared to demand a penalty.

The more she connected the dots, the stronger her bad premonition became.

Marcus merely chuckled in response, while the young man in a suit standing behind him watched silently, a faint smile on his lips as he enjoyed the drama unfolding before him.

The S-class hunter narrowed his eyes as he listened to the exchange. ’Isn’t that Jimmy’s daughter? She entered into a contract with them? She’s clearly being set up. But why would a prominent family from Johana target someone like her?’

Johana was a neighboring country to Delvan, and the S-class hunter had immediately recognized the middle-aged man. He was none other than the patriarch of one of Johana’s most influential families.

He could also feel it. Something was terribly wrong.

The surrounding crowd also began whispering among themselves. A few recognized the middle-aged man, while most could only stare in confusion, having no idea who he was.

Marcus’s lips curled into a sinister smile. He took out a document and casually handed it to Elena.

Elena accepted it and hurriedly flipped through the pages. The color slowly drained from her face.

’S-She...’ Her mind trembled. ’She made me sign a completely different contract while I wasn’t paying attention... How could she do something like this? This isn’t just betraying a friend for money... this was planned from the very beginning.’

Elena’s thoughts fell into complete turmoil. Karen had explained one contract to her but secretly made her sign another. According to the document now in her hands, the deadline had already passed yesterday.

That meant the other party now had the legal right to seize everything she owned by force.

"I di..."

"You didn’t sign it?" Marcus interrupted before Elena could finish. "Or are you trying to claim the contract is forged? Feel free to have it authenticated. We can wait."

Elena fell silent. She could tell. They had come fully prepared. What she couldn’t understand was why. Judging from their appearance and bearing, the three of them clearly came from either a powerful family or a wealthy faction. So why would people of their status go to such lengths to target an ordinary girl like her?

"I’ll give you two choices," Marcus continued confidently. "Either deliver the ten weapons right now, or hand over every asset registered under your name. Other than the clothes you’re wearing, you won’t be taking anything from your apartment."

The middle-aged man remained expressionless, while the young man behind him watched with an amused smile. He was clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"What’s going on?" someone murmured.

"Isn’t she from the Weapon Pavilion? She accepted an advance payment but failed to deliver the weapons?"

Another person sighed. "What terrible luck. She’s in serious trouble now."

Just as Elena was about to respond, a calm voice cut through the crowd. "You said that if she delivers the ten weapons right now, she’ll be exempt from the penalty. Did I hear that correctly?"

Everyone turned toward the speaker. None of them recognized him. Except one.

"Leon?" a female hunter whispered in shock.

It was none other than Meridith of the Razor Wolf Guild, one of the few people who had witnessed what Leon was truly capable of inside the hidden realm.

Marcus shifted his gaze to Leon.

"And you are?"

"You don’t need to know." Leon’s voice remained calm, neither humble nor arrogant. "Just answer my question. Did you mean what you just said?"

Marcus narrowed his eyes. "I did." He hadn’t made that offer out of kindness. He had already ensured Elena would never be able to fulfill the contract. Besides, as a member of a prestigious family from another country, he couldn’t afford to appear like a common loan shark. Sooner or later, word of this incident would spread back to Johana.

"Good." Leon smiled faintly. "Then let’s inspect the weapons." With that, he began walking toward Elena’s shop.

"I think you’ve misunderstood something," Marcus said. "I’m not here for ordinary weapons. The contract specifically requires magical weapons, all of them at least D-class."

Leon glanced back over his shoulder. "That’s exactly what I’m talking about." His tone remained calm. "You can inspect them, pay the remaining money, and leave."

"Hah!" Marcus laughed. "Magical weapons? You’re saying the two of you have ten magical weapons, all of them D-class or above? Then tell me... who forged these weapons? I’d rather not waste my time digging through garbage."

"I did," Leon replied simply.

Marcus’s laughter came to an abrupt halt. A moment later, he burst into even louder laughter.

Many people in the crowd joined in.

Because it sounded utterly ridiculous.

"You?" Marcus sneered. "Who are you, anyway? I thought you were just a salesman working at Miss Elena’s shop."

"What an idiot," a muscular man mocked. It was the very same guard from the first shop Leon had tried to enter today.

Leon paid no attention to the ridicule. He calmly walked into the Weapon Pavilion and returned a moment later, pushing a trolley loaded with weapons.

The small metal wheels scraped against the floor, producing a sharp grating sound that echoed through the hall.

Elena finally chuckled. She relaxed a little. She finally remembered what Leon was capable of. She already knew what was about to happen.