Los had just returned home and picked up his treasured talismans when Kroll arrived. The giant hand directly ripped off the roof of Los's house and began smashing everything inside.
If the previous fight on the street had only consumed some talismans, Los could still accept it. After all, the main components of talismans were magical power and incantations, which weren't that expensive. If they were used up, he could just spend some time making more. But now, not only had the fight come to his home, but his roof had been blown off, and his belongings had been smashed. This was all real money! Repairing it would cost a lot.
This instantly made the already not-so-wealthy Los's eyes turn red. He threw several talismans at Kroll above him, then grabbed the items he needed for the upcoming fight and quickly ran out of his house, moving the battle back to the street.
From a distance, watching the two men move as slowly as if they were grinding tofu, Kleven yawned widely. He truly couldn't understand how their brains were wired. It was a simple matter, yet they had to make such a big fuss, and it still wasn't over after so long. He was genuinely worried they would attract the attention of the local authorities.
"Sir, we are ready and can eliminate both of them at any moment. Shall we proceed?"
Just as Kleven was watching the two weaklings peck at each other, a voice came from his earpiece.
On a rooftop far away, three demons had already set up their sniper rifles and were waiting.
These three demons had clearly defined roles: one was the main sniper, another was the spotter, and the last was the backup sniper to prevent any unexpected incidents.
Now, because the two weaklings were fighting for too long, and both were in an open street, the demons, who were starting to lose patience, proactively asked Kleven.
If Kleven agreed, one main sniper and one backup sniper could each take down one of the weaklings.
"Wait a bit longer, don't be impatient."
After thinking for a few seconds, Kleven still did not agree to the request to eliminate both of them simultaneously.
Although Kroll was a weakling, he wore the Dragon-Patterned Lamp Ring bestowed by His Majesty. If they were to snipe both of them at the same time, it might succeed, but if it failed, the mentally unstable Kroll might do something extreme.
It was unclear how much time passed before the battle between the two finally concluded.
In the end, Kroll, who wore the Dragon-Patterned Lamp Ring, had the upper hand. After both of them had exhausted all their talismans and internal magical power, Los, the cunning one, pulled out a handgun from God knows where and fired two shots at Kroll's face. Fortunately, the Dragon-Patterned Lamp Ring had activated in time, blocking all the incoming bullets.
Finally, Los, unable to turn the tide, still wanted to rely on his first abandoned method, the "talk-no-jutsu," to persuade Kroll to give up his hard-earned victory, citing things like fellow disciple camaraderie.
The result, as expected, was obvious. Kroll did not accept Los's suggestion and sent him to meet his ancestors.
With his great revenge avenged, Kroll let out a long sigh of relief, looking at the mess on the ground, which he found incredibly satisfying.
However, before Kroll could revel in the joy of victory for long, a bullet whizzed through the air. Fortunately, the Lamp Ring reacted quickly, raising a shield to block the bullet for Kroll.
When Kroll reacted, turned around, and examined the bullet embedded in the shield, another bullet shot from the same direction, successfully piercing Kroll's head.
"Sniper successful, target eliminated, withdraw."
Having completed their sniping mission, the three demons did not hesitate and quickly retreated from the scene.
Kleven slowly approached Kroll, who died with his eyes wide open, and shook his head helplessly as he looked at Kroll's pierced head.
He had to admit, this was by far his easiest hunt, so easy that he didn't even have to lift a finger.
Now that the mission was complete and it was time to collect the spoils, Kleven felt a little embarrassed.
But embarrassment aside, Kleven never let go of an opportunity to improve his strength.
Kleven squatted down and reached out to take the Dragon-Patterned Lamp Ring from Kroll's hand. However, the ring seemed to resist Kleven. No matter how hard Kleven tried, he couldn't remove it from his finger.
After several failed attempts, Kleven lost his patience. He drew the hunting knife from his waist, and with a swift motion, chopped off Kroll's left hand.
Yes, if he couldn't take the ring, he would take the entire hand.
Perhaps moved by Kleven's ruthlessness, the Lamp Ring automatically detached itself after Kroll's hand was severed and even slid onto Kleven's finger without him having to do anything.
Unlike Kroll, Kleven had already gained strength far exceeding that of ordinary people through several enhancements. The reinforcement the Lamp Ring could provide to him was less significant. What Kleven valued wasn't the power boost from wearing the ring, but its special illusionary ability and its exceptional续航 (endurance) capability of absorbing various energies to nourish the user.
It was truly a must-have item for traveling, killing, and robbing.
After taking the Lamp Ring, Kleven didn't leave in a hurry. Instead, he turned and entered Los's house.
Although this guy was a bit of a weakling, his ancestor was the famous Air Mage Lope. There must be many magic books passed down. Although His Majesty hadn't given any specific instructions, as a subordinate, waiting for His Majesty to say everything would be too late. A qualified subordinate could make reasonable guesses about His Majesty's intentions.
Since his own Majesty had a fondness for collecting various magical texts, why shouldn't he offer a gift made from borrowed flowers? Anyway, Los was already dead, and there shouldn't be any complaints from his spirit if he raided his house.
No sooner said than done.
With the help of the Lamp Ring, Kleven conducted a "tornado-destroying-parking-lot" style search of Los's house.
By the time dawn broke and the authorities arrived to investigate the situation, all they saw was utter devastation. Later, agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. also arrived. They searched through the wreckage for a long time but found absolutely nothing.
When Bai Qi learned in his palace that Lope's bloodline had been completely severed, he couldn't have been happier. It was a joy from the depths of his heart. As for the magical books Kleven had confiscated from Los's house, Bai Qi skimmed through them. They were all related to talisman magic. Although rare, they weren't particularly powerful. After granting Kleven the authority to freely study the related magical knowledge, he relegated all these books to the library of the Magic Academy.
Kleven was naturally happy as well.
As a hunter of the new era, it was embarrassing to go out without knowing some magic. However, Kleven wasn't interested in magic that required long hours of dedicated study or incantations during casting.
Instead, the talisman magic he found in Los's house was simple to learn, its raw materials were readily available, it could be prepared in advance, and it could be cast instantly, which perfectly suited Kleven's preferences.