424 Metalbender

"Mad! You must be a madman!"

Lucy got in the car. Cyril turned on the engine dejectedly and began to drive towards the Roth family's location. He looked as though he was about to crumble.

"One person against the Roth tycoons? No person in the right mind would do that!"

"Maybe…..."

Fang Yuan seemed calm, but was very alert. He continued to scan the roads.

If he had not guessed wrong, Cyril was not alone. There were spies in every corner. They might have to deal with an attack anytime.　

"Give it up! If we leave now, we might still be able to escape the wrath of the Federation and Black Man Society!"

Lucy tried her best to convince Fang Yuan for the last time.

"It's they who should be worried!"

Fang Yuan looked out of the window. The black car accelerated and arrived at the Ivy City suburbs.

This was where all the most opulent villas could be found. Every residential building in the area was a castle built on vast grounds. The surrounding walls were covered in green vines, which gave the place a medieval feel.

"Woo woo! Woo woo!"

Not long after, ear-splitting siren noises heralded a large assembly of police cars chasing them from behind.

A loudhailer rang out.

"The car in front, do take note! Pull over immediately and let us conduct a thorough check!"

Bright dots appeared overhead in the night sky. They were police helicopters.

"Oh! Damn it... how did the Federal police get alerted so quickly!"

Lucy was exasperated.

"I won't hurt normal humans!"

"Please... they are the ones who want to hurt us!"

Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and spied a European-style castle in the distance. It was situated on lovely lands.

"Is that the Roth castle? Where Eric's treasure lies?"

"Yes... master! Eric himself can also be found there!"

Cyril drove steadily and answered Fang Yuan in a dull voice.

"Oh... should we say that he is confident, or just foolish?"

Fang Yuan's lips curled up slightly at the corners.

"Private property, no trespassing!"

At this point, the car gave no heed to the cautionary sign and maximised its horsepower, zooming right into the Roth territories.

"Shwoop!"

A blinding light emerged from the castle and climbed the sky rapidly with sparks trailing behind it. Its trajectory seemed to be preset.

"What the heck! RPG!!"

Lucy could not stop screaming.

"Lei... we're all going to die because of you!"

"It's just a bazooka!"

Fang Yuan grabbed her and flew out of the car.

"Kaboom!"

Seconds later, there were intense fireworks behind them. The force of the explosion even smashed the windscreens of the surrounding police cars.

"Suspects in front! Squat down with your hands behind your head, now! Or we'll shoot!"

A bunch of plump Federal policemen were shouting and took aim at them with their pistols.

"You won't hurt normal humans?"

Lucy looked at Fang Yuan.

"If they don't piss me off first... pity…..."

Fang Yuan shrugged and flung out his right hand.

"Bang!"

A whole slab of the ground was lifted up into the air. It was thick enough to be a wall, and it flew towards the policemen.

"Ping! Ping!"

Gunshots rang out continuously, but they were obviously of no help against this overpowering attack.

The slab fell on them and drowned out their screams as they were buried alive.

"Force of mind... makes this possible?"

Lucy was scared out of her wits upon witnessing such a thing.

Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance.

"Wait a minute... why did you save me? You even swaggered out to appear in front of the police. God... I don't want to be a wanted criminal!"

"You have no choice!"

Fang Yuan giggled.

"Everyone who is taking note of these events would think that it's your White Pigeon Society working in cahoots with me! Especially after I enter the castle and hypnotise a few fellas…..."

"Devil!"

Lucy glared at him.

"You are the devil from the Middle Continent!"

"Thanks for the compliment. I'll accept it reluctantly!"

Before the castle, Fang Yuan waved his hand. The two great iron doors broke off from their hinges and flew away from the castle, kicking up a storm of dust in the process.

"It's a piece of art... it doesn't have to be like this…"

Lucy was stunned.

"You are going against the order of the Federation! No... the whole world's order! Why are you doing this?"　

"Maybe... because it makes me happy!"

Fang Yuan strolled into the premises and immediately noticed that a team of well-trained guards were running out to confront them. They were of an even high level than elite soldiers and were all mutants. They all carried machine guns and began to spray bullets at Fang Yuan and Lucy.

"Ratatatatat!"

"Ratatatatat!"

Their concentrated firepower made it virtually impossible for targets to escape unless they had the ability to teleport.

Without warning, Lucy saw that Fang Yuan had put both his hands in the air and at that moment, a translucent water shield materialised.

Thousands of bronze pellets hammered on the shield but only caused it to wobble slightly. The bullets were caught in the shield like insects in a net, and they levitated strangely in the air.

"Go back!"

Fang Yuan flicked a bullet at one of the guards.

"Boom!"

A guard fell to the floor, his chest exploding in a red mist.

"Boom! Boom!"

The bullets were shot back at an even greater speed than they had emerged at from the machine gun barrels. A bloodbath thus ensued.

Deep in the castle, in a safe room, the bloodbath played out on several display screens.

"Ping!"

"Damn it"

A silver-haired old man smashed a fist on his office table.

He was quite dispirited.

After all, he thought that the terms he had offered were more than reasonable. He was actually willing to compromise some more. He did not expect the other party to exhibit such advanced insanity and to reject negotiation entirely.

"He thinks that the Roth family doesn't have any bargaining power…"

The old man muttered under his breath and lit a cigar. His face darkened, and he was suddenly determined.

"This is a challenge! A declaration of war against the Roth family. Such belligerence must be countered with all the power we can muster! I swear it on the honour of the Roth family! William!"

"Boss!"

A cheery mutant stood out from behind the old man.

"Deal with him for me!"

"Your wish is my command. But I don't think I can manage him alone. I can only try my best to fend him off until the Golden Lion Barton arrives. Also... there is the issue of your safety, Boss!"

"You don't have to worry about that!"

Eric smiled grimly.

"No one can hurt me in here... no one!"

"Alright!"

William bowed and left the room.

…...

In the castle.

The elegant structure had suddenly transformed into some sort of monster.

Traps and secret mechanisms were sprung everywhere in the building, and a large number of mercenaries were fighting Fang Yuan to the death.

Although they were no match for Fang Yuan, the intensity of the situation still made Lucy sweat profusely.

"Aren't you done yet? Don't you want the artefact?"

She saw how Fang Yuan destroyed the walls with a wave of his hand, and how the mercenaries were crushed beneath the falling concrete.

The rosewood furniture was not spared either, they were all smashed up together with the expensive vases on them.

Not only that, but a nauseating amount of blood and gore had been spilt in the halls. Even the wall paintings were drenched in dark red.

"Destroying everything in your path like that... you won't get anything by doing this...…"

"The thing that I'm looking for lies somewhere deep within the castle!"

Fang Yuan's eyes gleamed.

From the idol of the Aquilaria Maitreya, Fang Yuan could sense that the other half of the key was close by.

"In the underground vault... there are other objects giving out electromagnetic oscillations as well... seems like this collector is someone to reckon with...…"

Fang Yuan closed his eyes.

"Kaboom!"

He could hear Lucy screaming as the ground they stood on gave way and they fell down to the floor below.

"Interesting…..."

William walked into the messy hall, wearing a white suit with a red rose tucked in his front pocket. He began to clap slowly.

"Such a powerful force of mind... I don't think even the 2nd in command of the Black Man Society, the King of Myriad Thoughts, could beat you! Allow me to introduce myself... I am William, a metalbender... Mr Lei of the Middle Continent, I have no wish to take you on, but you leave me with no choice!"

"You are a mutant of the 3rd Tier working for the Roth family?"

Fang Yuan frowned.

"Metalbender William!"

Lucy let out another scream.

"He is one of the top mutants of the 3rd Tier. He could even trade blows with our leader in the White Pigeon Society. Roger the Iceman is a far cry from this William!"

The gap between each tier increased exponentially as a mutant went up the tiers.

At the 3rd Tier, a mutant could crush a beginner like an ant.

The leader of the Black Man Society once quelled an unrest organised by 10 mutants of the 3rd Tier single-handedly. As a result, he was recognised as the most powerful pugilist in the Federation!"

Of course, both he and the leader of the White Pigeon Society had not broken through to the 4th Tier yet.

Thus, in the world of mutant experimentation, it was said that before the third occurrence, no mutant would be able to break through to the 4th Tier. Although this was quickly drowned out by news from the Middle Continent regarding the God of Thunder, they stuck to their view. It was not entirely wrong.

After all, Fang Yuan was only at the 3rd Tier himself, and was newly minted.

Well, in contrast to others, he was a normal person and naturally had to work harder so as to rise up to the 3rd Tier.

"Shwoo!"

Even as Lucy spoke, William acted.

He waved his right hand in one fluid movement, and a smile plastered on his face.

"Psh! Psh!"

Pieces of metal, big and small, rose from the waste pile and were manipulated such that they compressed against one another to form a large steel ball.

"Not bad, he already has a well grasp of his element!"

But Fang Yuan knew something more.

This William had stripped the metal pieces down to the atom and had fused them with spiritual droplets so that they became his fluid and ever-changing weapon.

If such a person were to go back in time to the ancient Middle Continent, he would become the ultimate metalbending demon!