Goblin's subordinates also arrived. Seeing their boss under attack, how could they dare to slack off? They all leapt onto the pleasure boat and began fighting the warriors of The Carter Family!

The leader of the warriors on the pleasure boat had intended to pursue the one-eyed dragon, but seeing this could only intercept these assassins for now. As for that one-eyed dragon, he would leave it to the people on the painted boat to handle...

...

On the painted boat, Raymond Carter was lost in the enchanting sound of the zither, when suddenly he heard his men shouting loudly outside. His first reaction was actually annoyance, angry that they dared disturb his music. Only when he heard the sounds of killing did he snap back to reality, his face changing dramatically.

At this moment, his attendant burst in, anxiously saying, "Master, something's wrong, there are assassins!"

"What's the panic!" Raymond Carter calmed down, snorted coldly, and said, "With those four here, who could possibly break in? Get out!"

"Master, should we send a signal for reinforcements?" The attendant had already taken out a firework; once the signal was sent, all the experts in the command post would come rushing.

"Send a signal my ass!" Raymond Carter glared and said, "Such a trivial matter, do you want the whole world to know? Get out!"

The attendant had no choice but to withdraw.

Raymond Carter looked apologetically at the terrified Emily Reed, and said gently, "Emily girl, don't be afraid. With me here, no one can harm you in the slightest!"

Emily Reed was so frightened she couldn't speak. Hearing this, she seemed greatly comforted and nodded obediently.

Only then did Raymond Carter compose himself and begin to consider the current situation. Regardless of who wanted to kill him, the first priority was safety. Calculating quickly, not to mention the eight yellow-rank warriors on the pleasure boat, just the four profound-rank guards on the painted boat, who had practiced the The Carter Family joint attack technique for over ten years and cooperated seamlessly, even an ordinary earth-rank grandmaster would be helpless against them.

In this world, it was already extremely difficult for a martial artist to reach the profound rank—how many earth-rank grandmasters could there be?!

Moreover, although he had withdrawn from the earth-rank list two years ago due to age, his strength was still that of a genuine earth-rank grandmaster! As long as those heaven-rank monsters didn't appear, escaping safely shouldn't be a problem.

Thinking of this, Raymond Carter completely calmed down, even starting to consider how to handle the aftermath. Remembering the solemn promise he made to his elder brother before leaving the capital, he felt a headache coming on and secretly resolved to cover up this incident no matter what...

As Raymond Carter was lost in thought, his heart suddenly tightened. He saw a burly one-eyed man, holding a short blade, appear at the entrance to the zither platform.

The zither platform was so quiet that one could even hear the blood dripping from the tip of the blade onto the wooden floor.

Emily Reed was terrified beyond measure, and Raymond Carter was also dumbfounded. Seeing that no one followed behind the one-eyed man, he couldn't help but cry out hoarsely, "My four guards..."

"Profound rank, nothing special." Grace Brooks said hoarsely, raising his blade and pointing it at Raymond Carter, "Earth rank—so what?"

Chapter 9: Leaving After the Deed

Grace Brooks had slain the four profound-rank experts blocking his way and appeared on the zither platform—something Raymond Carter had never expected.

But Grace Brooks did not immediately seize the opportunity to attack. Instead, he allowed Raymond Carter to stand up and even let him adjust his energy and spirit to their peak.

Raymond Carter's expression became extremely grave. For his opponent to break through the encirclement and stand before him, he must know that Raymond Carter was an earth-rank grandmaster, yet he still waited for him to be fully prepared. This blatant contempt not only made him feel deeply insulted, but also sent a chill through his heart...

Could it be that this man possessed strength that could crush earth-rank? A shadow flashed through Raymond Carter's mind. But there were only about a dozen heaven-rank grandmasters in the world, and this man was clearly not among them! Where did this confidence come from?!

"Arrogant!" Raymond Carter snorted angrily, and said to the trembling Emily Reed, "Emily girl, play the zither to aid me. Watch as I slay this fiend!"

"..." Emily Reed was stunned for a moment, then, with trembling hands, pressed the zither strings and began to play, gritting her teeth.

At first, the music was broken and tuneless, but as a true master of the zither, she quickly composed herself, and a stirring, heroic "Battle Array Melody" resounded on the zither platform.

Below the platform, Raymond Carter, spurred on by the rousing music, suppressed all distracting thoughts and his fighting spirit soared!

His opponent, however, let his hands hang down, his single blade still sheathed, watching Raymond Carter's performance with a hint of mockery in his eyes. This was not Grace Brooks being arrogant, but rather a psychological tactic against Raymond Carter. Uncle Paul had told him that in a duel between experts, momentum was paramount. Once you suppressed your opponent's momentum, it would be hard for them to perform at their true level. If both sides were evenly matched, the outcome would be decided.

At last, Raymond Carter could not hold back and roared, "Die!" Borrowing the force of the stirring music, he turned into a black shadow and lunged at his opponent!

Grace Brooks appeared contemptuous, but in reality did not dare to be careless, immediately raising both hands to meet the attack!

There was no probing between them; from the start, both fought with full force! In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of fierce, direct blows! The surging energy tore the gauze curtains below the zither platform into shreds!

Those shreds, caught in the currents stirred up by the two, whirled around them, unable to fall, being shredded ever finer—like snowflakes, swirling and dancing in the air!