"For my last question, your leader, where is he?" Max asked as his eyes began glowing a fierce yellow at the same time.

"Ou…our gang leader… she…she is upstairs. The last floor of this building is where she is," the man replied with a shaky tone.

"Wait, she?! You mean your gang leader is a woman?" Max asked, taken aback by the absurdity of the situation. He even shot up from his crouched-down position in surprise.

"Yes. She is a woman, but don't underestimate her. She is powerful," the man replied, his voice trembling as if he was speaking about a war goddess.

"Yet she lost to the dark forces gang. Tsk! What a waste of reverence," Max scoffed, clearly irritated. "What is even the name of your gang?"

"The Pincers gang," the man replied, and Max nodded slowly.

'So two gangs rule this town. The Pincers and the Dark Forces. The Dark Forces have demon vessels in their ranks and work closely with the Pincers to hunt humans. Okay!' Max mentally noted as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"One more question," Max said, his tone calm but heavy. "Do you all enjoy working under the Dark Forces? Were you all forced, or is this your leader's personal decision?"

The man clenched his fists tightly, tears dropping down from his eyes like raindrops. His shoulders trembled as he tried to speak through the pain.

"We hate it! We don't like it one bit! People are dying! My cousin became a victim of the Dark Forces and was eaten right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything!" he shouted, his voice breaking with raw emotion. "We are so helpless since the Dark Forces are stronger than our gang."

'I was worried if the information so far was false, but it seems correct. The raw emotion pouring from him is too real to be fake,' the dragon inwardly thought, his glowing eyes softening a little.

"Okay," Max casually sighed as he turned around and walked out of the large hole he made earlier, heading back into the room he was lured into. The man suddenly lifted his head up, panic flashing across his face.

"Wa…wait, where are you headed?" the man asked, his voice shaking.

"To speak with your leader," the dragon replied coldly. Without hesitation, he exited the room and stood in the corridor, scanning left and right for any movement.

'I wonder which room Jim was taken into and if he encou…'

Bang, Bang, Bang!

That was the sound Max heard from the room directly across from him. Then…

BANG!

A much louder crash followed as the door was blown off its hinges, and a body flew out of the room, slamming hard against the wall beside Max. The individual's eyes were rolled to the back of his head, unconscious.

Then, stepping out of the room casually, Jim appeared with shallow cuts on his arms and face that were already healing. His eyes glowed faintly ashen, and his breathing came out ragged, but he still had a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, looks like you're good," Jim said with a crooked smile as he looked at the dragon. "Oh boy! Being a dragon sure is fun. I was able to beat some fools who thought they could harm me. Tch!"

"Glad to see you're okay," Max sighed, then glanced ahead to spot a staircase leading upstairs. "Now come on, we have somewhere to be."

Without wasting any time, the dragon began walking toward the staircase, with Jim trailing closely behind him.

"Wait, is this what you meant by ten minutes the other time?" the hunter asked, raising a brow.

"Yes," Max replied simply as they began ascending the staircase together.

And soon enough, the duo could be seen on the last floor with a wide and long corridor stretching out in front of them. About five metres away stood a massive double door, and there was no doubt that was where the leader was.

But the problem wasn't the door. It was who stood in front of it.

Twenty men were parading the hallway with dangerous weapons in their hands, ranging from metallic bats to heavy chains, long spears, and knuckle bracelets that gleamed under the dim light. Their expressions were menacing, their stances solid like guards ready to kill at a moment's notice.

"Hey, you both! What are you doing here? Don't you know this place is forbidden? Begone!" a man shouted, his voice echoing through the corridor. The duo, however, kept approaching, unfazed by the clear hostility.

"Didn't you hear me? This is the chamber of the leader! Begone now!" another yelled as he gripped his metallic bat tighter. "Or prepare to face the consequences!"

"Oh! So we're at the right place then," Max commented with a wide grin. He suddenly halted his steps, standing about three metres away from the group, with Jim calmly by his side. "I'm not here to fight. I just want to speak with your leader about an important matter."

"And we're supposed to just let two unknown strangers meet her? You think we're fools?!" one of the men barked with a deep frown on his face.

"You definitely look like one," Jim replied dryly, folding his arms across his chest with a faint scowl.

The insult hit home immediately. Veins bulged on the man's temple, his teeth grinding back and forth as anger consumed him. The tension in the hallway thickened almost instantly.

"Have you all forgotten the leader's instructions? Strangers aren't allowed here! If she finds out we let them pass, we're literal toasts. So take them down!" one of the men yelled as he swung his bat into the air, rallying the others.

"Okay, seems like being civil doesn't work," Max sighed as he took a small step back. His glowing eyes flickered briefly as his tone shifted into calm annoyance. "You caused the aggression, so handle them yourself."

"I won't argue," Jim said, cracking his knuckles as he punched his fists into his palms, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "I'll make sure they don't even get close to you."

"Well, they're about to," Max said as he pointed forward casually.

Jim turned around just in time to see about ten men already charging at full speed, weapons raised, their footsteps pounding the wooden floor like a war drum.

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