The loud warning belonged to the giant who had just parted from Ye Qi earlier. His pair of large eyes swept all the new Apostles gathered in the hall. There were two individuals who followed behind Titan, one was the ice-block of a man, Noah who had changed into a new pair of clothes. Any trace of the earlier battle with Ye Qi had been taken care off. Another person was a grimacing large-bodied man. The first thing that attracted the young Demon Hunter's attention about the man was his head of blond hair.
"Ye Qi, don't tell me you're responsible for this again?"
The giant who scanned the hall eventually had his gaze fell on Ye Qi who was standing in the middle of the hall.
Before Ye Qi could say anything, the two person who were flanking Carlos earlier ran passed Titan and grumbled something to the large man standing behind the giant. After hearing their pleas, the man's face was twisted even more from anger. He glared fiendishly at Ye Qi and claimed, "Ye Qi, it is you again! First, you've killed Tarn and now you killed my cousin, Carlos. You've attempted again and again to come after we Dirk family! Today, I, Paki will rip your chest open and use your beating heart to pay tribute to my cousin!"
"Wait!"
The moment Paki started to move, Titan slammed his palm down. Paki might be larger than a regular man but compared to a giant like Titan, he was like an ant. Titan's arm blocked Paki's path fully.
"Titan, I advise you to not get involved in Dirk family's family business!" After he failed to move Titan's arm, Paki knew he was no match for the giant in terms of physical strength so he opted for another tactic and used his family background to suppress Titan.
Titan was more powerful than most in terms of pure strength but in matters of politics, he was an easy pushover! Thankfully, Titan didn't need to deal with this alone! Just as Titan scratched his head trying to come up with a retort, Noah took a step forward to announce, "This is the Demon Hunter headquarters, not the Dirk family's back garden! Unless, of course, you're telling me Dirk family thinks themselves as above the law of the headquarters…"
Ye Qi who was stood to the side aiming to see how things would unfold was duly impressed by Noah's gift of the gab. He didn't expect such an aloof man would be so good with words.
Noah not only managed to force Paki back with a few single words but also managed to drag the whole Dirk family into the giant mess. If Paki continued to spout nonsense without filter, the headquarters would have to re-examine their relationship with the Dirk family independent of Dirk family's actual intention.
"Noah… you, you… you're framing me!"
The reason Paki could stay at the headquarters for many years was thanks not only to his prowess but also his intellect. He knew instantly the rash mistake he had done. His tongue was caught by the one person who he always had an issue with. If this incident was twisted maliciously and spread, then the whole Dirk family… Paki shivered involuntarily thinking about the possible consequences. He immediately tried to backtrack, "We Dirk family of course wouldn't think ourselves as above the headquarters! I've misspoke due to my grief from having lost my cousin! However, it is true that this Ye Qi is undeniably a murderer, I demand that the headquarters return my cousin his due justice!"
Paki was not a bad speaker as well. He effectively minimized the effect of Noah's insinuation and pushed Ye Qi back into the eye of judgement.
"A murderer? I believe you might need to rephrase that," Noah smirked coldly. He strode to one of the new Apostles and asked, "Speak, what has truly happened here?"
"Yes, sir. This is what happened…."
Noah laughed as the Apostle explained the situation. He then asked a few other Apostles and they corroborated the story. Noah returned to stand before Paki and said, "Carlos asked Ye Qi for a bout for life and he lost! He has no one but his own weakness to blame for his death!"
"You!"
Paki glared at Noah but he knew better than to run his mouth at a moment like this. Noah had gotten the whole truth out, he couldn't use Carlos' death to corner Ye Qi anymore. Paki glared at the spot the fireball exploded—other than Carlos' remains, there was also the Hallowed Artefact that belonged to the Dirk family, the Jade Leaf!
"Kid, don't think this is over! You better watch your back!"
Paki threatened darkly as he walked past the young Demon Hunter.
"Try your best!" Ye Qi shrugged.
Paki who ended the conversation with a cold harrumph walked away from the young Demon Hunter and started collecting Carlos' remain. However, based on the noticeable condition, the possibility of Carlos having a complete remain was less than one winning the first prize lottery.
"Hahaha, Ye Qi, that fireball of yours was quite amazing! It's almost the same damage of a Star level Apostle!" The giant moved forward and attempted to give the young Demon Hunter another slap on his shoulder, one that the Demon Hunter avoided at the last minute. The giant was stunned for a second before laughing it off. Then he turned to Noah and said, "Noah, you still refuse to believe me earlier, what about now? You've seen the Star level fireball for yourself right?"
The cold-faced man who helped Ye Qi earlier turned his face aside with a huff.
"Hahaha. See didn't I tell you, Noah is a good person underneath his rigid shell?" The giant winked at the young Demon Hunter ignoring Noah's glare, "Ye Qi, you're not so bad yourself! I'm sure sticking to you will be very interesting so from today onwards, we'll…"
"Ye Qi!"
An anger-filled roar cut the giant off. Paki dashed to Ye Qi and yelled into his face, "Hand over the Hallowed Artefact!"
"What?" The young Demon Hunter looked at Paki with confusion.
"Don't act dumb! The Jade Leaf Carlos used earlier must be with you! If you hand it over now, I can pretend that this has never happened!" Paki hissed through clenched teeth.
"I was more than 10 metres away from Carlos during the fight and the moment the match ended, you people appeared, so how the hell did I manage to snatch the Hallowed Artefact?!" The young Demon Hunter glared back at Ye Qi, "Paki, if you want revenge for Carlos, just come out with it, there's no need to go about it in such a roundabout way!"
"If it's not you… then it has to be you people?" Paki thought about Ye Qi's defence and immediately his gaze turned to the rest of the new Apostles. The loss of a family Hallowed Artefact had completely made Paki lose his cool. He roared at the roomful of people, "Whoever that stole the Jade Leaf, quickly surrender yourself! Or else, I'm going to have to physically search each and every one of you!"
Just as Paki finished his words, the faces of the Apostles were drawn. Then, they glanced unkindly at Paki—the possibility of awakening was very small, probably one over ten thousand, and these chosen people of course had their own pride as well! What Paki suggested was no different from giving them a giant slap on their faces!
Instantly, the arrogance inherent in Demon Hunter exploded!
All the new Apostles started to rush forward—their intention betrayed by the indignation burning in their eyes!
The only one bearing a bright smile was the young Demon Hunter who surreptitiously glided back from the crowd.