There were two meanings to this dilemma. One was that it was difficult to make a choice and one didn't know which one to choose.
On the other hand, it meant that neither of the two choices were good. No matter which one he chose, it didn't look good …
Claude felt that he had fallen into such a predicament and was faced with a difficult choice.
The first was to turn around and go back through another alley.
However, if he did that, he would have to pass through that intersection again. If that fat old man Hurian saw him again from the supper stall under the canopy, he would know what had happened here and understand why he had turned back.
Then, there might be some changes in the deal tomorrow night. The old man might think that he was weak and easily bullied because of his avoidance and increase the price.
There was a high chance that his safety would be threatened. The value of an alchemical formation was enough to attract the greed of those with evil intentions.
The second choice was to take off his robe and mask and walk over confidently.
He believed that the two members of the underground gang would recognize him, or they would let him pass for the sake of his father, Mr. Morssen.
But the consequence of that would be that many people would know that he was passing through the alley at that time.
When his father asked him about it, he could only say that he went to Hurian's shop to buy some things. He couldn't possibly say that he came back from the brothel, right?
Once the news reached Hurian's ears, there was a high chance that the fat old man would know that he was the masked man. His identity as a mage that he wanted to hide would be exposed …
Claude was extremely annoyed. The joy he felt when he bought the materials to set up the alchemical formation was swept away.
He didn't think that he would run into such a situation. It was like a fish in a pond caught in a fire.
If this continued, he didn't know when he would be able to return home. His mother would nag at him and his father would interrogate him about where he went last night. That would be really annoying.
Of course, he had another choice, which was to continue wearing his mask and walk forward to make way for the bastards in front of him.
But there were two possible outcomes. The first was that they would obediently let him pass. After all, he was just a passerby and didn't participate in their confrontation.
The second possibility was that those bastards would ignore his request for them to give way and might even tell him to scram.
If that was the case, Claude wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson. He had heard too much about Blacksnake and Shark and didn't have a good impression of them. He knew what kind of people those bastards were.
As the saying goes, those with sharp weapons will naturally want to kill. That was exactly what Claude was feeling at the moment.
If he had not been promoted to a Level 1 Rune Mage, he could only swallow his anger and avoid such a situation.
But now that he had Magic Missile and Mental Shock as his support, he was not afraid of the members of the underground gang in front of him.
The night was dark and murderous, the wind was high and the fire was burning.
He looked up at the sky. Even though the silver moon hung high in the sky and shone down its silvery radiance, it didn't bring much light to the alley.
Even though the surrounding neighbors were hiding in their homes and secretly watching the confrontation in front of them, they couldn't see clearly when he cast the spell.
Hehe, I've long wanted to find someone to test the power of Magic Missile and Mental Shock on people. These bastards in front of me are the best test subjects.
Perhaps when news of me teaching them a lesson reaches the ears of Hurian, he'll rein in his little schemes. It'll be an extra layer of security for tomorrow's smooth transaction.
Having made up his mind, he no longer hid in the dark and walked out from under the eaves with large strides.
"Sorry, make way. Don't block the way," Claude said with a hoarse and polite voice when he reached the two sides.
The Blacksnake members' mouths were parched after cursing for quite a while. The ones at the outermost were already exhausted and their voices were much softer. They only cursed loudly once in a while.
The lanky one at the outermost heard Claude's request for him to make way and turned around. He was first taken aback before he yelled like he was on steroids.
"Heh!
Tonight was really a rare night!
We ran into a few troublemakers in front of us and now there's someone courting death behind us!
Everyone, look! Where did this idiot come from?
Who are you trying to scare by dressing like that in the middle of the night?!
Make way! I'll let you numb your head!
You even have your face covered. Let me see who you are first! "
As he said that, he reached out with his chicken claw-like hands in an attempt to pull off Claude's mask.
Claude sighed inwardly. As expected, it would be impossible for him to pass the test smoothly. These bastards from Blacksnake were truly out of the question.
He grabbed the chicken claw that was reaching over and twisted it upwards. The lanky man let out a series of "Ouch!
Ouch!
Ouch!
It hurts … "he screamed in pain.
However, the lanky man was obviously a veteran in street fights. Even though he let two of his fingers get twisted by Claude in a moment of carelessness and screamed in pain as he slid down, his reaction wasn't slow.
However, he wasn't slow to react. His other hand had already grabbed Claude's right wrist and pressed down to lessen the pain in his right hand.
At the same time, he made use of his sliding motion to lower his head and kick backwards. He endured the pain of having his fingers twisted and lowered his head to ram into Claude's chest.
Claude took a small step back and raised his right knee to meet the slender man's head head-on.
"Pa!" "Ah … …" With two sounds, the tall and skinny man fell to the ground, unconscious.
Thud! That was the sound made when the skinny man's face came into contact with Claude's right knee. The momentum of the collision and the strength of the knee strike made Claude hear a few faint sounds of bones fracturing the moment they came into contact.
The lanky man's face no longer looked human. His nose was completely caved in and his eyes were bulging out. Blood was spurting out of his mouth as if he had bitten his tongue. His face was covered in blood.
Fainting was a good thing for the lanky man. At least he didn't have to endure the pain from his face. Just like the scream that came out of his mouth, he didn't have to.
Actually, when the lanky man fell to the ground, most of them didn't realize what happened. The ones in the innermost circle, such as Squinted Kamadi, didn't know what happened. All he heard was the lanky man's cries of pain before they stopped as if something bad had happened.
Then, he heard the curses of his two henchmen.
The two gang members closest to the two watched as the skinny man collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. When they snapped back to their senses, the first thing they did was to pounce at him with their arms outstretched. They cursed at him, saying things like, "You son of a bitch! How dare you make a move? I'll break your bones and teach you a lesson when I catch you. I'll strip you clean and throw you into the lake to feed the fishes," and other things they usually used to intimidate commoners.
Claude took a few steps back and put some distance between him and the two rabid dogs.
The two gangsters thought that Claude was trying to escape, so they charged even faster. The man in front swung his fist and yelled, "Don't even think about running, you son of a bitch! I'm going to beat you up today!"
Claude tilted his head back and the man's punch missed an inch in front of his nose.
Claude leaned against the wall on his right and the other man who pounced at him was blocked by the man who was half a body's length taller than him. He had no choice but to move to the side.
By then, Claude had already lowered his head and grabbed the man's arm with his left hand. He lowered his head and charged towards the man's body. He turned around halfway and elbowed the man's chest.
Those who didn't see it clearly thought that the man was hugging Claude as if he was in an embrace. It was a rather ambiguous position.
However, they didn't know that the man was actually frozen. The chest was one of the most vital parts of the human body. Being struck there would cause one to suffocate and lose all strength. In serious cases, one's life would be in danger.
Even though the man behind Claude was still standing there, he was nothing more than an empty frame. He couldn't even breathe after being hit in the chest. His face was flushed red and his mind was in a mess. The numbness from the pain in his chest spread throughout his body and he couldn't even move a finger.
If Claude wanted to, he could easily fall to the ground with a gentle push.
However, his comrade didn't know that he was heavily injured and thought that Claude had been hugged by him. It was the perfect time to beat a drowning dog. The masked man was powerless to resist.
He knew very well that even though his comrade didn't have much skill in fighting, he was strong and wasn't afraid of pain. Those he grabbed wouldn't be able to break free easily. That was also the reason why Squinty Kamadi brought him along.
"Hold on tight. I'm going to give this bastard a few blows first before stripping him of his clothes and slowly torturing him," the man said hatefully before turning to face Claude with his legs apart. He clenched his right hand into a fist and prepared to roll up his sleeves with his left. That was one of the methods he used to intimidate the commoners. Most of them would cry and beg for mercy if they saw him like that.
"Ouch!" The scream was as loud and long as the best tenor.
However, this howl that contained the sound of crying sent chills down people's spines. All the men who heard this scream couldn't help but clamp their legs together.
Even the few houses around the alley that still had their oil lamps on immediately extinguished their lights. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the howl.
All Claude did was kick him in the crotch. Of course, he used a little more force than he had intended to use him as a punching bag to practice his boxing skills.
It was his fault for standing so casually in front of him with his legs spread apart. If Claude didn't kick him, he'd feel like he'd let down the man's good intentions.
The crotch was one of the most important parts of a man's body.
Many men would rather be beheaded and lose their lives than lose their crotch in order to preserve their lives.
Therefore, all the people present and the neighbors who were secretly watching from the side of the alley appreciated the best tenor voice of this man who was delayed by the triads. They watched the burly man holding his crotch with both hands, jumping and screaming at the top of his lungs. In the end, the man's howl became low and the burly man stopped jumping.
He slowly knelt on the ground, then slowly lay down. He curled up his body and twitched on the ground. His two legs were limp, and he looked like those big bullfrogs sold in the market that had been peeled off their skin ….
Then, everyone turned to look at Claude, who was being hugged by the man in front of him. Claude leaned back slightly and the man behind him slumped to the ground as if he had no bones left in his body.
Only then did the people who were closer notice that the man's face was pale and he seemed to be out of breath.
Squinting Kamadi couldn't care less about Gerrard and the others anymore. He pushed the two men in front of him aside and walked to the front. He looked at the three fallen men on the ground and glared at Claude. "Who are you?
What are you trying to do? "
Claude shrugged. "I'm just a passerby. I asked them to make way, but they refused and even tried to fight. You saw what happened."
Even if he was empty-handed, Claude wasn't afraid of the hoodlums in front of him. They were people who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Their bodies were mostly hollowed out by alcohol and women. Usually, they would only try to intimidate the slum residents. Now that they were faced with a tough opponent, they became cowards.
Claude didn't think that the Blacksnakes would be so easy to deal with. The three on the ground looked ferocious, but it only took them two or three moves to finish them off. They didn't even break a sweat.
If he had to compare them, he felt that the physical students in the academy were more difficult to deal with, especially during wrestling class. When two or three students surrounded him, he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed. He would often be suppressed and have no choice but to admit defeat.