Within Guanshi, the ordinary townsfolk only knew one thing: the demonic beasts had vanished, and they erupted into joyous cheers.
But those who had been rushing toward the city's entrance were well aware of what had truly happened.
Hovering in the sky, a lone figure had radiated searing beams of crimson light from his body,
, and in the next instant, the demonic horde was annihilated.
The young sniper, Kobe Michi, looked up at the figure in the sky and murmured,
"Is that... a human? That powerful?"
The purple-haired youth wielding a curved blade exclaimed in awe,
"Whoa! That was insanely cool!"
Of all the people present, no one was more shocked than Su Lie.
Only moments ago, he had called out to Carl for help,
but before he could even finish speaking,
Carl had already wiped out the entire demonic force.
Staring at the now-empty entrance to Guanshi,
Su Lie even began to doubt whether those monsters had been real at all.
Had he just imagined them?
Just then,
a beam of red light shot toward him.
Startled, Su Lie instinctively tried to dodge.
But before he could even react,
he noticed the three powerful demonic beasts in front of him,
disintegrated instantly by the red light.
Su Lie froze.
These three beasts had been incredibly powerful.
Even after serving over a decade as a battle-hardened commander on the Wall,
he had struggled to hold them back.
Without his Armament Haki, he wouldn't even have been able to retaliate.
And yet now,
Carl had obliterated them in an instant.
The difference in power was overwhelming.
So this is the man who can manipulate time... and resurrect the dead.
It all made sense now.
No wonder the chat group called him The God Among Men.
This level of strength,
was divine.
By now, some of the townspeople had also noticed Carl floating in the sky.
"Old Zhang, do you see that? Is that... someone up there?"
"See what? You're talking nonsense!"
"No, seriously, there's a silhouette!"
"There really is something there…"
"It's gotta be a demonic beast! No human can fly!"
"That's impossible!"
"I saw him shoot red beams from his body and destroy those monsters!"
"If they were monsters, why would they attack their own kind? He has to be human!"
"Or maybe… he's a god? What kind of human has that kind of power?"
"…That actually makes sense."
Some people had seen it earlier too, but hadn't paid attention.
After all, the blinding red light and the monsters had stolen everyone's focus.
Now that the beasts were gone and the light had faded,
they finally noticed Carl hovering silently above.
But Carl had already landed beside Su Lie.
Seeing him approach, Su Lie immediately bowed and said gratefully,
"Carl-sama, we owe everything to you."
"If you hadn't stepped in, Guanshi and everyone inside would have been lost."
He knew better than anyone what would've happened.
Su Lie alone could barely hold off the three leaders of the demonic horde.
Hundreds more had poured into the city.
The outcome would've been catastrophic.
Thankfully,
he'd joined the chat group.
And thanks to Carl, the disaster had been averted in an instant.
He was deeply grateful.
"No need to thank me," Carl replied with a casual smile.
If he had the chance to help people, he didn't mind doing a good deed.
After all, he was well-educated,
twice over, in fact.
And besides,
he'd received a reward from the chat group the moment he destroyed the monsters.
Doing good while earning points?
Why not?
Carl wasn't in a rush to leave.
Su Lie offered an apologetic nod.
"Carl-sama, I'll go calm the people first. We can talk afterward."
Carl nodded.
"Go ahead."
Su Lie immediately strode into Guanshi.
He knew many of the citizens had seen the monsters.
Some might now doubt the safety of the city.
After all,
the whole foundation of reopening Guanshi
had been built on trust between the Wall and the Lord of Jade City.
Neither side had stationed soldiers or guards within the marketplace,
so the people could trade freely and peacefully.
It was supposed to encourage commerce,
to bring life and excitement to the border.
But now, on the very first day of reopening,
they had been attacked by monsters.
Whether from the Wall or from Jade City,
the people would no doubt carry unease in their hearts.
Even Su Lie himself felt bitter about it.
In his mind, an image of the purple-haired youth surfaced.
Was this your real goal all along?
Su Lie clenched his fists.
Carl, with nothing better to do, followed Su Lie into the city.
He had to admit,
Su Lie was an impressive commander.
At first, the people had been terrified, overwhelmed with panic.
But after a few words from Su Lie,
most of them visibly relaxed.
Then someone noticed Carl at Su Lie's side.
It was one of the citizens who had seen him earlier.
"General Su Lie," the man asked hesitantly,
"the man beside you… was he the one who defeated the monsters?"
Everyone nearby turned to look.
Many had glimpsed Carl earlier.
They now waited for confirmation.
Su Lie didn't answer right away.
Instead, he looked to Carl, clearly asking for permission.
Carl gave a small, easy smile and nodded.
Su Lie's eyes lit up.
He raised his voice so all could hear:
"That's right!"
"Some of you may have seen it, monsters invaded Guanshi just moments ago."
"This man beside me is the one who wiped out the entire horde and saved our city."
"His name is Carl. You may also call him, The God Among Men."
The crowd fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at Carl.
Those who had seen the black figure in the sky now had their suspicions confirmed.
And then,
the people erupted in celebration.
"Incredible! Thank you so much!"
"The God Among Men? That name sounds powerful!"
"If it weren't for you, I'd be dead right now!"
"These are some snacks I made, please take them!"
"These are fresh vegetables I grew myself! They're delicious!"
A wave of people surged forward, all trying to show their gratitude to Carl.
Seeing this, Carl floated upward and hovered above the crowd.
Looking down at the cheering masses, he smiled and spoke clearly:
"Everyone, there's no need to thank me."
"This victory belongs to General Su Lie."
"He stood alone against three powerful beasts."
"I'm just a friend of General Su Lie."
"If you want to thank someone, thank him. I'll just take some snacks, that's enough for me."
With that,
Carl descended in front of the girl selling treats and took a few for himself.
The crowd, moved by his humility, surrounded Su Lie instead, shouting thanks.
Su Lie smiled warmly and responded to them one by one.
At that moment
Carl noticed a group of soldiers approaching rapidly from outside the city.
To be continued...