Chapter 30: Father-Daughter Bickering

The City Lord looked at the shadows wrapped around his warhammer and gave a cold snort.

"You’re quite troublesome."

He simply jerked the hammer upward.

The shadows tightened around the weapon, but they couldn’t hold it. The Shadow Wraiths caught in the Shadow Bind were dragged off the ground, and several of them were torn apart as the hammer broke free.

The City Lord raised the warhammer above his head again.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He knew the next strike would kill him.

His arms were already broken from the first attack, and even hundreds of Shadow Wraiths had only managed to save him by taking most of the impact.

There was no way he could take another one.

"Come out!"

The Shadow Wraiths immediately gathered around him.

The City Lord brought the warhammer down.

BOOM!

The force of the swing shook the ground.

Shadow Bind spread across the ground and wrapped around the hammer once more. Dozens of shadows pulled against it, but the weapon continued downward.

Several Shadow Wraiths were crushed beneath it, their bodies breaking apart into black particles.

Ethan gritted his teeth and summoned more.

The Shadow Wraiths crowded around him, forming a wall with their bodies.

The hammer was almost there.

Ethan looked up at it.

There was no way out.

"FATHER!"

The City Lord’s eyes widened.

Aria had finally broken free from the warriors holding her.

"Lady Aria!"

She ignored them and ran straight toward her father.

"Father, stop!"

The City Lord immediately stopped the warhammer.

It came to a halt less than a meter above Aria’s head.

The Shadow Wraiths stopped as well.

Aria stood there, breathing heavily. She glanced at the warhammer above her before turning toward Ethan.

Her eyes fell on his broken arms, and her face tightened. She turned back to her father. "Why are you attacking him?"

The City Lord stared at her. "Aria, move."

"No." She stood firmly in front of Ethan. "He saved me."

"He saved you?" The City Lord’s voice hardened. "He pushed you into a Hell difficulty dungeon. Do you even understand what that means? That’s no different from him sending you to your death."

Aria rolled her eyes. "But I didn’t die, did I?"

The City Lord looked her over.

Indeed, there wasn’t a single wound on her body. Her clothes were a little dirty, but otherwise she was perfectly fine.

She had entered a Hell difficulty dungeon and walked back out without even a scratch. She had even gained two levels while doing it.

He pointed his hammer toward Ethan.

"So he’s the one who brought you out?"

"Obviously." Aria gave him a look. "It was only the two of us in there. Who else do you think brought me out?"

The City Lord’s face twitched slightly, but he ignored her tone. "You mean he cleared the entire dungeon?"

"Yes. He cleared the entire dungeon himself."

The City Lord looked at Ethan again.

A Level 8... no, his actual combat strength was probably far beyond what his level suggested.

The people watching from the sidelines were just as stunned.

"He cleared the whole dungeon himself?"

"She didn’t even kill anything?"

"How is that possible? It’s Hell difficulty."

"Then that summoner really did clear Hell difficulty alone?"

"He’s only Level 8..."

"How strong is his he?"

A few warriors exchanged looks. They had been certain Ethan was responsible for putting Aria in danger. Now, they weren’t so sure.

The City Lord ignored the voices around him and looked at Ethan.

"Still, you shouldn’t have taken her in there."

Aria frowned. "And yet I came back safely."

"That doesn’t make it right."

"It doesn’t make it wrong either."

The City Lord stared at his daughter.

Aria crossed her arms. "You were ready to kill him without even asking what happened."

His jaw tightened.

"I heard my daughter was pushed into a Hell difficulty dungeon. Then I saw the culprit standing beside her. What was I supposed to think?"

"Maybe you could have asked first."

The surrounding warriors suddenly became very interested in anything except their City Lord’s face.

Ethan, who had been standing behind Aria with his broken arms hanging at his sides, finally spoke.

"Can we have this conversation after you stop pointing that hammer at me?"

Aria glanced back at him and finally noticed the warhammer was still raised.

"Oh. Right."

She turned to her father. "Put the hammer away."

The City Lord frowned. "You’re ordering me now?"

"I’m asking."

"That doesn’t sound like asking."

"Then put it away before I ask again."

A few warriors nearby looked away. None of them wanted to get caught between the City Lord and his daughter.

The City Lord’s grip tightened around the warhammer. "Aria, you don’t understand what this man did. He took you into a Hell difficulty dungeon."

"And I came back alive."

"You were lucky."

"No, I wasn’t."

Aria pointed at Ethan. "He cleared the dungeon. I didn’t kill a single monster."

The City Lord looked at Ethan again.

"You’re still defending him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I’m standing here, aren’t I?"

Ethan sighed behind her. "My arms are broken, by the way."

Aria glanced back.

"I know." ℯ

"Then maybe you two can continue this argument after..."

"No."

The answer came from both of them.

Ethan stared at the two of them.

Aria turned back to her father. "Now put the hammer away."

The City Lord lowered the warhammer.

Aria turned back toward Ethan. Now that the fight was over, she finally took a proper look at him. His clothes were torn, blood stained the corner of his mouth, and both arms hung loosely at his sides.

She looked at her father.

"Give him a healing potion."

The City Lord frowned. "You’re asking me to heal the man I just attacked?"

"Yes."

"You have quite a lot of requests today."

"And you’re the reason his arms are broken."

The City Lord reached into his inventory and took out a dark red bottle. He tossed it toward Ethan, but Aria caught it.

"Here. A third-order healing potion."

She pulled out the stopper and held the bottle to Ethan’s mouth.

"Drink."

Ethan glanced at her, then drank the potion.

"At your level, it should be enough to heal those injuries."

Ethan swallowed the last mouthful.

Warmth spread through his body.

The pain in his arms quickly faded. His broken bones began to mend, and within a few seconds, both arms had returned to normal.

Ethan moved his fingers, then clenched his fists.

Fully healed.

Third-order healing potion. He knew how valuable something like this was. At his current level, a single bottle was far beyond what most people could afford.

"Thanks."

"Don’t misunderstand."

The City Lord turned away.

"I’m only giving it to you because my daughter asked."