That evening, Litte wandered the streets alone, walking up and down a deserted alley as if waiting for sothing.
Soon, several burly n approached, one of whom appeared drunk.
“Well, well, what do we have here? A young lady?” The drunk man pointed toward Litte’s silhouette and spoke.
As if that wasn’t enough, he even let out a whistle.
Litte turned around, staring at them with a frightened expression.
“Who... who are you?”
“Hic... Not bad-looking... but why’re you dressed like a man? Are you a crossdresser?” The drunkard hiccupped, pointing at Litte and comnting crudely.
“Haha, don’t you know? Crossdressing ladies are the latest trend in the Empire,” one of the n beside him said. “These girls, despite dressing like n, are actually out here looking for... certain clients.”
“After all, what decent girl would roam this area at night?”
“Hic... You’ve got a point.” The drunkard nodded and gave a thumbs-up.
He then turned his attention back to Litte.
“So, young lady, would you care to join for so fun?”
He stepped closer.
Litte could sll the stench of alcohol on him. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she stomped on his foot and turned to run.
The pain jolted the drunkard out of his stupor. Flushed with anger, he glared at Litte’s retreating figure.
In this area, he was a well-known figure. No one had ever dared to show him such disrespect.
Without thinking, he gave chase.
The other n, seeing him run off, quickly followed.
“So, that’s how you like it, huh? Playing hard to get?” The drunkard muttered angrily to himself as he ran, hurling insults at her.
“Just wait till I catch you! You’ll regret it!”
His speed increased as his anger grew.
As he ran, the alcohol in his system began to wear off, but his determination to catch Litte remained.
The drunkard was fast, clearly not an ordinary thug.
Even with the aid of magic, Litte found the distance between them gradually shrinking.
When she reached Oak Street and the drunkard spotted the Orchid Tavern, his pace slowed.
“She’s leading here?” he muttered, glancing around nervously.
By now, there was no one else on Oak Street—just Litte and the drunkard. The n who had been following him earlier had fallen behind.
The reason was simple. The drunkard was Tier 7, while the others were at most Tier 4—they couldn’t match his speed.
More importantly, those n had been intercepted.
The strongman Belle, who had once been taught a lesson by Litte in the slums, had since joined her ranks. He now led a group of gang mbers, blocking the path of the pursuing n.
Litte had chosen the drunkard as her target for a reason.
He was none other than the leader of the Iron Wolf rcenary Group—Mudrick.
After running for a while, Litte stopped and turned to face Mudrick.
He halted as well.
“Tired of running already?” he sneered. “What’s your ga, leading here?”
He stepped closer.
“You’re the leader of the Iron Wolf rcenary Group, aren’t you?” Litte asked, her gaze steady and unafraid, as if the three-tier difference in their strength didn’t exist.
“That’s .” Mudrick shrugged and spread his hands as if conceding the point.
“Among all the rcenary groups with ‘wolf’ in their na, we Iron Wolves are second to none.”
“So, what do you think? Want to join ? I promise to treat you well.”
His words sent a shiver down Litte’s spine, making her feel nauseous.
Orson had told her to broaden her horizons, but the n she had encountered so far were all like this?
Still, she caught the underlying ssage in his proposition.
Enough pretending.
“Sorry, but I’m a man.” Litte “ca clean.” “Do you rember a recent job you accepted?”
“To abduct a couple from the Duchy of Antica—a man nad Andre and a woman nad Jennie.”
“Ah, that one.” Mudrick nodded. “So what? My group gets loads of jobs like that. You think I rember every insignificant detail?”
“I know you don’t.” Litte shook her head with a smile. “But beyond their identities as ordinary citizens, they’re also the adoptive parents of Litte, the second son of Duke Lucius.”
“With that connection, they’re hardly insignificant, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Hah, fair point.” Mudrick showed no surprise. “So, you’re Litte?”
Litte nodded.
“Alright, if you’re willing to pay a hefty fee, I don’t mind letting them go.”
“How much did the other party pay you?”
“30,000 gold coins,” Mudrick replied.
“Sorry, but I don’t have that kind of money.”
“And besides, the rcenaries you sent out probably aren’t coming back. I rember one of them was Tier 6—quite skilled. But unfortunately, he ratted you out before he died,” Litte said, deliberately provoking him.
“You’re full of talk, aren’t you?” Mudrick’s expression darkened.
He was clearly angry.
“So, you’re just toying with ? Even if you’re a man, I’ll make you regret this today!”
With that, he charged at Litte, throwing a punch.
At that mont, Virgil sprang from the shadows, sword in hand, aiming for Mudrick.
Mudrick snorted and swiftly changed direction, dodging the blade before countering with a punch.
Virgil had no ti to withdraw his sword and had to et the punch head-on with his own fist.
The impact sent Virgil stumbling back several steps, while Mudrick barely moved.
“You think a re Tier 6 can ambush ?” Mudrick sneered.
“Not exactly an ambush, given you saw it coming, didn’t you?” Litte retorted.
“Fair enough.” Mudrick chuckled.
More figures erged from the shadows.
About thirty n—mostly Tier 2 and Tier 3, all forr soldiers turned gang mbers—stepped forward. Though not weak, they were no match for Mudrick.
However, Litte didn’t plan to kill Mudrick here. All she needed was to stall him.
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