Shang looked at the guard with narrowed eyes, and many thoughts immediately went through his mind.

First of all, the guard wore a slightly different armor from the others, which meant that he had a higher standing.

Second, the guard had easily called the others on the wall.

Third, he felt quite powerful.

However, he didn't feel too powerful.

Shang had seen physical fighters in the Second Realm, but the guard didn't feel like he was in the Second Realm, which meant he was probably in the First Realm, the Soldier Stage.

Shang had seen the leading officer of the Central Wild, and that officer had been in the Second Realm, the General Stage.

Was Blizzard's Edge weaker than the Central Wild?

Probably not.

Just based on the gigantic Mana Austerum, this town was probably even more important than the Central Wild.

So, what did that make this guard?

He was probably a sergeant or something akin to a supervisor.

He wasn't actually the true person in charge.

"I won't enter the town," Shang said with narrowed eyes.

The guard in front of Shang only huffed. "You don't have a choice," he said.

"I do," Shang answered. "I have the choice to remain outside. You have several crossbows pointed at me, and I can't flee. There should also be several more powerful soldiers in the town. Right now, it doesn't matter where I am. I can't flee anyway."

"You're right," the guard said with narrowed eyes. "So, obediently enter the town. You said that you can't flee anyway."

"I want to stay out here," Shang said.

The guard raised his right hand, and the guards on the wall pointed their crossbows at Shang. "You don't have a choice."

The atmosphere became tenser. Some carriages had already arrived, but when they saw the guards with their drawn crossbows, they decided to stop. They didn't want to get involved.

"I will stay out here," Shang answered slowly.

The guard's eyes narrowed.

"At this moment, it's not even clear if I am some sort of thief or not. I know I am innocent, and I don't need your approval for that."

"Are you willing to risk a battle for such an uncertainty?" Shang slowly asked.

The guard only looked at Shang with narrowed eyes.

"If you don't comply, we don't need to investigate the source of the Ice Wood. Your resistance proves that your method of procuring the Ice Wood wasn't legal," the guard answered.

When Shang heard that, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.

"Why are you threatening me with not investigating the issue?" Shang asked. "If you are so convinced of my guilt, what would even be the point of threatening me with not investigating this issue?"

"Unless you think that I will be proven innocent."

"However, if that's the case, why would you want me inside the town that badly?"

"Are you intending to do something that you shouldn't do?"

"Preposterous!" the guard shouted in rage. "I am a law-abiding soldier, and a mere thief is not allowed to question my sense of justice!"

"Then why do you want me inside the town so badly?" Shang asked.

"It's standard protocol," the guard immediately answered with gritted teeth. "Suspicious individuals have to be taken into custody."

"I am in custody right now," Shang answered. "I can't possibly escape. We are both in agreement about this fact."

"So, what's the issue with remaining here?"

A tense silence arrived.

Shang was looking at the leading guard, while the leading guard glared at Shang.

Several seconds passed.

Clank.

Shang and the guard glanced at the wall when they heard the sound of armor footsteps.

One of the guards on the wall had retrieved his crossbow and vanished behind the wall.

However, the others remained without moving and kept targeting Shang.

When the leading guard saw the leaving guard on the wall, he gritted his teeth violently.

"Fine," he said with annoyance. "We can wait here. Hope you're happy."

The guard slowly lowered his right arm, and the other guards put their crossbows away.

Why had the leading guard suddenly relented?

It was because of the leaving guard on the wall.

The normal guards were not allowed to leave their posts without being dismissed.

Except for one reason.

They could leave their posts if they were about to report to someone of higher rank than the person they were currently under.

The leaving guard found all of this to be quite suspicious, and he decided to report to the actual officer about what was going on here.

The leading guard knew what had happened as soon as he saw the leaving guard.

He had some freedom in how to deal with prisoners, and he had made quite some money with some underhanded means, but if these actions came to light, he would be severely punished.

As soon as the guard on the wall had left, the leading guard knew that this opportunity to make some money had forever left.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang relaxed.

"Thanks," he said evenly.

Shang had expected that the guard would do something underhanded, which was why he had been so adamant about not leaving.

He had decided to gamble.

On what?

On the leading guard actually being smart.

Why smart?

Because, if the leading guard had ordered to attack someone who wasn't actively resisting and whose guilt wasn't even conclusive, he would have gotten into a lot of trouble.

If Shang had initialized the confrontation, the leading guard could have ordered an attack without any issues.

However, Shang had only stood there and calmly argued.

Of course, if Shang had been weaker, the leading guard could have simply knocked him out and taken him with him.

Sadly, Shang had felt quite powerful to the leading guard. On top of that, Shang had claimed that he had killed a Peak Frozen Lake Stag.

Knocking out a normal human and taking them into custody was not considered a confrontation.

A confrontation only counted as a confrontation if the other side could damage the resources of the guards.

In short, Shang could maybe injure or kill some guards before dying himself.

However, that was already too dangerous.

As soon as an actual conflict broke out, the higher-ups would get involved and investigate what had happened.

After all, several guards would have been injured or killed, and they had to find out why that happened so that the same thing wouldn't happen again in the future.

When that happened, the higher-ups would investigate Shang's background and his claims.

Then, if they found out that he was innocent, they would immediately become suspicious.

Why would an innocent individual attack the guards of a town? He hadn't done anything wrong, and attacking a force far more powerful than himself for no reason made no sense.

This would mean that something fishy had been going on.

Even if all the guards lied perfectly to hide the issue, the higher-ups would still remain extremely suspicious of them.

The leading guard had known all of this.

He might be greedy, but he wasn't an idiot.

And that's what Shang had been gambling on.

If the leading guard had been stupid, he would have simply declared that he would apprehend Shang due to several suspicions.

A stupid leading guard would believe their authority to be without fail as long as they were in their territory.

However, would a stupid person receive such authority?

In unimportant towns and villages, maybe, but here?

Blizzard's Edge obviously was an important town, and the leading guard had already said that there were several Mages coming in and out of the town on a regular basis.

In the end, the leading guard knew his place.

If any of these Mages even had a slight suspicion of him, his higher-ups would thoroughly investigate him.

This town was filled with powerful and intelligent Mages.

He couldn't make a wrong step.

Yet, he had still managed to become a leading guard.

That meant that he couldn't have been stupid.

All of this had been Shang's conjecture, and he had hit the bullseye.

Out here, the guard couldn't do anything to Shang. There were simply too many eyes on them.

The leading guard might have some accomplices in his squad, but he couldn't possibly have control over all the guards on the walls.

Even more, under enough pressure, even his accomplices would crack and spill the beans.

Shang's gamble had paid off.

Eventually, the leading guard looked at one guard on the top of the wall. "Investigate his story," he ordered.

The guard nodded in affirmation and left.

"That won't be necessary."

When the leading guard heard that voice, his eyes narrowed.

However, he made sure that the person that had spoken didn't see his current expression.