Eyes focused.
Countless citizens' gazes converged, and at this moment, Tony felt as if he were under an innumerable spotlight. Although he was seething with rage, wishing to tear Clark into pieces, he still released his grip and lowered his voice.
"You're no longer a city guard, so why are you meddling? Do you know how easy it would be for me to crush you like a bug?"
"Is that so?"
Clark, now released, brushed off his collar and replied in a low voice.
"Since you know I'm not a city guard anymore, why are you still speaking to me like that?"
For some reason, Tony felt a jolt in his heart.
"You, what do you want?" Immediately, Tony noticed Clark clenching his fist. "You, you wouldn't dare hit me, would you?"
"Here are ten silver coins. Go buy some medicine for that."
Clark glanced aside and placed the reward he received into the painter's hands.
Seeing the silver coins, the painter's expression changed drastically.
"I, I can't accept your money; it's just a minor scrape, it's nothing."
"Take it." Clark grabbed the painter's hand and put the money in. "This money is for your journey. You don't think you can live in this town after this, do you? That young master, do you think he'll let you off?"
"This..."
"Take the money and go to another town."
The painter, holding the money, was silent for a long time. Then, he clutched the coins tightly and nodded forcefully, his eyes filled with gratitude as he stumbled towards the exit.
Clark watched the painter's retreating back, then slowly turned to face Tony, whose eyes were wide with fear.
"You come from a noble family, and it's indeed easy for you to crush me," Clark whispered softly. "Unfortunately, you're not with your clan right now?"
"You?"
"What were you asking me just now? That I still have to hit you? Hey, you guessed right. I'm going to beat you today." Clark snorted coldly. "When I was a city guard, I didn't hit you because I knew my place. Now that I'm not even a city guard, you dare to grab my collar? Young master, have you ever seen a starry sky?"
Almost the moment Clark finished speaking.
*Bang!*
A punch landed directly on Tony's face.
The punch was incredibly fast; neither Fujimura nor Giles had time to react. By the time they reacted and intended to intervene, Clark had already stomped on Tony several times and spat out a large glob of phlegm before casually walking away.
"Young Master Tony~"
Giles rushed forward to help him up, his eyes red.
"Kill him for me!"
"Young master, we should hurry back to the clan. If this escalates, it will be difficult to explain to the master." Giles persuaded him earnestly. Then, regardless of Tony's shouts, he forcibly dragged him away from the crowd, with Fujimura silently following behind.
After they left, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed.
Clark's figure slowly emerged from the alleyway, watching Tony and his group depart. He twisted his neck, stretched lazily, and clenched his right fist.
"Awesome!"
Whether the stretch was awesome or the beating was awesome, it was impossible to tell. After letting out that shout, Clark vanished into the town like a gust of wind.
The Ska family.
"Assaulting a citizen in broad daylight, do you know what a mess you've caused for the family? Do you know how serious an impact your actions will have on the family's image?"
In the solemn and elegant living room.
Tony, with blood flowing from his lips, knelt on the ground, head bowed, daring not to utter a word against the reprimand of the stern middle-aged man before him.
"Master, please don't scold him."
The woman in the room gently persuaded him. The stern middle-aged man snorted upon hearing this.
"Scold him? I want to kill him right now. It's been several years since his coming-of-age ceremony, and he still can't take over the family business. He said he wanted to be a mercenary. What achievements has he made out there? He's been gone for half a month and just returned, and now he's caused such a major incident."
"Assaulting someone in public!"
"Do you know how heinous this is? And more importantly, it was witnessed by so many citizens. Do you know how much money the Ska family has spent to establish its image in this city-state?"
The woman dared not speak another word under the scolding, and the stern middle-aged man also glared at Tony.
"You idiot, assaulting someone is one thing, but you even brought your family's name up! What on earth is in your head?"
"It wasn't me."
"Ah, it wasn't you? You've never appeared in public before, would they even recognize you? I shouldn't have brought you here from the royal capital!"
"It really wasn't me."
Tony, kneeling on the ground, looked aggrieved and said with narrowed eyes.
"Ask Giles if you don't believe me."
"Master, it truly wasn't Young Master Tony; it was a city guard who deliberately shouted it out," Tony explained softly.
"A city guard? Who is that city guard?"
"He's already run off," Giles whispered. "After deliberately shouting out our family's name, he hit Young Master Tony and then fled. He's probably no longer in town."
"Hmph!"
The stern middle-aged man immediately snorted.
"He's quite clever. If he had dared to stay in the city, *tsk*..." After a cold sneer, the middle-aged man glared at Tony again. "In the end, it's still this boy's fault."
"Master..."
"Get out!"
Tony, kneeling on the ground, felt like he had been granted a general pardon and hurried out. After he and Giles left the room, the woman beside him gently comforted him.
"Master, this should be a minor matter, shouldn't it?"
"It's not as minor as you think. The public opinion of these common folk actually has a significant impact. Our clan sent me here with a purpose, and I've been diligently working for so long..." He sighed sadly halfway through his sentence. "Never mind, I'll try my best to manage this, but don't indulge him too much. You know my few cousins who came with me, they don't want our family to do well, nor do those old fuddy-duddies."
"I know, Tony was wrong this time, and I'll talk to him."
"Hmph, this is the only thing that slightly reassures me."
"Don't let him go out for a while. I need time to calm down the public opinion outside," the man murmured. The woman nodded in understanding. "I understand, and you shouldn't be angry anymore."
"Sigh..."
The man couldn't help but shake his head.
"I'm not angry about this matter; I'm worried that this boy might cause even bigger trouble for me outside. I've been restless for a while, always feeling like something will happen. I hope it's just my overthinking."
"You're definitely overthinking it."
The woman said softly, "Besides, our son is also doing very well. He's befriended a Golden Tier Grand Magician. This trip wasn't in vain."
"Hmph, this is the only thing that reassures me."