My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1152: Chapter 1153: You Can’t Leave

She was about to say something, but the sheer shamelessness on his face left her speechless.

"You stole that food from me."

"That’s why we’re even here."

She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to punch him.

Ric simply raised a hand toward her face, stopping her from talking.

"I don’t remember that."

"What matters is there are thieves, and we have to make them pay."

Before she could argue...

He charged straight toward the camp.

"Hey!"

Ranar sighed before her body dissolved into a streak of golden light.

She flashed across the grassland and appeared beside the campfire almost instantly.

Around it sat five children.

Three girls.

Two boys.

The moment she appeared, none of them waited to see who she was.

They immediately scrambled to their feet and tried to flee in every direction.

Ranar didn’t give them the chance.

She calmly raised a hand.

Golden light erupted from beneath their feet before forming a dome that trapped every one of them inside.

At the same time...

Ric lunged forward.

He tackled one of the boys to the ground before pinning him beneath his knee.

"Don’t move!"

"Or the fat one gets it!"

He lifted up a chubby little boy wearing rough animal skins.

The boy had the ears of a bear.

Mud covered his cheeks and clothes.

His stomach bulged slightly, making him look even rounder than he already was.

The moment Ric took him hostage, the others froze.

Then...

They heard his voice.

"Oh..."

"You’re people..."

One of the girls blinked in surprise.

Her clothes were little more than patched together rags stitched with pieces of beast hide.

"Yes."

"We’re the people you stole from."

"Tie them up, Ranar."

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"You’re not the boss of me."

Even so...

She waved her hand.

Chains of radiant light wrapped around all five children, binding them where they stood.

"Wait!"

"We didn’t steal from you!"

"We don’t even know you!"

"Please have mercy on us."

A blue haired boy stepped forward as much as the chains allowed.

Small gills lined both sides of his neck.

He was clearly a merman.

Ric ignored the plea.

He walked over to the campfire instead.

The stolen sack lay beside it.

Some of the food was still inside.

The rest...

Had already been cooked.

He slowly turned toward them.

"You guys ate almost a whole sack in one sitting?"

Then he looked at the chubby Beastkin.

Without hesitation...

He kicked him lightly on the backside.

"I know you ate most of it."

"Ow!"

The little Beastkin rubbed his butt with watery eyes.

Ranar couldn’t be bothered listening anymore.

She sat down beside the fire, picked up a piece of roasted meat, and immediately began wolfing it down.

It tasted terrible.

There was almost no seasoning.

The meat was gamey.

Dry.

And had a strange aftertaste.

Even so...

She was hungry.

Ric was too.

So neither of them complained as they ate.

After swallowing another bite, Ric sat beside the fire with his sword resting across his lap.

The polished blade reflected the flames, giving it an intimidating gleam.

He looked toward the tied up children.

"So..."

"What are we gonna do with them?"

Ranar chewed thoughtfully.

She honestly wasn’t sure.

They were both strong.

But neither of them were killers.

And neither of them were ruthless.

"I dunno..."

"Should we make them do squats and then let them go?"

"We can give them a little food too."

Ric nodded.

He glanced at the other children.

They all looked painfully thin and malnourished.

Well...

Everyone except the fat one.

"Yeah."

"I’d feel bad if we took all the food."

"We should leave them some."

"It’s what heroes do."

Ranar nodded.

With a flick of her fingers, the chains of light dissolved into glowing particles.

The children rubbed their wrists but didn’t dare move.

"Alright."

"Listen up."

"From now on..."

"You work for us."

She tried her best to sound intimidating.

If Damon had been there, he probably would have thought she looked adorable.

To the five children, however...

She looked like an unstoppable monster.

The pressure of a Fourth Class advancement still lingered around her.

Without hesitation, they all bowed their heads in submission.

Ric smiled brightly.

He liked this.

These were smart minions.

"From now on..."

"You’re our minions."

"I’m Boss Number One."

"And she’s Boss Number Two."

"What?"

"No!"

Ranar immediately interrupted him.

She pointed accusingly at his face.

"Why do you get to be Boss Number One?"

Ric waved a dismissive hand.

"Because I have a sword."

"And I’m awesome."

Ranar raised an eyebrow.

A sword of pure golden light instantly formed in her hand.

She deliberately made it much larger than his.

The blade shimmered brilliantly beneath the afternoon sun.

"Now I have a sword."

"And it’s bigger."

Ric clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"...Fine."

"We can both be Boss Number One."

The five children watched the two of them argue over who got to be Boss Number One.

Eventually...

The pair somehow reached the ridiculous conclusion that they were both Boss Number One.

The children exchanged confused glances.

These two...

They seemed strangely carefree.

Sheltered.

Well fed.

Loved even.

Just one look was enough for them to realize these children had to be from one of two places.

Either they came from outside the Anarchy Mountains...

Or...

They were the children of one of the powerful bosses living within Anarchy City.

"Wha... what are your intentions for us?" one of the boys with messy red hair asked nervously. His shoulders trembled as he took half a step back despite having nowhere to run. "Are... are you planning to make us your slaves?"

He looked at the two of them with obvious fear.

Ranar frowned.

"Slavery is illegal," she said coldly, looking at the children as if the very idea disgusted her.

Ric nodded in complete agreement.

"Yeah."

"Even in the Tomb slavery wasn’t allowed."

"My master hates slavers."

The children blinked.

"Then..." the red-haired boy hesitated, swallowing nervously. "You aren’t here to sell us to the slave masters of Anarchy City?"

"Sell you?" Ric tilted his head in confusion before waving the idea away. "No. Why would we do that?"

"We’re trying to leave the Anarchy Mountains."

He scratched his cheek before looking around at the children.

"Anyway..."

"Which way is out?"

The moment those words left his mouth...

Every child around the campfire fell silent.

Their expressions stiffened.

The little smiles they had begun to show completely disappeared.

The atmosphere became strangely heavy.

Ranar noticed it immediately.

She slowly glanced from one child to another.

"...What’s wrong?"

None of them answered.

Finally, the blue-haired merman boy lowered his head before speaking in a quiet voice.

"...You can’t leave the Anarchy Mountains."

"That is taboo."

The words hung in the air.

Ranar slowly narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean..."

"We can’t leave?"

"Who decided that?"

The children looked at one another.

No one wanted to answer.

Eventually, the chubby Beastkin boy fidgeted with his fingers before speaking in a whisper.

"...The City Lord did."

The camp fell silent once more.

Even the crackling of the fire suddenly seemed louder than before.