At the sound, Merlin and Margaret gasped. They turned and saw six men approaching, grins stretched across their faces.

The burly man stared at them intently and snorted coldly. “You’re quite troublesome, kid. But that’s fine—I do enjoy torturing brats.”

He clenched his right hand into a fist and rubbed it with his left. The others mimicked the gesture, making Margaret instinctively step back in fear.

“What should we do?” she asked frantically, hiding behind Merlin.

Yet, as her eyes settled on Merlin’s broad back, a strange sense of safety washed over her. Without realizing it, her body leaned against him, and the familiar, soothing scent of his presence enveloped her once more.

Merlin gripped her left hand firmly and fixed the six men with an indifferent stare.

“Who exactly are you? Are you part of some notorious kidnapping syndicate?”

He recalled that, according to the novel, Margaret had never been kidnapped. The databook had no mention of such an event.

However, he did remember a battle scene between Abel and a group of criminals who had attacked the Academy of Saint Freya—a tense arc in which the academy was infiltrated by mysterious assailants of unknown origin.

Each of them possessed Spirit Core powers ranging from eight to five, with the strongest reaching the First Spirit Core.

At that time, Abel had killed several people at the Sixth Spirit Core stage, including a burly man who hadn’t been described in detail.

Margaret, who had fought alongside Abel, looked briefly frightened, as if recalling a trauma she couldn’t fully explain.

If his guess was correct, the burly man Abel had slain was the very same one standing before him.

Merlin, however, had no knowledge of what had happened between Margaret and this man in the novel.

Clearly, this man had left a deep scar on Margaret, one that reached straight to her soul.

“Hehehe…” The burly man chuckled coldly. “Judging by the way you speak, you’re no ordinary child. Don’t tell me you’re from a noble family. Planning to find out who we are and then send your family’s troops after us? Hahaha! Such clever thinking!”

His companions joined in the laughter, as if mocking Merlin for having his intentions read so easily.

Merlin remained silent, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Honestly, he hadn’t thought of anything like that at all.

Yet the burly man was undeniably clever—being able to anticipate such possibilities showed they were highly experienced in handling all sorts of schemes and plots.

Shaking his head, Merlin asked again, “So, what’s your purpose in kidnapping us? Is it money? Here’s an idea: I’ll give you a lot of money, on one condition—you let us go. Interested?”

He could take on any one of them, but defeating all of them at once? That was beyond belief.

After all, he was just eight years old, and his training had lasted only twelve days.

Although his strength had grown remarkably, it still wasn’t enough to take all of them on at once.

Behind him, Margaret peeked out and spoke timidly, “What he said is completely true. All you care about is money, right? I’ll give each of you one million gold coins. Please, just let us go.”

Compared to money, her own life—and the boy in front of her—was far more important.

Besides, Margaret had plenty of money, so a million or two gold coins was nothing to her.

When the burly man and his companions heard the amount, they froze in disbelief.

“One million gold coins each? Damn! That’s six million in total!” The thin man gulped, his heart racing.

Six million gold coins was an incredible sum. With that, they could buy a mansion in Droswen City—or even in the capital.

The rest could be spent on drinking, partying, or hiring night women. Just imagining it made them giddy.

“Boss, what about the offer? Should we accept it?” the thin man asked eagerly.

The others buzzed with excitement, yet all eyes turned to the burly man for his response.

Unexpectedly, the burly man chuckled softly and shook his head.

“Tempting as it is, I won’t accept your offer,” he said flatly.

Merlin and Margaret froze. Before they could react, the burly man sneered, “If we let you go, who can guarantee you’ll actually pay? Six million gold coins? Pfft! I don’t believe you even have that much. And even if you did, would your family really allow it? Either way, I refuse.”

His gaze sharpened as he continued, “Now, come with us. But you two will have to accept the punishment for being wayward children.”

He raised his right hand, and his comrades immediately understood his meaning.

They smiled cruelly and moved closer. Merlin and Margaret instinctively stepped back.

Yet Merlin knew the more they retreated, the more dangerous the situation became. Behind them yawned a deep ravine.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned to Margaret.

“Do you still have the strength to run?”

The question startled her. She looked at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

Merlin took a deep breath and released his handgrip.

“I’ll give you a chance to escape as far as possible and get help. Understood?” His gaze grew serious.

“Escape?” Margaret froze. She shook her head frantically. “No! We have to stay together!”

“Don’t be stubborn,” Merlin snapped coldly, making her flinch.

“Our position isn’t favorable. At least one of us has to get away,” he continued firmly. “So you go now. I’ll hold the way.”

But Margaret still shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered hoarsely, “No… not like that… We have to stay together.”

She hadn’t known this boy for long, but their time together had forged a bond she couldn’t let go of.

In her life, no one had ever been a true friend—Merlin was the first. And she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

Merlin let out a long breath and gently patted her head. “Please, just listen to me this once, okay? We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m asking you as a friend: run now. Trust me—I can handle them all and will catch up with you afterward. Understood? Please, trust me.”

Margaret froze, caught between the urge to refuse and the need to obey. The words she almost spoke died on her lips.

With a heavy nod, she bit her lower lip and stammered, “Alright… I understand. But please… come back, okay? You have to promise me.”

“Of course,” Merlin said, nodding reassuringly. “I promise…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep