The Grand Duelist

"There you are!"

The voice definitely astonished everyone, but it didn't stop them from immediately reacting.

Kayn activated his Shadow Domain. His brothers took out their weapons and rushed at the man.

Joseph took the Rapier of Grandeur and Beauty out of his Inventory and he stood in front of Alice, protecting her.

"Who are you?" Kayn exclaimed. But before his question could be answered...

Clang!

... he and his brothers were already in front of the man, sending their attacks towards him.

"Hey, hey... This is such a lively greeting!" The man welcomed the attacks with a smile on his face.

He lifted his arm and pointed a finger at the men who sent their attacks towards him.

"Stagger."

[An overwhelming force has swept across your body.]

[Your body cannot endure the burden.]

[You cannot resist.]

"Huh?!"

Kayn and the others staggered backward, their butts simultaneously falling onto the ground as Joseph stared at all of these with apprehension.

'He defeated them all with a single finger? What the fuck? Just how strong is this man?' He inwardly, while silently preparing for the activation of [Parry] as long as he noticed that something wrong was about to happen.

But contrary to Joseph's expectations...

A fight didn't happen.

Instead, the man turned to look behind him and said.

"It's confirmed, guys! All of you can come out now! Make sure that no one followed us here!" He gestured behind him, and from the roofs of the surrounding houses descended the figures of five players accompanied by six NPCs...

When they landed on the ground, they stared at Joseph with smiles on their faces as one of them said...

"So you are the ballsy guy who actually intervened on that schedule execution and in turn, slapping the King's face and humiliating him? You really look formidable as I thought, I might fall in love with you..."

The person that said these words was a young woman NPC clad with revealing clothes. She stared at Joseph and a glazed look could be seen within her eyes.

Astonishing Joseph who subconsciously took a step backward due to the sudden mental attack.

'What the hell is wrong with her?' Joseph inwardly mumbled.

"Give the small guy a break, Rexie." A deep voice complained. Joseph turned to look at the speaker with a frown on his face, but it quickly changed into bitterness when he saw that the one who said that he was a small guy actually had a physique comparable to the best bodybuilders of Earth.

"Well, if that's what you want me to do, Bernard." Rexie nodded before puffing her cheeks in apparent annoyance after being reprimanded by her partner.

That man smiled amicably at Joseph.

Joseph also smiled in return. But what appeared on his lips could barely be considered as a smile for his lips continuously twitched in order to suppress the upheaval of emotions that he was feeling right now. 

"Uh... Hello... Nice to meet you. My name is Eagie... I'm from the Pro-NPC Alliance and we came here to help you..." 

Joseph stared at the one who spoke up and found that he was a scholarly-looking young man with a slender frame.

He was in the process of scratching his head and Joseph couldn't help but feel that the young man was quite similar to him when it came to awkwardness...

"Eagie, my dear... How many times did I tell you to introduce yourself properly to a stranger? You're a man, right? Do it right..." A young woman that had the marker dedicated to NPCs above her head, spoke up and reprimanded the young man called Eagie.

"That's right, Eagie... It's too early for you to come, so save that for tonight!" Another young man who was definitely a player spoke up. A childish look surfaced on his face as he poked fun at Eagie.

The young woman who reprimanded earlier Eagie turned to look at him and glared.

"Stop those dirty jokes of yours, Michael. They're stupid... Look! Even Kylyn is cringing right there."

The young woman who advised Eagie made a sidelong glance at the young woman beside Michael.

The young woman named Kylyn slightly nodded her head, but Michael remained relentless.

"Oh? Why did you have to do that, Paula? I only said those words since I am concerned, you know? We can't have our boy Eagie here coming too fast..."

"How else would he be able to suppress that pervertedness of yours?"

Michael glanced at Eagie who now had a blush on his face.

"Knock it off, Michael." A young man who had a thin frame and was the tallest of them all spoke up in an effort to diffuse the tension between the two.

Paula coldly stared at Michael.

Afterwards, she stared at Eagie as if signaling something to him.

Realizing what her stare meant...

Eagie could do nothing other than sigh before saying: "I am able to suppress her pervertedness! More than what you think!" 

Michael was astonished by what he heard.

A challenging smile escaped on his lips as he said: "Oh? Is that so? So, the two of you are doing it frequently, eh? How about we make a bet?" 

Kylyn who stood beside Michael gripped his sleeves. She hung her head low, apparently hiding the blush on her cheeks from the embarrassment that she was feeling due to the words that her husband was saying.

Although behind that blush was a hint of desire that probably only Michael could probably understand.

"A bet?" Paula raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes, a bet... As you can see, it's been two years since the two of you were married yet both of you still haven't produced any offspring. If both of you are doing it every day then I can't help but feel suspicious if Eagie is shooting blanks or the two of you are lying to me..."

"That is why, right now... I am saying that me and Eagie should have a bet about who among the two of us will impregnate our partners as soon as pos-"

"Cut it out! You're acting like a child, Michael!" The man who first approached Joseph and Kayn slapped Michael's head and forcefully interrupted his tirade. Afterwards, he revealed an apologetic smile as he turned to look at Joseph before saying...

"I really am sorry about this, hahaha... But rest assured... Just like what Eagie said. We came here to help you... Or more specifically," The man glanced at Alice who laid on the ground before continuing: "We are here to help her escape." 

Joseph's eyes narrowed, he didn't plan on believing them outright: "You came here to help her? Do you really think that I am as naive that I will believe your words? All of you may have come from the Pro-NPC Alliance, but there's nothing stopping you from scheming against us!" 

Everyone from the Pro-NPC Alliance was startled by what Joseph said.

What he said made sense...

But then the young woman who kept his silence all this time suddenly spoke up: "He's right, leader..." 

"Oh, Mervin..." The man turned to look at Mervin and smiled.

Mervin then continued on speaking: "First, I shall explain the reason why we came here to help all of you... As you can see, all of us are married to NPCs." Mervin stared at Joseph as if saying that if he still couldn't understand what he meant, then Joseph could be considered as stupid.

But Joseph had no intention of easily accepting their help.

He had to make sure that they had no ill intent or any bad intentions whatsoever towards him and Alice before he accepted their grace.

And so, Joseph had to feign ignorance...

"How does that matter?"

"You're asking me about how does it matter?" A sharp glint flashed in Mervin's eyes and he sharply spoke up.

"Leader, can you handle the explanations for me instead? You can't expect me to talk with a thick-headed guy like him!"

The man referred by Mervin as the leader shook his head and stared at Joseph with well-hidden disappointment before saying...

"Okay, I'll handle it." He agreed to Mervin's proposal, but Joseph had other intentions.

"No... I want to know why you guys want to help us. I don't need to hear the answer to this question from your leader."

Joseph wanted to gauge the true intentions of every individual from the Pro-NPC Alliance.

The beliefs of the so-called leader of them all didn't really matter for Joseph since he already knew the attitude of the man whom they called as their leader. After all, he had seen him in an interview as the representative of the Pro-NPC Alliance a few days ago.

Mervin stared at Joseph.

An amused smile surfaced on his lips.

"Interesting... Very well, I will tell you what really is the reason why I joined this operation." 

"I only came here with good intentions. I am biased towards the NPCs since my beloved wife is an NPC herself..."

"If I have any ill intent..."

"May the punishment of the Divine Goddess Rhinna herself, descend upon me and obliterate my soul to oblivion..."

Everyone was greatly shocked by what they heard. But Mervin wasn't finished yet.

"Don't misunderstand, we are not as altruistic as you think."

Mervin's cryptic words further deepened Joseph's astonishment.

But this didn't stop him from saying...

"You madman... I was just asking for a proper reason, yet you instantly made an Unbreakable Oath."

Joseph chuckled.

He swept his gaze at the others, and of course...

They also swore the same.

However, even after everyone made an Unbreakable Oath on proving their sincerity.

Joseph still had a frown on his face, and he couldn't help but ask.

"There's something that I still don't understand..."

"What is it?" The man referred by everyone as their leader replied. 

"If the Pro-NPC Alliance helped a fugitive like me. Isn't that considered a felony? Won't all of you get into trouble? I really can't understand why all of you guys are being this nice to Alice and me."

Joseph revealed a confused look on his face.

"Hahaha, about that? Well, you don't really have to worry about the Pro-NPC Alliance."

"Why? What would happen to the other members of the Alliance if the Alliance was found to have helped a fugitive escape the Kingdom?" 

"You really don't have to worry about that... After all, every member of the Pro-NPC Alliance is already here."

"Here? Where?" Joseph swept his gaze around him, and apart from the other players and NPCs in the area. There weren't really any other people around that could be considered as members of the Alliance apart from these people that came with the one they referred to as their leader.

"Them... The Alliance only has twelve members... So like I said, you didn't have to worry about anything. Just let us assist you in your escape from Reinhardt... And don't ever underestimate us! Each one of us here, including myself are within the top 50 of the Universal Rankings!"

"The Alliance only has twelve members? Hahaha... I see..." Joseph didn't react too much about what the man said regarding the Universal Rankings for he didn't really know anything about it. He only glossed over it before he replied to the man. 

"I thank you for your help, sir. But may I ask if you are named as Jun Santos? I saw you once in an interview." 

The man lightly chuckled: "So you already knew about my name? Then, this will be short..." A smile appeared on the man's lips as he explained the intricacies of the plan that the Pro-NPC Alliance made to aide the escape of him and Alice.