Giacomo laughed maniacally. "You have two choices now: burn alive or bind yourselves up."

His henchmen erupted in wild laughter, "Burn these pigs alive!"

Panic spread through the crowd as the survivors realized they had been played. They never imagined the enemy had a powerful fire ability user who could control flames.

If captured, who knew what fate awaited them? Surrendering was not an option.

A tattooed man shouted defiantly, "Screw you! I'll fight you!" He charged at Giacomo with his weapon raised.

With a casual gesture, Giacomo caused the man to scream in agony.

"Ah!"

In the next moment, flames burst from the man's throat, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Writhing in pain, he burned from the inside out, his entire body glowing red as he ignited.

He clawed at his torn clothes and flesh, releasing a strange meaty aroma.

People gasped and recoiled.

"Holy crap!"

"He's on fire! He's burning alive!"

Within seconds, the tattooed man crumpled into a charred husk, leaving the area in stunned silence.

After showcasing his power, Giacomo cautiously stepped outside the fire ring, yelling, "Everyone drop your weapons! Kneel and surrender!"

As he did so, the fire ring shrank even further, creeping closer to the terrified crowd.

The searing heat enveloped them.

"Damn! It's so hot!"

"Not on me, don't shove!"

"It burns! It's burning us alive!"

"Crap! We've been duped!"

Giacomo's henchmen brandished various throwing weapons and shouted from outside the flames, "Drop your weapons! Kneel and surrender!"

The survivors felt their resolve crumbling.

Some were still trying to find ways to escape, while others knelt in terror, discarding their weapons and giving in.

Although Wot was older, the physique-enhancing fruits had given him strength, so he managed to push through the crowd to the center.

Amid the chaos, he anxiously asked, "What should we do?"

James Lone remained calm, his tone steady. "You crouch down and don't resist. I'll take care of the rest."

He could see that more people were gathering outside the warehouse.

The vendors from earlier had returned.

Almost all of Giacomo's henchmen had congregated, watching the survivors in the fire ring with glee.

"This group has some high-quality pigs!"

"Hahaha! No way they'll last three hours! They're finished!"

"Right? That pit is no place for human beings."

"I bet Giacomo can dig out 200 divine fruits this time."

"He might even share ten with us!"

"Even if he does, you won't get any, and I just want Giacomo to let us enjoy the women for a few days."

"Enjoy? You really think the women will last more than a day?"

"You should just keep quiet; your hands are dirtier than anyone's here."

"Hey! That female ability user is something else—she heals automatically! We can try all those things we can't with the other women—such a thrill!"

"Bro, let's team up!"

James Lone squinted, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

With everyone gathered, it was the perfect moment to eliminate them all and eliminate the threat!

In a flash, James Lone's body shimmered and vanished into the ground.

The surrounding individuals were too distracted by the fire ring to pay attention to his movements.

Giacomo, eyes ablaze, grinned at the panicked survivors inside the flames.

"Now with these pigs in my hands, I can—"

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as darkness enveloped his mind.

A metal rebar shot up from the ground, piercing through his lower body and erupting from his skull!

Thud!

Giacomo's body remained impaled on the rebar, standing upright, the flames in his eyes and around him extinguished in an instant.

Everyone was stunned.

"Giacomo? Giacomo is dead?!"

"The fire's out?"

Before the crowd could comprehend what was happening, a man clad in shimmering silver armor appeared behind Selim.

With a single slicing motion!

The blade moved with thunderous speed; Selim didn't even have time to react before he was cleaved in half.

In less than a few breaths, two ability users lay dead!

James Lone's sword gleamed with energy as it absorbed the source.

With one sweeping motion, he unleashed devastation!

Boom!

Boom!

Anyone touched by the blade exploded in a burst of gore.

"Crap!"

"Run!"

"Someone's attacking us!"

"Giacomo and Selim are dead!"

Some attempted to fight back, while others started fleeing.

The area descended into chaos.

Regardless, James Lone disregarded everything, assaulting anyone he saw.

His willpower armor shielded him completely, with only his eyes visible beneath the helm.

Any attacks against him felt like gentle scratches, utterly futile.

At his level of power, ordinary people posed no threat whatsoever.

With wild swings of his sword, Giacomo's gang suffered heavy casualties.

Within seconds, they were unable to withstand the onslaught.

They began to turn and flee, but it was too late.

The survivors within the fire ring took advantage of the chaos and charged at Giacomo's remaining men, a wave of vengeance fueled by their earlier deception.

The survivors who had managed to last this long were all ruthless individuals.

Having been fooled and nearly captured, they lashed out without mercy.

Minutes later, Giacomo's gang was nearly wiped out.

Wot smartly tucked himself in a corner, relying on his enhanced physique and handgun, causing others to stay away from him.

He peeked outside, seemingly searching for James Lone.

However, the dense purple mist obscured his vision.

James Lone responded in his mind, "Doctor Wot, once things calm down, look for an opportunity to return to the convoy. I will finish off this gang before I leave."

Wot understood that remaining in the midst would only complicate matters for James Lone, so he said, "Okay, I'll leave soon and notify the ladies to stay alert."

With a twist of gravitational force, James Lone flew to the roof of the warehouse, taking out a rifle and scanning the area.

He spotted one of Giacomo's men rushing out and squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

With his sharpshooting skills at such close range, he never missed.

Shortly after, the area fell silent.

The remaining survivors had fled amidst the mayhem.

Wot also mingled with the crowd and slipped away.

With Giacomo's gang eradicated, James Lone used his perception to sweep the area one final time, ensuring there were no loose ends before tossing a grenade into the warehouse.

Boom!

The grenade exploded, instantly igniting the gas barrels.

With Giacomo's control gone, the flames spiraled out of control.

The gasoline led to a secondary explosion.

Boom!

The entire warehouse erupted into a sea of flames, effectively erasing traces of James Lone's slaughter.

Now, anyone looking into the scene would find it challenging to trace the chaos back to his abilities.

With his armor and mask on, no one could identify him among the fleeing survivors.

Decked in his willpower armor, James Lone approached the densest part of the purple mist.

On his way, he passed the building where the women were held captive.

Hearing the commotion outside, the women trembled in fear, unsure of what was happening.

Suddenly, James Lone, armored from head to toe, appeared in the room, startling them as they regarded the masked figure with apprehension.

James Lone surveyed the women.

They were all battered, visibly evidence of severe mistreatment.

Yet strangely enough, their mental state remained relatively intact.

Each bore numerous scars, signs of injuries that would typically be fatal for ordinary survivors—yet they seemed to heal naturally, as if resistant to bacterial infections!

"How incredible," James Lone marveled.

If it were just one or two women, perhaps it wouldn't be surprising, but with over a dozen all similarly resilient, there was clearly something unusual!

James Lone glanced at one woman suspended in mid-air.

She was the ability user, not only chained around her neck but also secured with two iron chains piercing through her collarbone, hanging almost naked from the ceiling beams.

Her feet dangled above the ground, attached to a heavy iron ball, amplifying her suffering.

The ability user merely hung her hands limply, her eyes dull as she looked at James Lone—lacking both fear and relief, existing only in a state of numbness.

What others would find unbearable, she seemed indifferent to.

"Is she... insane?"

James Lone furrowed his brows, examining her closely:

[Sumi Dalion] [Age: 37] [Quality: 6 points] (Average) [Virtue: 10 points] (Widowed for 10 years) [Comprehensive Score: 6 points] [Ding! Does not meet the system's minimum requirements!]