The guards quickly surrounded Jared with their weapons. In response, the Three Bandits swiftly shielded Jared. There was no way they would allow any harm to come to Jared, whom their fate was tied to.
“The three of you, stand down. The guards won’t do anything to me,” Jared instructed confidently. With that, the Three Bandits obeyed immediately.
At the same time, one of the guards questioned Jared, “How dare you start a fight in Jipsdale? Are you asking for trouble?”
The guard behaved in an arrogant manner as he could see that Jared was only a Second Level Body Fusion Realm cultivator. Besides that, the fact that they were in the outer city meant Jared couldn’t be anyone important.
“Did you see it with your own eyes? I didn’t start a fight, nor did I hit anyone,” Jared answered.
“How dare you deny it when someone has already accused you of the crime? Besides, we already detected the aura unleashed earlier. Don’t think that you can deny your wrongdoing just because we didn’t see it,” the guard asserted.
“In that case, let me tell you that it was they who hit me!” Jared declared, shifting the blame.
“Jared, it’s useless to try and twist the facts, as there are plenty of witnesses here. You were the one who hit Mr. Seizon, while he didn’t retaliate at all. On top of that, you unleashed your aura the moment you struck. Do you really think you can fool these gentlemen here?”
The next moment, Tyrone walked up to the guards with a gleeful smile. “Gentlemen, this man is unbelievably wicked. Not only did he break the laws of Jipsdale, but he also tried to shift the blame. You definitely cannot let him off the hook!” While speaking, Tyrone handed some spirit coins to the guards.
Upon receiving the coins, the guards replied smilingly, “Don’t worry, Mr. Stone. Anyone who commits a crime in Jipsdale will not go unpunished. We will arrest him right away but will need to trouble you and Mr. Seizon to come with us. Once we have determined that Mr. Seizon was hurt by him, whatever he says in defense will be useless!”
As Stellaris Sect was a major sect in the area, the guards naturally knew its members. “No problem. We’ll provide our full cooperation.”
Tyrone nodded repeatedly. “Come with us, punk. You will need to be punished for breaking our laws.” Just as the guard spoke, he put his hand on Jared’s shoulder.
“Stop!” Right then, a frosty voice rang out, heralding Hester’s arrival.
“Mr. Sparrow…” The guards bowed immediately at the sight of Hester. Even Cloud and Tyrone, along with everyone else in the courtyard, greeted Hester respectfully.
After all, other than the countess, no one else wielded more authority in Jipsdale than Hester. Unlike the countess, whom many had not seen before, Hester was a lot more accessible to the common man.
“What’s going on?” Hester asked the guard. “Mr. Sparrow, we are arresting this man for starting a fight here,” the guard explained.
“Did you witness it yourself?” Hester questioned. “Um…” The guard was briefly stunned. “No, but we have witnesses. Many here saw him strike Mr. Seizon just now.”
“Mr. Sparrow, this man did assault Mr. Seizon earlier. There’s even a wound on Mr. Seizon’s face and body to prove it!” Tyrone frantically added.
When Hester turned toward Jared, the latter maintained a relaxed expression as he spoke. “Mr. Sparrow, do the guards in Jipsdale accept bribes? These people from Stellaris Sect gave these men spirit coins, so they’ll obviously side with them. Anyway, it’s not like I started a fight or hit anyone. But since you’re here, I would like to borrow some spirit coins from you for my expenses.”
“How much do you need?” Hester asked.
“A hundred million,” Jared replied with his hand outstretched, palm up.
