Westminster Bank

Chapter 295: Chapter 178: The Three Steps of a Robbery

The books say a proper robbery has three main steps.

Step one is to jump out.

Step two is to loudly announce that it’s a robbery.

Step three is to shut up anyone who resists.

Baron felt he was doing a decent job. He’d controlled the situation the moment he appeared. At the very least, no one had spoken in the half-minute since Isabella made her entrance.

"Miss Isabella... You..."

Everyone present had recognized the masked female robber. Her iconic purple hair and the chain connecting her to "Master Jack" were just too easy to identify. Finally, one man couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward to ask a question.

"Shut up! How could the eldest daughter of the Beowulf Family possibly be a robber?" Baron punched the man without a second thought. "Hurry it up! Hand over all the Reverse Scales you’ve collected!"

Dewey instantly realized what was happening. They were here to rob him of his Dragon Scales. His expression darkened. "The Frank Family is not the Constantine Family."

The Branding on the back of his hand lit up, and his Beastification began.

His arms transformed into Ice Bear Claws covered in Dragon Crocodile Scales, while a faint layer of Scale Armor—the unique Dragon Crocodile Scale Armor of the Frank Family—spread across his entire body.

Baron had seen it on Bill before, but it only took two gunshots to break through it back then.

Dewey crossed his twin Bear Claws, his gaze skipping over the still-stunned Pound Siblings to land on Isabella, who stood beside Baron.

"Can the Beowulf Family really protect the Constantine Family forever?"

Isabella said nothing. She tossed the Scale-Stripping Saber to Baron and, as if to free herself for movement, unfastened the horn buttons on her hunting outfit. The Branding on the back of her hand flared, and her hands gradually morphed into deep blue Sharp Claws.

The expressions of everyone present changed dramatically.

It had long been rumored that Isabella, the eldest daughter of the Beowulf Family—an old-guard Silver Faction Demon-hunting family—had unexpectedly chosen the Beast Faction, a path completely different from her family’s, leaving her Dragon Slayer bloodline with no outlet.

Now, everyone present finally understood why Isabella had chosen the Beast Faction.

Those deep blue Sharp Claws... they were a pair of Dragon Claws!

"The Dragon Descendant Slayer... the Third Generation Sad Claw Dragon Beast..."

A Dragon Guide recognized the origin of Isabella’s claws, his voice trembling.

"So what? I’ve long wanted to trade blows with the legendary Miss Isabella. This is exactly what I wished for!"

The moment the words left his lips, the Dragon Crocodile Scales covering his calf muscles suddenly contracted. The instant they expanded, the ground beneath his feet cracked.

Amid gasps of shock, Dewey instantly closed the distance with Isabella, flashing to her side like a phantom.

The Ice Bear Claw tore through the air, clashing with the Dragon Claw with a terrifying chill.

A powerful Spiritual Force Repulsion erupted from the point of impact, and the turbulent energy formed a violent gale around them. For a moment, Baron had a flashback to the fight scenes from the Dragon Ball he watched as a kid.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

What followed was a series of explosive clashes that rang in everyone’s ears. The two Bronze Tier Beast Faction experts became utter phantoms, their attacks as dazzling and intertwined as thunderbolts brewing in a storm cloud.

Everyone’s hearts were seized by the heaven-and-earth-shaking offensive, including the disguised Dragon Knight, Baron.

Just as he was considering whether to take this opportunity to flee, he suddenly noticed Isabella’s Spiritual Power was climbing at a bizarre rate as she fought. It was shooting up like Wukong’s after using the World King Fist. This surge was accompanied by a strange Dragon Species aura—an intimidating presence so powerful that even Baron, a Dragon Knight, felt a faint sense of unease. He could only imagine what Dewey, standing at the center of the storm, was feeling.

"The Beowulf Family’s Dragon Slayer Old Blood... I can’t believe she inherited the Old Blood of a Dragon Slayer... This is the Dragon Mighty of Poison Dragon Glanville, unique to the Dragon Slayer’s Old Blood!"

One of the more knowledgeable Trial Takers murmured in astonishment, and Baron, the eavesdropping Dragon Rider, passively but clearly picked it up.

’Old Blood, the Dragon Mighty of Poison Dragon Glanville... Are they talking about the Blood Curse?’

Baron first heard the term Blood Curse from Lankao, that Blood Biter who was so eager for revenge. If his memory served him right, it had another name: "Blessing of Suffering."

’The "suffering" part is probably analogous to the hereditary split personality of the Constantine Family, which he still hadn’t figured out. The corresponding "blessing" was perhaps what allowed him to pursue two branches of a single profession. For him, however, it seemed to have manifested as two completely unrelated professions. Maybe that was a bonus for being a Transmigrator... No, wait. In the diary, his original self had mentioned his past-life identity, Zhou Yike, as a separate personality to his sister, Yelena...’

At this thought, Baron’s mood soured. He fell into the rabbit hole of wondering if ’I’ am not really ’me’.

Compared to Baron, who was lost in his philosophical quandary, Dewey, who was facing Isabella head-on, was in a much worse state.

He felt as if a great mountain was bearing down on him from afar, solidifying the very air and space around him. The irresistible power forced the Old Blood of the Frank Family, which had flowed in their veins since the Crusades, to erupt. A more torrential power surged from within him, seeking to counter this mighty presence.

The blessing made the triangular, diamond-shaped Dragon Crocodile Scales on his body even more solid, giving them a faint Bronze-like texture.

But in the face of a Dragon Slayer’s absolute Dragon Mighty, the Frank Family’s Dragon Crocodile bloodline was still not enough.

The gale of Spiritual Power kicked up by the fight completely submerged their figures.

Then, in an instant, a muffled grunt was heard, and a figure shot out from the spiritual gale like a black streak. It flew backward, slamming violently into the corpse of the dead Wooden Beard Dragon Beast and sending a spray of blood and gore everywhere.

The crowd couldn’t make out the bloody figure amidst the Dragon Body, so they turned their attention to the person left standing as the gale dissipated to determine the winner.

When the storm of Spiritual Power finally faded, the crowd craned their necks, looking around anxiously. But when they saw the slender figure standing where the storm had been, their expressions, filled with curiosity and anticipation, suddenly froze.

The sun was setting now, its immense crimson light blanketing the clouds, searing them with a gilded edge.

Beneath the crimson firmament, the woman stood silently. Her lake-blue eyes were now the color of amber, with the vertical pupils unique to Dragon Species. Her face, washed in the light and partially covered in faint purple Dragon Scales, was as radiant and translucent as jade. Blood dripped from her Dragon Claws. The wind gusted, causing the gold and silver rings in her hair to jingle, and the black butterfly hairpin nestled in her locks fluttered.

"Amen." A Christian among the Trial Takers couldn’t help but make the sign of the cross over his chest.

He felt the woman was like a Demon. Only a Demon could be so powerful, and only a Demon could be so captivating.

Her eyes were like iron hooks seen through a hazy, raging fire.

Then the "Demon" flicked the blood from her Dragon Claws. The Dragon Scales on her face vanished, and the fearsome talons reverted to slender, fair hands. She took the Scale-Stripping Saber that Master Jack handed her, pointed it at the Trial Takers, and tilted her head, her tone imperious.

"Didn’t you hear me? This is a robbery!"

The Trial Takers said nothing, turning to look at their employer, who was now crawling out of the Wooden Beard Dragon Beast’s corpse, drenched in blood and looking particularly gruesome. Dewey, the young master of the Frank Family, spoke weakly, "Do as the lady says."

So, the Trial Takers complied, all except for the descendant of the Merlin Family, the Black Iron Wizard Milton Merlin.

Milton said, "Miss Isabella, the Merlin Family and the Beowulf Family have always been rather good allies."

In response, Isabella yanked the chain in her hand, pulling over Master Jack—who was busy collecting Reverse Scales—like a dog on a leash.

"Master Jack" studied Milton Merlin for a moment, then rubbed the chin of his mask. "Do you know who I am?"

Milton studied Baron with cold eyes for a moment before shaking his head arrogantly.

The people of the Merlin Family were just that proud.

Then Master Jack landed a few solid punches on him, knocking him to the ground where he curled up into a ball.

"Damn! You don’t even know who I am and you’re still acting so cocky? Hand over the money... No, wait, hand over the Dragon Scales... Ah, whatever, hand over both the money and the Dragon Scales!"