An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2497

**Chapter 2497**

“Stop right there!” Colton shouted, halting Mulder just before he reached the checkpoint.

In that moment, everyone tensed up. Mulder instinctively placed his hand on his sword, and Warrick clenched his fists, prepared for a fight.

“Mr. Dane, is there a problem?” Mulder asked, turning around with a calm smile.

“Are these men your soldiers?” Colton asked, scanning each soldier from front to back.

“Of course. I trained them myself,” Mulder replied, still smiling.

“Show me their ID badges. I need to check them one by one.”

“Is that really necessary? I’m in a bit of a hurry to carry out my mission,” Mulder said.

“I’m just doing my duty, and I’d appreciate your cooperation,” Colton responded, his gaze steady.

“Mr. Dane, it’s not like we just met. Don’t you trust me?” Mulder’s expression tightened slightly. “Besides, I have Mr. Cruz’s signed authorization right here. Even if you won’t help me, you wouldn’t disrespect him, would you?”

Colton frowned, feeling uncertain. He didn’t mind upsetting Mulder, but crossing Axel could be risky for his career. Still, if he didn’t check carefully and something went wrong, he would be the one to blame.

After a moment of thought, Colton stood firm. “Rules are rules. Please show me the ID badges.”

Mulder’s smile slowly faded. “Since you insist, I guess we have no choice but to comply.”

He turned to the dozen men behind him and gave them a subtle nod. “Show your IDs to Mr. Dane.”

The men remained silent as they pulled out their badges.

Colton walked past Mulder and started checking their badges, beginning with the first man in line. The first ten men presented their badges without any issues. But when he got to the last man, Colton noticed he wasn’t holding anything.

“Hmm? Where’s your badge?” Colton asked, frowning.

The last man in line was huge, hard to miss with his tall frame. His face was partly covered by a thick beard, giving him a rough and intimidating look.

As Colton stepped closer, he caught a faint smell of blood coming from the man.

“I didn’t bring it,” the man muttered.

“You didn’t bring it?” Colton repeated, raising an eyebrow. In the dim moonlight, he suddenly recognized the man’s face. It looked familiar, but with his head down and his collar hiding part of it, Colton couldn’t be sure.

“Look up!” Colton ordered, now on high alert. His hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his sword.

“So, you saw through it after all,” the man said.

The man slowly raised his head, revealing his face. It was Warrick.

“You…” Colton’s expression changed in an instant. Just as he was about to draw his sword, Warrick struck, his hand piercing straight through Colton’s chest and pulling out his bloody heart.

Colton’s body jerked, and his face went pale with terror. The guard’s body burst apart like a watermelon hit by a cannonball. Blood and flesh splattered across the ground, along with the shattered remains of the horn.

Even though the horn had been silenced, the noise had already attracted attention. Soldiers began rushing toward the checkpoint from all directions.

Warrick didn’t care. He charged forward, his fists hitting like hammers as he moved into the fray.

Warrick unleashed his fury on the crowd. After becoming a fugitive, he had kept his anger bottled up, but now it was pouring out.

As a powerful fighter on his way to becoming an ultimate grandmaster, Warrick was in a class of his own. Fighting ordinary soldiers felt easy to him—like slicing through melons. In just two minutes, more than half of the hundred guards were either dead or seriously injured.

“Sir Prescott, it’s not safe to stay here. We need to retreat now,” Mulder urged, seeing the situation change.

He quickly grabbed Warrick’s arm to stop his rampage. Although the guards were not a real threat, the constant flow of reinforcements could be dangerous. If they got surrounded, escaping would be nearly impossible.