With Elder Howard having clearly outlined his strategy, the next challenge was a race against time. He transformed into a swirling cloud of ck mist and swiftly flew toward the Ocean Group headquarters. Although he didn''t know much about Vicky, he learned from other members of the Night des that she was someone very important to Irving.


    If Elder Howard could capture Vicky, he would put Irving in a highly disadvantageous position.


    At the same moment that Elder Howard initiated his actions, Irving also sprang into motion. He transformed into a beam of light and pursued the direction of the ck mist.


    Once they left, Benjamin hurriedly gathered his subordinates and made his way toward Vicky''s office. Although Benjamin understood he wouldn''t be able to offer much assistance in the uing conflict, he felt it was his duty to protect Vicky, so he had to take action.


    After Irving and the others departed, Aron, Anna, and Nick exchanged nces. Following the recent events, Aron hade to aplete realization. He understood that he had been deceived by Elder Howard and recognized that he had no right to me Irving.


    "We should head back. Staying here won''t help them at all. Besides, it''s just going to be humiliating for us," Aron said in a weak voice.


    Nick didn''t oppose Aron''s n, as he also felt that remaining there was quite awkward. However, Anna had a different perspective. She believed that, given the current situation, they had to provide assistance to Irving.


    "If we leave now, Irving will never forgive us. We must do everything we can to clear up the misunderstandings between us and him. After everything that has happened, our Angel Guild has be very weak. Without cooperating with Irving, any future actions we take are bound to fail. Even if we can''t help him significantly by staying here, we can at least show him that we genuinely want to assist him."


    Aron and Nick hesitated at Anna''s words. After thinking it over for a moment, Aron nodded. "You''re right. This might be a good opportunity to resolve our misunderstandings with Irving. We should definitely stay and offer him some help."


    While the members of the Angel Guild discussed their next course of action, Elder Howard and Irving simultaneously arrived at Vicky''s office. At that moment, Vicky looked at both Elder Howard and Irving with a shocked expression.


    Although Vicky was also a yer of the Shelter Game and had acquired some skills, all of her abilities were healing-oriented. This meant that in the uing battle, Vicky would be unable to provide any assistance to Irving.


    "Don''t stay in a dangerous ce! Quickly go find Benjamin! He will ensure your safety!" Irving shouted to Vicky.


    Hearing his words, Vicky hurriedly ran out of the office. Elder Howard, of course, would not let Vicky escape so easily. He immediately directed the mist around him to pursue her.


    At that moment, Irving swung his staff forcefully at Elder Howard. "Your opponent is me! You must defeat me first! If you can''t even defeat me, you have no right to fight anyone else!"


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Irving sealed off Vicky''s office, making it impossible for Howard to chase her outside.


    With this situation unfolding, Elder Howard had no other choice but to engage Irving in directbat. "Although your strength surpasses mine, that doesn''t mean you can win this battle. This time, I''ve brought some very powerful equipment from the Night des."


    Elder Howard grasped a ck sphere in his hand. The sphere began to emit a purple glow, and the ck mist illuminated by the purple light thickened considerably. This indicated that Howard''s power was rapidly increasing.


    "The most foolish thing you''ve done is to seal this ce! You actually thought that closing off this area would prevent me from leaving? That''s a huge mistake! If I wanted to leave, I could do so immediately. But I won''t, because I intend to use this opportunity topletely eliminate you. The one trapped in this enclosed space now is you!"


    Although Howard''s previous n had failed, he had devised a new one. If he could seize this chance to eliminate Irving, he would have more than atoned for his earlier mistakes.


    Facing Howard''s threats, Irving''s expression remainedrgely unchanged. He couldn''t determine whether Howard was bluffing or had another n in mind. Therefore, Irving concluded that his next course of action was straightforward: he simply needed to defeat his opponent.


    Irvingunched an attack on Elder Howard without any hesitation. Even though the mist surrounding Howard had been enhanced, it still couldn''t withstand the power of Irving''s Taikoo me Pearl. With the help of the Taikoo me Pearl, Irving sessfully destroyed the ck mist enveloping Elder Howard. He was now finally able to engage in a direct battle with Howard.


    "I don''t believe you can escape from here! The mist around you has beenpletely dispelled by me! Without that mist to bolster your strength, you are utterly insignificant!" After saying this, Irving gripped his staff and charged at Elder Howard.


    Although Howard maintained a calm expression, he was internally in a state of panic. He knew that his strength was insufficient to defeat Irving in a head-to-head confrontation. Moreover, Irving was correct; Howard had no way to quickly leave the area.


    As Howard fought Irving, he began searching for a way to escape. Just when the battle reached its peak intensity, Howard finally discovered an exit. He realized there was a hidden passageway in Vicky''s office that Irving had not sealed off.


    "I''ll let you off this time! But don''t get too cocky; this was merely a test," Howard said, throwing in a parting shot before making his escape.


    Irving was puzzled by Howard''s words. From his perspective, he was convinced that Howard had no means of leaving. Irving thought Howard''sment was just an attempt to distract him, so he paid it no further mind and continued his assault.


    Taking advantage of Irving''s attack, Howard transformed part of his body into ck mist. He then sent that portion of mist into the hidden passageway. As the ck mist left the enclosed space, Howard himself quickly turned transparent.


    "You haven''t perfectly sealed the room; there''s still a hidden passageway here. I warned you not to be too arrogant!" Howard taunted Irving before he left.


    Although Howard sessfully escaped, it did not mean that he had defeated Irving. It merely indicated that Irving had not achieved aplete victory.


    After driving Elder Howard away, Irving chose not to pursue him. He knew that chasing after Howard would be futile at this point. Instead, he decided to meet with Vicky.


    Vicky had regrouped with Benjamin and others as instructed. At that moment, she was hiding in a secure room in the underground area of the Ocean Group headquarters. It was an absolutely safe room. Only when Benjamin confirmed that there was no immediate danger did Vicky finally step out of the secure room.


    "You saved me again! If you hadn''t arrived in time, I would have definitely been killed by Elder Howard," Vicky said to Irving, her eyes glistening with tears.


    Irving gently patted Vicky on the head. "Alright, no more tears. You''re safe now, aren''t you? The bad guy has been driven away! You don''t need to worry anymore!"


    Afterforting Vicky for a moment, Irving turned to Benjamin. "I find you quite ipetent. You failed to ensure Vicky''s safety. What do you think the reason for that is?"


    Irving felt a bit dissatisfied with Benjamin. In his view, although Benjamin''s strength wasn''t overwhelming, the Ocean Group had plenty of powerful weapons at their disposal. Benjamin should have used those weapons to protect Vicky.


    Even if Benjamin couldn''t defeat Elder Howard, he shouldn''t have found himself unable to quickly ovee Aron when faced with him.


    Benjamin lowered his head and admitted, "It''s indeed my fault. I didn''t manage to use the weapons in the warehouse in time."


    Benjamin''s words reminded Irving. He suddenly realized that his expectations of Benjamin were somewhat excessive. Benjamin couldn''t have predicted that Aron would attack suddenly, so it was natural that he was unable to ess the warehouse''s weapons in time.


    Nodding, Irving decided to say no more on the matter.


    As Irving reached the entrance of the Ocean Group headquarters, he unexpectedly saw members of the Angel Guild. Aron slowly approached Irving. "I must apologize to you! My previous actions were indeed very poor! I also owe you a sincere apology for what I did in the Deste Canyon. I hope we can continue our cooperation, and I assure you that I will have no ulterior motives this time.


    I hope you can trust me."


    Aron''s tone was very sincere as he spoke. Irving scrutinized him for a moment and ultimately decided to ept Aron''s apology.


    "As long as you are genuinely willing to cooperate with me, I won''t hold any grudges. You don''t need to dwell too much on what happened before; I''m not a person who bears grudges."