My Substitute CEO Bride (Nash Calicraft) novel Chapter 2324

Francel and Barther charged toward each other at the center.

Francel had already anticipated that Barther would not let them off so easily. After all, as the masked man had pointed out, Barther now possessed power close to the Profound Oriental Realm level, with four bracelets in his possession.

There was no way he would simply let Francel and Smiley go.

Just then, a loud bang echoed through the air. The masked man fired a shot at Barther.

Barther, who was initially dismissive, attempted to catch the bullet with one hand. Nonetheless, the impact unexpectedly made him stagger back several steps. In that brief moment, Francel managed to grab the bracelet while shielding Smiley behind him.

"Smiley, are you okay?" Francel asked with concern.

"I'm fine, old man," Smiley replied.

Hearing this, Francel finally breathed a sigh of relief but kept his wary eyes on Barther.

They had the advantage now—Francel and the masked man were both in the fight. Francel had witnessed the masked man's intervention firsthand, and he knew that anyone capable of shaking Barther was not an ordinary person.

There was a chance that the two of them could take Barther down right there.

"Old man..." Smiley's voice trembled.

"What is it?" Francel asked.

"Everyone... They're all dead... They were burned to death by that man..."

It was a risky gamble. If Barther had aimed anywhere else, Francel would have been severely injured, if not worse.

However, luck was on Francel's side this time. Barther's punch failed to cause any damage, and just as Francel's staff fell back into his grasp, he leaped up and slammed it down on Barther's head.

Though Barther lacked Francel's finesse, he compensated with brute strength. Despite the pain, Barther grabbed the staff, then hurled both it and Francel away with a powerful swing.

Without hesitating, Barther turned his attention back to Smiley, knowing that dragging out the fight would only put him at a disadvantage.

Then, the masked man aimed his gun at Barther. “I suggest you give up now.”

Barther ignored the warning. However, the masked man did not pull the trigger. Instead, he lowered the gun and calmly said…