Thora's POV: Harvey and Ashton were originally moved by my words, but after hearing the last part of my sentence, they turned to look at me with complicated expressions. At the suited man's command, the thugs rushed at us with iron rods in their hands. Harvey and Ashton snapped back to reality, fighting them with their bare hands. I took the chance to crouch and tighten the sandbags on my legs. The Astralis Empire's laws strictly forbade werewolves from shifting into wolf form to fight in private. Anyone who broke this rule would be exiled from the empire. That just made this a perfect chance to practice and test out my training results. As soon as I stood, I saw that both Harvey and Ashton were already losing ground. A thug swung an iron rod at Harvey's back, so I shot forward and drove my knee into the guy's leg. At the same time, I grabbed his wrist and twisted, using his own swing against him. With a crisp snap, he let out a cry and dropped the iron rod. I grabbed the rod and tossed it to Harvey. "Focus!" He caught it on instinct, staring at me in shock and curiosity. I heard someone coming up behind me. Without looking back, I spun and slammed my elbow into his chest. He staggered away with a grunt. I seized his wrist and pushed my thumb against the bone. His arm went limp, hanging uselessly at his side. Another iron rod came at my face. I ducked, hooked the rod with my fingers, and yanked. The attacker lost his balance, and as he stumbled forward, I kicked his knee out. He dropped to the ground, and the rod landed in my hand. "Give it to me!" Ashton called, reaching for it. "Not happening." I shot him a glance, then slammed the rod into the next thug attacking me. Harvey caught on. After exchanging a look with me, he moved closer, helping shield Ashton behind us. I channeled my flame ability, letting a faint light wrap around my rod as I swept it sideways, forcing back two thugs who tried to circle behind Ashton. Harvey used wolf power to smash his rod against another's, sending a shock down the thug's arm and making him drop his weapon. But this couldn't go on forever. The thugs' wolf power was still surging, and their breathing hadn't even changed. They were veterans from the underground fighting clubs. Harvey was already sweating, his punches slower than before. Ashton leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. My stamina wasn't at its peak, and I couldn't use my wolf power … I had to find a way to break that deadlock. My eyes landed on the man in the suit. He was standing at the very back, his cigar half-burned. His eyes were glued to Harvey, seemingly scared he'd run. He was the weak link I was looking for. I gathered up my energy, letting that faint blue glow twine around the rod. Just as another thug lunged at me, I dodged and hurled the rod straight at the suited man.The rod whistled through the air, flying right over the thugs and heading straight for him. He clearly hadn't expected me to go after him. His pupils shrank to pinpoints as he froze, forgetting to dodge. Clang! The rod smashed into the wall beside his head, kicking up concrete dust and leaving the rod quivering in place. The suited man dropped his cigar, sending sparks flying onto his shoe. He finally snapped out of it, his face gone pale as he stared at the rod embedded in the wall. He then looked back at me, terrified. "My next hit won't be aimed at the wall." That really scared him. He stumbled back and yelled, "Retreat! Get out of here!" The thugs didn't dare stick around. They dragged the wounded and vanished from the alley, leaving behind iron rods and bloodstains.Clang! Harvey let his iron rod fall to the ground, panting as he turned to us. "You two all right?" I pulled out a tissue and wiped my hands, checking my own mental state as I nodded toward Ashton. "You should be asking him." My energy was a little depleted, but not enough to push me over the edge. Guess all that strict training really paid off. "A few scratches don't mean anything ... ow!" Ashton tried to play tough, only to wince from the pain. He gave an embarrassed laugh, then looked at me with admiration. "Thora, I had no idea you could fight like that! Did you awaken your wolf spirit, or did you get some secret training?"