Chapter 79: Equal Grounds (1/2)
”I see,” The killing intent disappeared and the man simply sighed. ”It seems Dimon has failed. Kill him and retrieve the egg.” He casually instructed.
Arthur gritted his teeth as his Earth Manipulation skill. There wasn't enough time before he collapsed and he needed to use the weather to his advantage. It seems the unstable mana here has caused the change in the wind as their robes were fluttering. Using his skill to soften the soil then move it, Arthur created a dust cloud that hindered everyone's vision.
The golden mask retreated and covered his face with his robe. He peered through the dust cloud and ordered the rest to stand by. Being surrounded, the goblins and the masked person had no way of escaping. It was then that shadows emerged from the dust cloud and ran toward the forest.
”Catch him!” The man roared and the pursuit started through the terrain of the forest. It took the group of pursuers a few moments to realize that only the goblins were running away, the masked person was nowhere to be seen. They halted their steps and turned toward the cave but there was no one there.
”Use your skill to find him!” The golden masked man ordered one of his followers, who nodded and stood there for a few seconds.
”There's no one except the goblins.”
”Impossible, did he simply disappear?” The person behind the golden mask looked gritted his teeth and frowned. There was a sense of disharmony in his perception that kept bugging him.
”Sir…” The man who used the Search Skill hesitated and rampaged his mind for words. The man behind the mask felt irritated and shouted for him to spit it out.
”Why are there six of us?” When those words were out in the open, silence descended like rain on the group. They looked at each other, and there was indeed an extra person. Before anyone can do anything, one of them was holding into another with a golden dagger on the latter's neck.
”No one moves.” His voice was grim and husky, matching the person behind the mask. The dagger dug deeper into the neck of the hostage and blood trailed down.
”Don't!” The golden mask shouted urgently. ”You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. Release him immediately.”
”Well, I doubt you'd let me leave so obediently. My hands are tied too.” Arthur studied their agitation in puzzlement. It was a cowardly move to take a hostage, but it was inevitable for his survival.
He had picked up the weakest person in the group to hold hostage since the others might break free. Even though his body was approaching its limits, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and endure.
”We'll let you go if you release him.” The man behind the golden mask said with a caution that made Arthur realize the person he held into was more important than he thought.
”That's a lie,” Arthur snorted. ”You think I'm dumb enough to believe you'd let me leave after what I saw inside?”
The man in the golden mask stood there silently. Arthur felt like he needed to add one more sentence.
”I have a poison skill.”
The atmosphere shifted ever so slightly that Arthur the group might have not heard him. It was then that the man in the golden mask said something that left Arthur confused.
”We have the girl,”
Arthur looked at him with confusion, not understanding his words. It seems the man took it as if his words weren't believed and gestured to one of his followers. Arthur pressed the dagger one the hostage's neck making him leak a grunt.
”He'll just go and get the girl. We left her somewhere nearby.” The man with the golden mask raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.
”Thirty seconds,” Arthur paused a bit before he answered. The man disappeared into the forest and returned with someone on his back after exactly thirty seconds. When Arthur saw who it was, he felt a headache in his head as his irritation almost making behead the man.
'What the hell is Amelia doing here?' Arthur felt a stabbing pain in his temples as his thoughts raced. She looked around with terror in her eyes as she was cuffed and gagged. Arthur felt very complied to leave her here when he realized she must've followed him here. If she told these people that she was here because she was following him, Arthur's cover would blow up.
He couldn't pretend that he didn't know her. He wanted no loose ends that would trace back to him. If she confessed that she followed him here with him being accompanied by goblins, they would know his identity.