Chapter 172: Paladins (1/2)

Arthur squinted his eyes as he looked at the roaring flames, feeling the shaking of the arena beneath his feet. This was the sound of Arthur Silvera's end, and with this, he bought enough time for himself.

He knew this solution wasn't optimal and it would only serve to stall for more time. If there was someone in the royal family or any other family that could see the future, they'd know he wasn't dead.

However, this would be enough to throw them off. To direct the public's attention toward the fall of the young hero. The Ilios Empire would have a hard time locating him from now on. He'd go off the radar for now as he gets stronger.

”What… are… you…” The Ender tried to clutch his leg but Arthur looked at him and waved his hand as fire engulfed the nether being, burning it to ashes. Its hoarse screams resounded throughout the arena as it disappeared.

'I'm sorry, Ori.' Arthur looked blankly as the black matter scattered to nothings, leaving a charcoal body behind.

It was missing most of its flesh and even that was turning to ashes. The bones turned black and Arthur ceased using his rune before he used his telekinesis and threw the bones toward the raging fire.

The Ender seemed confused about his runes and mana. His mana was different after he broke through. He had touched something far greater than before, giving his mana a unique property, unlike his previous mana.

The characteristic of creation and the power of existence. His mana existed independently in this world, being a part of existence itself. That's why it was overbearing as it worked against the Enders.

'However, is that it?' Arthur wondered to himself as he felt that something was missing. 'Is that what the attack amounts for?' He felt that wasn't the case.

As he looked at the ever-stretching smokes and the flames that were ripping through it, he realized that the Ilios Empire would find another way to capture him. The question was what is that way? He looked at Mistletoe's members fighting the retreating Enders.

It was then that it clicked.

'Ah, this was a trap.'

The Enders were nothing but bait to lure the members of Mistletoe out. The empire somehow knew that he'd call them over. As if answering his question, the dome suddenly cracked and disappeared.

Arthur ceased using the smoke artifacts on his wrist in case someone suspected something. As he looked upward, he saw that several figures have appeared in the sky, including Jumana, Grandmaster Venkov, and Grandmaster Kiren.

There were several other figures clad in armor that were standing to the side. They were shiny armor with white and red lines running on their breastplates.

'Paladins.' Arthur looked blankly as the Enders began disappearing. He sneakily tried to use the Teleport rune, but space has been locked using a high-grade artifact.

”Mistletoe.” A Paladin with a white beard and a scar spoke to them. ”You've shown your true colors at last. Falling as low to use the Nether Beings, what is your aim?”

Arthur didn't answer and the rest of his group gathered around him. He turned his head to the side and saw that the flames were still blazing. What happened to Reece? Did he succeed?

”I've thought you've had some humanity in you!” Grandmaster Venkov roared, his hair fluttering in the wind. ”Turns out you're nothing more than a terrorist group.” He spat as he looked at the roaring flames.

'This doesn't make sense. Does he think I'm dead? If they're just standing there, why didn't they help?' Arthur looked at the flames and realized the missing puzzle.

A giant monster crawled out from the flames as black fluid fell off. It screeched in a hoarse sound before it started disappearing.

'They used a stronger Ender to stop the association and the Ilios empire from interfering. They either wanted to kill me or use my plan against me. It depends on whether they knew it wasn't me or not.'

”We need to get out of here,” Ivy said in a heavy voice as she looked at the flying people. ”That old man is an Astra-ranker.”

”Mind your words unless you want me to rip your tongue.” The white-bearded paladin grinned at Ivy.

All of Mistletoe's members wore their masks and robes, making them unidentifiable. Their masks were created from the feathers of a monster called Doom's Owl, having the property of reflecting magic. Thus, they couldn't be seen through.