Chapter 236: Joining Nightfall (1/2)
As he heard Rae's departing words, Arthur felt a chill down his spine. However, he got rid of one of the obstacles that would hinder him from completing his plan.
”S-sir, I don't think I can keep it for long.” Beran stuttered with a pale face.
”Oh, okay. You can stop. Why are you calling me sir?” Arthur watched as the illusion that coated the staff wore off.
”I… I…” Beran kept trailing as he panicked. Arthur could almost see steam rising from his head. He sighed and patted the young man on the shoulder.
”Have a bit more confidence, you have a useful ability.”
”But it's not powerful,” Beran whispered.
”Yeah, it's not powerful, usually.” Arthur took the object from Beran's hands and weighed it down. ”But it was powerful today. This will determine whether we'll win or not.” Arthur said with a grin as he looked at the silver flag in his hand.
”Are you sure Alice is okay with this?” Moli asked with worry.
”Well, she thinks that Jonah has the flag. She thought it was a good idea to change the flag's location. It's a shame that we can't place it in our storage artifacts.”
”This feels like cheating…” Beran mumbled, making Arthur sigh.
”I don't think it's cheating, but it certainly feels like a loophole in the rules. They said we should prevent the flag from being stolen, not the fortress from being invaded. This is a class to teach us about teamwork, not a competition of strength.” They nodded in agreement at his words.
”What about the nobles from earlier?” Moli asked.
”Well,” Arthur coughed. ”May their souls rest in peace. Let's go and meet the others. Doli should be constructing our new fortress at the moment.”
The three then began sprinting across the maze and Arthur had to slow down for the two to keep up. Luckily, they didn't meet anyone on the way and they managed to make it to the location they agreed on.
In the far corner of the maze was a space big enough to act as a sub-fortress. They had chosen this location and sent the other thirteen people there to construct some defenses.
”Moli! You're finally here. We need to block these paths. Construct a wall here too so that they can't attack at the same time.”
”Alexie, how did it go?” Jonah stopped what he was doing and came toward them. Arthur grinned and gave him a big thumbs up. With a laugh, Jonah threw his arms around Beran and Arthur. ”Hahaha, they'll never see it coming.”
”Saying it like this sounds like a bad omen.” Arthur smiled. ”We still have a lot to do. Have you contacted Alice?”
”Yes, she's luring the northern invasion to the fortress as planned.”
”Then we have to help them out,” Arthur said as he looked at the rest. ”I'll take the attackers with me. Contact me if something comes up.”
”Maybe we should have told those nobles about the plan to lure the enemy into the fortress.” Jonah ruffled through his hair. ”They'll hate us a lot.”
”Jonah, they hate you already. This will teach them a lesson. Plus, we still need bait. We can't have an empty fortress.”
”Truly, diabolic.” Jonah sighed. ”Doli and Moli will be staying here. Take whoever you need with you. I'll be staying behind as well.” Jonah said with a helpless expression.
”Hey,” Arthur nudged him. ”Your strength doesn't lie in attack power or defense, but deception. Change your mindset. Work smart instead of working hard.”
Jonah paused for a second as he thought of something and nodded. His face then brightened as he thought of something.
”I think we can make guarantee our win.”
Arthur looked at him with a smile as Jonah explained his plan. He was glad that Jonah began to think of ways to use his ability rather than simply trying to overpower the problem.
As Jonah constructed a plan of his own, Arthur took five students with him with Beran included. The thin young man looked as anxious as he was earlier.
”W-why did you ask me to come along?” Beran asked as he rubbed his wrist. Arthur smiled and gathered the five students around him.