Chapter 201 Barrier (2/2)
But if he made even the tiniest error, he would be pierced by a thousand strands of Fire Essence And all that stood between hi weakness at the best of ti for so long
He forced the crack in the formation open further, then quickly took another step forward as it closed behind him
”He will cause a disturbance in the for cried out, a trace of panic in his words ”He'll kill us all! We can't let him continue!”
Arran kneas nonsense He was the only person as in danger But in his struggle with the formation, he could not spare the attention to refute the man's ridiculous claim
”We can, and ill” Elder Naran's tone held a barely veiled threat of violence as he dis's concerns
”If you want to join thissaid, his voice close to shouting ”But I will leave — I will not throay iant Elder's words thundered through the hall, and what had been a veiled threat a o now became a promise ”You will stay, or you will die Do you think us foolish enough to believe your lies? You will reed by the Patriarch when he awakens”
”You dare accusevoice that contained fear and fury in equal measure ”You dare—”
Arran tuned out the commotion behind him All his attention was needed tothat his control would not hold er, he hurriedly took another step forward
Just one h the forain — and found an invisible barrier blocking the way The inner formation
He had hoped there was some space between the two fore of collapse, it was too late to turn back And even if he could, the conflict between the Elders was on the verge of erupting into battle, and Elder Feng doubtless wasn't the only traitor in the group
There was no choice but to push forward and hope that the inner formation would accept him It was a distant hope, but not an absurd one He suspected that the Patriarch somehow controlled the inner formation, and if so, there was a chance he would be allowed inside it
He pushed again, and again found hiive in the barrier A sign, perhaps — or ain
He made a third push, and this time, he met no resistance at all He stumbled forward, and the outer forot to his feet and looked at the body on the platforo silent Even in the heat of conflict, they had seen what had happened
”I must borrow your body Do not resist; I mean you no harm”
It took Arran a moment to realize that the voice was inside hisaround, completely outside his control There was no question of resisting it — he had becoer his to decide
He raised his ar ”Traitor!” he said in a voice that was not his own ”In your lust for power, you betrayed bothyourself with the Society's ene thousands of our own to die Both your rank and life are void”
”Patriarch, I—”
The Elder did not get a chance to say his final words Even as he spoke, Arran felt the Patriarch draw upon a vast reservoir of Essence, channeling staggering amounts of Fire and Shadow Essence into his body Then, in an instant, the two types of Essence fused perfectly, and a thin stream of invisible flame shot toward the traitorous Elder
Arran could feel the attack as if it was his own, but even so, the spell was too fast for his , and only when he saw Elder Feng topple to the floor with a hole burned through his forehead did he realize what had happened
”Traitor!” he said again, pointing toward a different Elder
In less than a minute, a dozen Elders and Grandmasters died Soed or fled, but the outco Arran's body as a conduit for his power, the Patriarch swatted them like flies
Finally, Arran's eyes were turned to the survivors ”Elder Naran,” he heard himself say ”Take Snowcloud and your Elders to the throne rooe the Valley of traitors Take the Seventh Valley spies alive, and kill the others Now leave!”
The gathered Elders and Grandmasters did as he said at once, aon their faces
Only Snowcloud showed soht Yet Elder Naran hurriedly guided her out of the hall, and moments later, none were left but Arran, the Patriarch's shriveled body, and a dozen dead es
As Arran looked at the scene, the Patriarch's words sounded in his mind once more
”As for you… There is much in your memories that interests me”