Chapter 146 - Daniel Blyth (2/2)
Slaine was now in a fix. He was definitely not in the guild. Else, the members would have been able to check the name. The only exception was if the guild leader hid it. So, he quickly sent a message to Rudra while came up with a lie.
”He is just a honorary member. A friend of Shadow Tyrant,” said Slaine looking at the screens. That was the best that he could come up at such a short notice and it would give flexibility to Balthazar. As the fight was done, he could now contact Balthazar and asked him to come out before he got into more trouble. It was not just Epoch and his peers but also Brick and other members of Crimson Realm that were currently interested in Dormant Blade and it was best if Balthazar himself could come as he would be able to give the best explanation that would best suit his convenience.
Looking at Slaine's message, Balthazar also came out albeit a bit reluctantly. He didn't get to show off the advantages of the axe much, except for the moment where he trapped Ward, but almost all players spectating would have noticed the used of the horned buckler.
”At least completed one of my aims and no noticeable difference between pod and headgear for now. I can show off my axe skills properly another time,” thought Balthazar as he exited the arena. With him exiting the arena all the spectators were pushed out at once. The spectator area would disappear if the arena itself was cleared of all members.
The exited player immediately surrounded Balthazar at the arena. He had gathered quite a few fans during the past three fights. The Axe Man's name also became a popular one in the forums and the last fight where he used only Axes to defeat Golden Ward made it much more so.
”Why don't you wait a few more minutes? I heard you wanted to fight me,” said Epoch coming before Balthazar.
”I never said that. In fact, I didn't want to fight you, but your fans refused to let me go and pissed me off. Else, I wouldn't have wasted my time with them,” said Balthazar moving away from him.
If he could attack in the colosseum, Epoch and his team would have definitely done so. But the system had kept a number of guards at the place. The colosseum offered battles between the players in a safe environment. Yet, a number of players would have conflicts due to their loss even if they didn't lose any experience. So, the system had put strict guards at the place and the perpetrators in case of any attacks would be thrown into city jail. This was learned the hard way by some players early during the day.
So, hardly any players would initiate a fight at the place and even if they had more numbers, one couldn't be completely convinced of being able to kill the person before the guards arrived. If they didn't kill the player at whom they had animosity, it would be a total waste. Even in his past life, no one attacked a player due to conflicts in the arena. The only successful attacks were pre-planned ones by rival guilds or teams.
”But you did say that you could defeat me with ease, right?” asked Epoch blocking his way again.
”I need to logout. Got some place to be. Why don't I find you tomorrow? I doubt you would improve much in short time,” said Balthazar as he pushed him away. He knew that Epoch or the others wouldn't dare to attack him as he had shown enough skill that they would already expect him to be able to log out safely, even if he was attacked.
”Slaine come with me,” said Balthazar as he went and purchased another arena and got in along with Slaine. A couple of seconds later they both arrived, and Balthazar immediately logged out after that.
”What did he call you in for?” asked Brick.
”A bet match which he forfeited,” said Slaine as he walked off towards the shop. Though it wasn't possible to exchange combat points between players in a friendly manner like coins and other resources, one could always lose them in a bet. This was used by guilds quite frequently, but it would always result in loss of at least ten points that were required to book an arena.
Balthazar had used the chance to return the armor that he had borrowed and got out of the arena looking the same way with the use of disguise skill. He had also informed Slaine to tell Hammer that he could sell his original equipment designs to the Forging Association for contribution points.
He logged out and had a lot of time till the departure. He made a call to the butler, Thaddeus to get him a few more nutrient solutions for the journey. Nutrient solutions were used mostly by the people after hard workouts or high level of physical activity. His trial could be considered as a high level of physical activity, but Balthazar still got more than the usual amount using his grandfather's name.
After that, he simply lay down and the pod and rested waiting for Richard to arrive with Robert so that they could leave the planet. As he was resting, there was quite a commotion going on somewhere else. Arthur had sent a signal to Daniel but the only acknowledgement he received were the sentence - ”Tell him to contact me from Delarvaran's post”
There was no response after that. Unable to do anything else Arthur and Winston forwarded the message to Walt who also behaved in the same manner. Currently, Arthur and Winston were at the forbidden areas considering their next course of action as the head of the table of Ouroboros seemed to be mortal danger. The alarm used by Walter was meant for that situation and it was expected to choose an interim leader for the table and make necessary arrangements to handle the danger.
They had already selected Arthur as the interim leader and he had plans to lead a contingent of his men to the location. The only reason, they hadn't moved was because, Walter had explicitly informed them not to approach.
As they were in that dilemma, a man suddenly opened the door and walked in. He looked older than any of them with pale white hair that fell to his shoulders. He had pale blue eyes, a broken nose and an eye patch covering his left eye and part of a scar that extended from his upper lip into hair. Everyone got up as soon as they saw Daniel enter the room. Though he technically had no authority, he was the person that commanded the most respect among them.
”Hmm, I have kept all you waiting,” said Daniel as he signalled them to sit down. He cleared his throat and looked like he was in deep thought about something. As he came closer to them, most noticed that he seemed to be in some kind of thin-combat suit. It appeared like he was already geared up for a fight.
”I will be frank with you guys, then. I have already managed to contact Walter and he seems to be in an unforeseen trouble. The kind that hadn't disturbed the alliance since its formation. Our main priority is to understand this unit and find out their intents,” he continued.
”Winston, Vargrave and Arthur remain here. The rest will continue like this never happened. Anyone who lets this leak will be executed. We can't let any other forces realize this nor can we let anyone think that we are in a dire situation and Walter is missing. This includes our own men, sons and daughters. Arthur will have complete control of the table in Walter's absence,” said Daniel intensely.
Everyone simply nodded and followed his instructions. There were none raising any objections or even showing any displeasure even when they were told to remain ignorant and not participate. They all had the confidence and belief in his decisions that they were willing to do as told.