“This really hurts…” Angulus could only sigh while looking at his right hand which was completely destroyed.

After the explosion, his body was immediately thrown far into the wall that separated Maple City from the outer region. He was thrown so far away but what he was worried about was this wound on his hand.

For a magus, especially those who had passed the initial stages of ring formation, the wounds he had to be wary of were wounds from magic attacks. This small physical injury like a collision with a wall was something he could ignore.

Who exactly is that person?

No. Is calling him a person correct? All I saw was a black figure with an eye formed from a red light.

"Is this a trap from Balak?" Angulus couldn't help but think like this.

Right after he was released from prison he was immediately attacked by someone. Moreover, that person wasn't even human.

He immediately shook his head and rejected this thought.

“It should not be. The biggest problem was that the figure moved as soon as I was released. It seems that I will have to postpone destroying the Rosemary family in Maple City.” Angulus was about to move when someone's voice caught his attention.

“Well…Well… Look who's here today. If not a traitor to the Betlam family, Angulus Wretcher. I didn't expect that you would still be alive today.”

Angulus who heard it immediately felt goosebumps all over his body. His mouth said a name slowly. “Roderick. I didn't expect you to still be here.”

I thought this guy had left after the attack on the Betlam family. But if he's still here, that means his business isn't finished yet. Considering his nature, it was likely that he was very angry at the moment.

Roderick stood in the air as if standing on the ground. His face did not show any expression. He threw the vial containing an Elixir in his hand. "Just think of it as a good thing you've done before."

“And also, next time you need to restrain your rotten son. I won't mind if he wants to destroy a branch family that the Rosemary family belongs to, but if he does so at a time when royal politics are about to be conducted, I won't hesitate in tearing Balak in two.”

“You said that but still didn't do it.” Angulus accepted the vial and drank it immediately. His hand that had been cut off immediately grew as if it had never disappeared.

Angulus continued. “Given the personality you have, you would never just spout nonsense. Besides, tell me… did you receive orders from King Esther?”

Roderick didn't answer and was just silent. But that was enough of an answer to Angulus' question.

The murder committed by the successor of the Rosemary family and the ninth son of King Esther was no small matter. This was such a big deal among the Noble families that even Angulus himself heard about it through Vin.

“You are still as sharp as ever. It's a shame that the Betlam family imprisoned you like this.” Roderick slowly turned around and was about to leave before Angulus called him.

“Roderick, do you know who that black figure is?”

Roderick answered indifferently. "None of my business. As long as he doesn't interfere with what I'm doing, I don't need to care about him in the slightest.”

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After saying that, Roderick left.

Angulus could only sigh softly. “With Roderick in Maple City, the orders Balak gave would be impossible to carry out. Apart from that, there was also a black figure that attacked me earlier.”

He could even break Black Blood's defenses. Balak raised his newly grown hand and clenched his fist. Black blood came out and immediately evaporated in the air.

“Interesting enemy.” Angulus smiled at that.

The method cultivated by the black figure was truly amazing. If it wasn't for his body that had Black Blood flowing in it, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

On the other hand, Zaratul looked at the angulus who was cleaning the blood he had inserted before. He also had the same thoughts as Angulus.

“What a talented human.” he looked for a moment before turning his attention.

Around him, one of the four humans he had recruited was holding the head of someone in the air and popping it like a balloon. Blood and organs flowed through his body and clothes and fell to the ground.

The area where he was currently standing was already filled with blood and countless internal organs. He has killed more than 10 people because he followed the footsteps left by Zaratul.

“You should be more careful and finish the fight as quickly as possible. Erick has provided information that the world we live in today is quite a dangerous world."

“I know that. It's just that doing it isn't as easy as saying it.” Zaratul shook his head and remembered the fight with Angulus.

If only that person fought seriously with the blood he had, the chances of him winning would drop 30% lower. And that will lead to a long-term battle.

This was the case when he was an Intermediate stage tier 2 Magus. Even after the fight between the two, the impact brought by this fight was so great.

Forget about the destruction of the city and the deaths of people. Zaratul didn't care about that.

What he cared about was that many organizations had started conducting large-scale investigations right after the fight started. Erick had already said that he would secure the escape route and sent one of the people he recruited.

In contrast to Erick, who was only an ordinary human when he was recruited, the four astral and Orb humans that Zaratul recruited were already at the early stage of Magus tier 2. They had enough strength to deal with many people in this world.

"Is there any problem?" Zaratul saw a man covered in a brown leather garment on his body. The clothes looked like they were roughly sewn so they looked ugly.

"There isn't any. Erick has given his consent to return.”

Zaratul disappeared again with every step he took.

The man did not immediately return but looked at a corpse in front of him which was carrying an insignia with a rosemary flower engraved on it. He injected a little mana and turned the gem black.

“You've seen enough. Take back the people you sent and we can discuss the cooperation you are offering." With that, he destroyed the insignia.

He went into astral mode and disappeared from there.

"He has gone. The problem is, that Rosemary's family suddenly offers them cooperation. Seeing how that black figure and that human were talking casually, I could confirm that they were from the same organization.”

“Then let them do it. That way, we can track and spy on their movements." A woman's voice answered his question.

"Sam, how is the progress of your plan?"

“Not bad. It's just that we don't have enough people to use. Apart from that, progress is quite slow and there are many obstacles. I can’t speed it up because that would bring trouble.”

“Then that's good. As long as there is progress that is enough. We can't speed things up when Vienna Hall already knows what we're doing. Balak also knows that we are behind the attack.”

Sam nodded. "Then everything is according to plan."

After receiving no other reply from the female voice, Sam walked away from where he was looking. He walked out of the narrow alley as an old man with the strength of a 5-ring magus.

On the streets of Maple City, he could see people who were scared and crying over the deaths of people they knew. The impact of the fight between Zaratul and Angulus destroyed more than a kilometer in their radius.

Especially the explosion from the spear that Zaratul released and the rose that Angulus summoned.

The damage that occurred, was truly enormous.

"Mom... Mom... wake up... Please wake up... I promise I will be a good child... I promise I will be more obedient to you Mom..." A small child cried while holding his mother's cold body. Even with the fire magic he wielded in his other hand, it still didn't warm his mother's body.

Sam smiled when he saw the crying little child. He patted the little boy's head and said. "Kid, do you want to become stronger?"

The little boy raised his head while looking at the old grandfather in front of him. He couldn't say anything and just cried with tears. What he saw was a grandfather offering a worm to the little boy.

“If you think about becoming strong and want strength, you can eat this. As long as you eat this, you will gain the power you seek.”

Without hesitation, the little boy took the worm from Sam's hand. Sam who saw it could only show a big smile.

A very wide smile.