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Chapter 241: Crisis and Opportunity
People silently assembled outside of the restaurant. There were no shouts or curses, yet their hateful gazes showed how dire Sila’s situation was.
Sila couldn’t see Revin and Kawin anymore, though he still sensed their presences. The situation was extremely bad for him as his options were severely limited.
Burapha was restless too. Now he knew Revin’s character was deeper than the man seemed on the outside. His slyness and quick wit were as sharp as the blade he used, meaning it struck his opponent at their weakest moment. Sila’s group came to this city with the intention of recruiting people. There was no way they could fight the citizens without there being consequences.
Zero still stood in the same place, his gaze roaming as if he was looking for someone. He opened his mouth and said to no one in particular, “With crisis always comes opportunity.”
Sila understood Zero’s meaning. No matter how dire the situation was, his only choice was to go out and clash against the people. If he didn’t show his strength, he would be looked down upon, and his chances of recruiting players would be reduced further.
“Burapha, Sebastian, and Mister Asura. From now on, the situation will become more chaotic. Let’s separate now before it’s too late. Instead of splitting into two groups like usual, we will split into three for mobility. Burapha, please go with Mister Asura. Sebastian sticks with Miss Franz. Lastly, Lookhin will stay with me.”
“What about Mister Mamon, sir? I think he doesn’t want to stay with Lookhin,” Sebastian asked.
“Mamon tends to make things worse. It’s best that he stay by my side. In conclusion, my group will consist of Lookhin, Mamon, and myself.”
“Roger, sir.”
“Oh, tomorrow, don’t forget to go and defeat the Vampire Earl north of the city, Sebastian. Maybe the current you can’t take him on though. Anyway, please go by yourself and don’t hesitate to use the Manifesting Soul Lantern.”
Mamon was currently sealed within Mechanical Evil God’s Protection, so Sila could access Mamon’s Hidden Gift to understand items. He came to know the reason why Sebastian avoided using the lantern. The butler was afraid of stray bullets hitting his comrades.
“Lookhin, please come into the armor for the time being. I want to borrow your strength,” Sila requested, to which Lookhin nodded. He then sealed her into the armor.
Burapha cast his gaze outside. “There are a lot of people, Big Brother. Do you need my help?”
Sila shook his head. “No, I’m okay. Burapha, you should focus on training yourself. Just forget that we came here together. Use this place as a training ground. Remember that you can always flee if it’s a fight that you can’t win.”
Burapha nodded, his expression showing that he understood. Sila had intentionally grouped Asura with Burapha. He knew Asura was often apathetic, so he wouldn’t disturb Burapha’s training. In any case, Sila would be more at ease knowing that there was a reliable helper staying with Burapha.
“Once I go down, you can all go wherever you want. Don’t worry about me. Take care of yourself.”
None of them doubted that Sila could take care of himself. They weren’t worried about him.
Once Sila had made sure that he didn’t forget anything, he stepped on the balcony before descending from the second floor. He relied on Lookhin’s Great Sparrowhawk Qi to leisurely step down on air as if he was walking down invisible stairs.
Zero didn’t follow after Sila, though he did expand his profound sense using God’s Cathedral as he silently waited for his target to make an appearance. Still, his gaze fell onto Sila’s movements, which had developed greatly since the last time they had talked. He speculated that the current Sila was worthy of being his opponent.
The players below stepped aside to form an open spot for Sila to land, making a horseshoe-shaped encirclement. The distance between them and Sila was exactly five meters. Some of them had witnessed Sila’s strength when he previously welcomed Ryou’s attack, so they were extremely vigilant, readying themselves for a battle that could break out at any time.
‘What great pressure! Well, it’s a good sign that they didn’t attack me right away. Maybe I can still talk things out with them.’
Sila stood motionlessly with his hands behind his back. He seemed defenseless on the outside. Despite this, his qi was steadily circulating throughout his body.
The players didn’t beat around the bush. One of them threw a question at Sila. “Are you the Blue-Colored Catastrophe’s comrade?”
Sila couldn’t tell whether Revin had calculated this beforehand, but he wasn’t the type to lie. His reply was honest. “Yes, I am.”
The atmosphere was so quiet that it was uncomfortable. A sense of hatred was clearly visible in everyone’s gazes.
Soon, a black-haired man with an eyepatch stepped forward.
“We aren’t irrational people. Just tell us Bluebird’s whereabouts, and you may leave. We won’t harm you.”
Sila glared at the man, his eyes gleaming red. They looked downright scary. “So you are saying I just need to sell out my friend in order to leave this place?”
“Why do you have to put it that way? That sounds harsh. I mean we only want Bluebird’s whereabouts. We have no wish to harm you.”
“And? What if I don’t comply with your request? You will gang up on me. Is that right?” Sila’s voice became louder. He couldn’t afford to seem unconfident, or he would immediately be seen as a weakling.
Some began to spew out curses while others were consulting among themselves. Sila started to notice that the people here could be divided into three groups. One group wanted to find Bluebird’s location regardless of the method. The second group wanted to negotiate with him and avoid conflict if possible. As for the third one, the group with the largest number of people, they were on the fence and waiting to see what happened.
The first group consisted of hot-tempered people, so they quickly took action. Even though the attack was thrown at Sila with an intention to warn him, it was still so fierce that it stimulated Dark Self’s survival instinct.
“Take this blade first! Else you don’t even have the qualifications to talk with us!”
A shout echoed as a certain man jumped forward and aimed the tip of his thick Chinese sword at Sila. His attack was neatly and beautifully done, possessing both terrific strength and speed. It was unexpected that the attacker was only a nobody. If he lived somewhere else, given his strength, he would be selected as a vice-leader in a middle-sized guild.
Nevertheless, what Sila was concerned about wasn’t this blade. Even though everyone else acted like mere spectators, some among them used this chance to probe his strength. As far as he could tell, at this exact moment, four more people also took action in accordance with the Chinese sword user. Each of them sneakily acted by their own without planning ahead. Their attacks were concealed, making it as if Sila was simply fighting one-on-one despite it actually being one against five.
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A transparent ice blade was formed on the snowfield below Sila’s feet. It was Snow’s attack. She secretly invoked a mid-tier spell which she had delayed beforehand.
From far away was Skyless, who was standing on a building. He strengthened a snowflake and used it as a hidden weapon. It flew toward Sila with his object-controlling art at an astonishing speed, aiming at his flank from a blind spot.
The man wearing a pirate eyepatch, who Sila would learn later was called Menar, also took action. He flicked his fingers and tossed a plant seed toward Sila. The seed flew together with the Chinese sword in the first attacker’s hand, concealing itself using the shadow of the blade.
The last one was Zero, still standing on the balcony. He materialized a chakram using his magical qi. His chakram was so thin that it couldn’t be seen, though its sharpness was second to none. He mercilessly sent it toward the back of Sila’s neck.
Sila quickly sorted the attacks in sequence. Zero took action last but his attack would reached him first. Next would be Skyless’ hidden weapon, Menar’s plant seed, Snow’s ice shard, and then finally the stranger’s Chinese sword.
Formless Martial God — Drifting Cloud.
Sila moved left and right, yet his feet stayed in the same place, creating a blurred afterimage as if he had become a cloud.
The magical chakram slit Sila’s neck and left a faint red mark behind. It was fortunate that Sila had been especially careful and strengthened his body with Formless Soldier and Divine Raiment. Still, it was unexpected that his Drifting Cloud couldn’t completely evade Zero’s attack.
The chakram flew past him but didn’t stop. It swiftly curved back and rushed at Sila for a second attack. It even came back at the same time as when Skyless’ hidden weapon arrived.
Attribute of Metal — Unhindered Fist.
Both of Sila’s hands were strengthened by the forceful nature of the metal element. In an instant, his left hand struck the hidden weapon while his right hand was thrown at the chakram flying toward his head, shattering it.
Unhindered Fist was the metal-attributed barehanded move. It was a simple, unyielding martial move that was the most direct and couldn’t be easily migrated or fended off. It represented the user’s determination which wouldn’t let oneself go along with the flow but instead forcefully break through.
The plant seed finally arrived before him and broke itself into a small wisp of smoke. Sila didn’t stop his movements as he waved his hand before the smoke and invoked his wood-attributed power.
Attribute of Wood — Beckoning Hand of the Reaper.
The smoke was forcefully grouped together and returned into the form of a seed. Sila flicked his hand and sent it into the sky before releasing his control. It once again broke and dispersed along with the wind.
Time continued to flow as Sila neatly handled each attack. The snow blade below him started to pose a threat. Thus, he lifted his foot up and stomped.
Attribute of Earth — Instant Stomp.
The earth-attributed martial move’s trait laid in its explosive strength. The ice below Sila’s foot was stomped and broken. A strong footprint was pressed into the snowfield. Furthermore, Sila borrowed the rebounding impact to ready himself against the stranger’s Chinese sword. Compared to all those previous moves, this blade aimed at him openly, so Sila would have an easier time perfectly subduing it. As long as he handled the situation well, the opportunity for him to negotiate with these people would open up.
With crisis always comes opportunity. However, the reverse also applied. With opportunity comes crisis.
As Sila was about to show off his strength by beautifully receiving the blade using his martial move Moon-Catcher, something bizarre happened suddenly. His body froze up and his instincts kicked in, telling him that he was in grave danger. The energy he had built up vanished as his strength left him.
Squish—!
The blade finally arrived. It cut through Sila’s flesh as it stabbed into his abdomen. Everyone, including Sila, was speechless.
Even the four people who secretly attacked Sila were dumbfounded. Sila could calmly cope with their sneak attacks, yet he was unable to handle an inferior attack openly thrown at him. How was that possible?
Sila’s eyes turned dark ruby. He gritted his teeth as he unleashed qi and psychic power, which prompted the Chinese sword user to step back, the Chinese sword still stuck in Sila’s body.
Dark Psychic Corrosion spread out. Belacia City was so dangerous that it had stimulated Dark Self several times in one day. Under the surface of a peaceful city was the atmosphere of death and looming dangers that could come in any form.
“Who... Who the hell is it?!” Dark Self roared.
The Chinese sword user flinched. “M-My name is...” In fact, he was quite surprised. He didn’t expect his simple move to be able to harm Sila to this extent.
“I didn’t mean you...!” Dark Self said as he wondered. ‘There was one more person who sneakily attacked me! How could I not sense them?!’
Apparently, during the last second, someone had stealthily directed a concentrated line of mental oppression at Sila without anyone realizing. It was done in a place where strong players gathered, yet no one, including Zero, had detected the presence of the sixth, mysterious attacker.
Dark Self expanded his profound sense using Galaxy Eclipse, yet he couldn’t pinpoint the sixth attacker. Either the said person had left after they had made their move or was concealing themselves so masterfully that he couldn’t detect them. Either way, it was undeniable that the attacker was a fearsome opponent.
The attacker’s unique, almighty mental oppression wasn’t as scary as their ability to select the most precise and deadly timing to make their move. It instantly crushed Sila’s opportunity and turned it into a great crisis.
Dark Self removed the Chinese sword from his abdomen and his blood sprayed on the ground. He borrowed the power of the Great Flow into his hand and pressed it on his wound. Meanwhile, he quickly circulated qi to regain his vitality. His face was deadly pale.
Unfortunately, Dark Self had no time to recover his strength. Most players, who saw Sila as incompetent since he had been easily injured, started leaning toward using violence. Many tightened the encirclement around him as they pressed for the answer.
“Now, tell us. Where is the Blue-Colored Catastrophe?”
Dark Self didn’t even mind their intimidating shouts. He focused on healing himself in order to prepare for the next action that the mysterious attacker might launch at him. He wanted to be in his best condition if that person were to reveal themselves and openly attack.
Suddenly, it was Zero who moved first. He deactivated his God’s Cathedral and focused his qi into his feet. He exclaimed, “Found you!” before leaping to the west.
Dark Self thought Zero meant he had found the sixth attacker, so his gaze followed Zero. However, it turned out that Zero’s target was a certain tailorbird who was crazily flapping its wings in order to escape from the Shadow Emperor. Its flying speed was significantly below Zero’s though.
Apparently, Bluebird had been secretly looking at Sila around there out of worry. Seeing Sila being injured, Bluebird slightly panicked, which prompted Zero to catch that faint reaction and discover him.
Dark Self gnashed his teeth. Personally, he wanted to stay put in order to prepare himself for the mysterious attacker’s emergence. However, Sila—who was inside his body—was worried about Bluebird’s safety, and that broke Dark Self’s concentration. It seemed Sila’s state of mind also affected Dark Self’s.
“Goddammit!!” Dark Self cursed as he shot into the sky, swayed in mid-air, and went after Zero using Lookhin’s Great Sparrowhawk Qi.
Attribute of Metal — Wind God’s Body.
As Dark Self was cutting through the sky, the players below shouted “Follow him!” and ran to the west as well. The situation turned into a game of tag involving Bluebird, Zero, Sila, and the group of players.
Meanwhile, the restaurant was left abandoned. The two fairy girls started to clear the tables. Seeing that several dishes were unfinished, they showed distasteful expressions. It seemed that everyone in this city was more concerned about the Blue-Colored Catastrophe, and left without finishing their meals.
“Pardon? I haven’t finished yet.”
The two fairies stopped their hands—which were wiping tables and collecting dishes—as they felt greatly surprised. Indeed, there was a single player still seated, slowly chewing his food. Strangely enough, they couldn’t feel the man’s presence at all prior to the moment he spoke. Both of them apologetically bowed their heads before leaving to clean other tables.
The man placed his chopsticks down next to his dish. It seemed he had been here for a while, yet no one had been aware of his presence.
The two fairies came back with Indigo. They pointed at the table where the man previously sat. However, the man was no longer there. There were only three gold coins left on the table.
Indigo and the two fairies approached that table. For the record, this table was next to the one that Sila, Burapha, and Revin sat at.
“Do you remember his face?”
Surprisingly, both fairies shook their heads. No matter how hard they tried to recall the man’s face, they couldn’t picture the man’s appearance at all. This was despite the fact that they had clearly seen his face just a moment ago.
Indigo collected the gold coins on the table. “Hm? What is this? A symbol?” He glared at one of the coins, which was engraved with a certain illustration.
A skull in the center of a door.
At that time, Indigo felt the unsafe atmosphere coming from Belacia City, which had been his home for a long time. It was as if something dangerous was bound to happen, and it was clear that he, along with the townspeople, wouldn’t like it.
Could it be that the Belacia City’s greatest calamity, next to the one Bluebird had caused, was about to unfold?