*cough* *cough*
Calron suddenly doubled up on the ground as he spat out a large amount of blood!
Turning his head around to look behind him, Calron saw the distant figures of Fatty and the Shadow Corps surrounding the city Lord, as they prevented him from moving.
Calron was forced to use the Blood Mist Step multiple times to make sure he was at a long enough distance away from the Arena!
With barely even the strength to use it once, Calron had risked a great deal by activating the Blood Mist Step multiple times!
*cough*
Calron excruciatingly spat out another mouthful of blood on the ground, as his hands started to tremble with exhaustion.
He had decided to head towards his Master’s home because the Artifact was his safest bet, as it only permitted people with the wooden token to enter. If Calron could safely cross the invisible barrier of the forest, then he had a much higher chance of surviving today.
However, just as he was about turn his head back around, he suddenly saw multiple figures darting towards him!
They were the black armored guards of the city Lord!
Feeling his heart pound against his chest, Calron painfully contracted his muscles as he immediately began to sprint towards the forest!
The guards were still quite a bit of distance away. However, they were rapidly gaining ground, as unlike Calron, they were in their peak condition.
With his quivering knees, Calron forced himself to continue running as he desperately hoped that his body would not fail him right now!
Taking another quick glance behind him, Calron saw that the black armored guards were almost upon him, as only a few meters separated him from them!
Just as he felt that all hope was lost, Calron abruptly spotted the familiar sight of the forest’s entrance!
However, the guards were now only two meters behind him, and Calron could hear the distinct rattling of their armor and the heavy stomps of their legs against the ground.
“I decided long ago to shatter my fate of weakness, so I refuse to die here!”
Calron furiously roared, as he gathered every last drop of strength and willpower that he had, and charged towards the forest!
A sensation of a gentle tingle rippled through Calron’s body just as he crossed the barrier, and stopping after a few steps, Calron vigorously panted in order to regain his breath.
Feeling his nerves start to slowly calm down, Calron raised his head as he prepared to look back at the black armored guards.
*thump*
*thump* *thump*
His heartbeat started to wildly accelerate, when he saw that the guards were all grinning at him as they stood outside the barrier.
“Teon, bring it out!”
The guard at the forefront shouted as he turned towards another guard behind him.
Teon slowly stepped forwards while holding a strange translucent gem within his hands.
“Did you really think that we didn’t know about this artifact? I don’t know how you were able to enter it un.o.bstructed, or even know of its existence, but none of that matters now.”
The guard at the forefront calmly stated, as his eyes cruelly bored into Calron.
How could the city Lord not know about the Red Boar School possessing an Artifact? Regis had long ago prepared a countermeasure against it, as he knew the school’s Head disagreed with many of his ideals, so he had secretly paid an enormous sum of gold to obtain this mysterious gem that could bypa.s.s the barrier of low ranked Artifacts!
Hearing the words of the guard, Calron felt his entire body quivering uncontrollably.
He had thought that he was finally safe from danger, but fate seemed to have other plans for him, as even his safe location was soon about to be compromised.
Suddenly, all the nearby guards released their essence into the air!
The various tendrils of essence merged together into a multi-colored wave and began to pour into the translucent gem that Teon was holding.
A bright multi-colored glow immediately illuminated the entire area, as the gem appeared to be bursting with raw energy!
“Teon!”
Knowing it was time for the next step, Teon slowly brought the gem closer and closer to the barrier, until it suddenly made contact!
BOOOOM!
The invisible barrier around the forest rippled for a brief moment before it returned back to normal.
BOOOOM!
Another explosion sounded out, as Teon started to push the gem further into the barrier.
CRACK!
A tiny crack suddenly appeared at the top of the barrier, and upon seeing that result, the black armored guards frantically increased the intensity of the essence that they were pouring into the gem!
Meanwhile, Calron dumbly stood there as he observed the inevitable collapse of the barrier.
“Is this what the heavens have destined for me?”
Calron whispered, as his soul began to drown in despair.
*Yawn*
“Stop making that loud noise, kid! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep here?”
A grumpy voice abruptly yelled from within Calron’s mind.
“Teacher! You’re back!”
Calron exclaimed as a surge of joy spread throughout his body.
“Huh? Calron! Wait, I awoke already? That’s impossible, I sh-”
A jolt of shock burst out from within Calron’s mind, as he felt the Voice’s astonishment.
“Y-you are in the fifth rank already? Even with the Thunder-Bird’s technique, it’s still impossible!”
The Voice yelled in an astonished tone.
The Voice realized that he was only able to make such a quick recovery because of Calron’s sudden advancement, and their merged souls!
CRACK!
“Teacher, I will explain everything later, but can you somehow deal with those guards?”
Calron frantically asked his Teacher, as he saw that the barrier was soon going to shatter.
“G.o.ddammit, kid! Why do you always chase after trouble?”
The Voice angrily scolded, as it realized the precarious situation they were currently in.
“Tch, it’s more like trouble follows me, rather than me chasing after it!”
Calron sulkily responded back to the Voice.
Even though they were in a dangerous situation, just knowing that his Teacher was back, made Calron ease his worries a bit.
“It doesn’t matter, you brat! Just stop involving me in them! Hmph, looking at the current state of your body, you would be lucky to even land a slap against them. Just run for now, I need to keep thinking!”
The Voice loudly exclaimed as he urged Calron to run.
Wiping away the traces of blood from his mouth, a determined expression etched itself on Calron’s face, as he knew that that was no other choice.
*KACHA*
The shattering of the invisible barrier loudly echoed throughout the forest, as the guards let out a victorious yell!
“I swear on my parents’ grave that if I survive this day, I will return to exterminate Chax and his entire wretched family!”
Calron savagely whispered while glaring at the guards, and then abruptly burst into a sprint towards the inner forest!
Seeing that the boy was escaping again, the guards furiously bellowed as they immediately started to follow behind Calron.
“I will personally strangle this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d with my hands!”
The guard at the forefront infuriatedly yelled, as he suddenly activated his movement skill to charge at Calron from behind!
“I do not remember giving you permission to enter this area.”
A cold voice resounded in the forest, as a figure slowly walked towards the guards.
With his silver-white hair wildly fluttering in the wind, Elias leisurely stepped towards the group of guards, as his grey eyes shined with an unnatural glow.
“It has been a while since I was this angry.”
Elias frostily stated, as a crimson mist floated around him.
“Who the f**k are you, old man?”
One of the guards arrogantly spoke, as he sensed that the stranger in front of him was not in the Vajra stage. For these elite guards, only someone in the Vajra stage could threaten their existence. In fact, he guard could not even detect a trace of essence from the stranger!
“Have you ever seen a demon?”
Elias calmly asked, as he completely ignored the talking guard.
“This s.h.i.tty old man, how dare you ignore me?”
The guard furiously yelled as he stepped towards Elias.
“Youngsters these days, truly do not know how to respect their elders… sigh.”
Elias softly muttered, as the aura around him abruptly intensified, and an extremely dense killing intent spread in the air!
“A demon exists within all of us… the only difference is that, I choose to embrace it!”
Elias coldly whispered, as his body suddenly burst into a smoke of crimson mist!
Before anyone could even react, a severed head softly thudded against the ground.