Chapter 44
Being stuck in a dilemma, Belic couldn’t decide on what to do, he just backed away and only stopped when he was next to Robin .
There is no safe solution out of this mess, he turned his head to look at Arthur yet again, but this time, he didn’t remain silent, instead, he spoke in a somewhat loud tone .
"Sir Arthur, could you give us a hand? We will greatly reward you . "
This time, Belic didn’t call Arthur ’Friend’ but respectfully called him ’Sir’, it was a small change but it was apparent that he was demanding help, however, he didn’t lower himself as to beg for it .
Arthur, who had his eyes glued on C12, came back to his senses when he heard Belic’s voice, he totally expected the old man to ask him for his help, after all, it was very clear that he and his guards alone are not enough to deal with those people .
"Oh~~ Well, you know what exactly I want, if you are willing to do that, then I don’t mind helping you"
Since an opportunity like this came, of course, Arthur would grasp it, for him, killing that weakling can be done in seconds .
C12, who was enjoying the moment of glory, he finally was going to finish his mission and may be handsomely rewarded, probably even rank up, however, hearing the old man ask for help from someone else alarmed him a little, because, the old man was really strong and for him to respectfully ask for him, it is unusual .
He glanced at Arthur, who was leisurely sitting on the bench with a silver-haired beauty and a kid, he frowned and stared cautiously at this man .
He wasn’t an idiot to underestimate anyone, everything should be done carefully, or else the consequences would be bad .
Hearing what Arthur said, Belic regained some hope, though what he demanded was a lot, if he didn’t escape from here today then forget about that favor he owes the elven chief, he would even lose the item C12 came to get .
He didn’t need Robin’s confirmation in such matter, he would accept and then when the time comes he would try to repay Arthur with another thing with an equal value if possible .
Belic gritted his teeth and replied with a somewhat hesitant voice
"F-fine, if we get out of here alive then we will give you what you want . "
"Excellent excellent! hahaha"
Arthur began laughing, he was overjoyed when he heard that, with the help of the world tree, Saly would surely be healed so he felt quite happy .
He didn’t want to end this quickly, furthermore, he always wanted to test the bone dragon’s power and the skeletons, he never got to use them on enemies, so why not use them now?
He waved his hand and a huge dark pit appeared out of nowhere, it’s appearance startled everyone present .
C12 who was already cautious of Arthur, backed away when the pit appeared, he felt ominous aura from it and some danger .
Very soon, the familiar bone dragon flew from the huge dark pit, it looked as big as ever and its appearance couldn’t be more creepy and terrifying .
With a loud roar, it came out from the pit and flew above Arthur, the port was small, to begin with so it can’t fly too high, however, that didn’t mean the small place would trouble it a lot .
C12 gasped looking at the bone dragon, never did he think a dragon would come out, and a huge one at that, his confidence almost disappeared as he stared at this humongous beast .
"Ne-Necromancer . . . . You! who are you? no one should know about necromancy magic!"
He started to have suspicions because there were some people in ’Medusa’ who are good with necromancy, he didn’t know all high rankers so he wasn’t sure of Arthur identity, however, he suspected him to be from the same organization as him .
Arthur merely grinned and replied
"So what if I can use it? More importantly, you should think how you are going to deal with my baby boy and his brothers . . . . I swear you all from ’Medusa’ always cause trouble . . . "
Just as C12 was going to shout at Arthur yet again for answers, he was interrupted as several skeletons came from the dark pit .
There were skeletal warriors wearing black armors and holding a sword and a shield, skeleton archers and even skeleton mages which held either a book or a staff .
They never stopped coming out from the pit, and they didn’t just stand there, they charged at all the black-clothed people .
One would expect skeletons to be slow or weak, however, they were so fast that few of the enemies who were closer to the skeletons got instantly killed by the magic attack or sword slashes .
Arthur ordered his little army to only attack the enemies and spare no one, he wasn’t that merciful to let them go .
The bone dragon also engaged in the one-sided slaughter, it flew at C12 while ignoring the others .
Although some of the enemies were killed, there was some who reacted in time and defended against the swarm of skeleton, the powerful individuals even managed to finish some skeletons but the ranged ones which used magic and arrows were bothersome as they(the black-clothed people) couldn’t reach them because the skeleton warriors were blocking the way .
The dark pit never stopped summoning the skeletons, the mana it cost was nothing and Arthur could summon non-stop without losing any bit of mana, only the dragon cost a lot, however, a couple of minutes are enough for him to recover that 50 . 000 mana .
He was very impressed with the skeletons, though they can’t win in a one on one fight, with their large numbers, they could even overwhelm high leveled people, but there was also some enemies which dealt with the skeleton easily and were not injured .
The fight between the bone dragon and C12 has long since started, numerous dark balls would strike the dragon’s body, however, except a few scratches and some half destroyed bones, the damage was not great, but for C12 it was much worse .
He managed to defend against the ruthless strikes of the bone dragon as he was slightly faster but the bone dragon was able to hit him with its fast tail .
It was faster than the young earth dragon in every aspect, so an attack from its tail with its high strength stat would hurt a lot and of course, that’s what exactly happened to the poor C12 .
He was sent flying by the tail, if it were not for his subordinates barely catching him then he would have been injured even more by the impact of the crash .
After coughing some mouthfuls of blood, he lifted his head and angrily gazed at the bone dragon, he was weak compared to the high rankers in ’Medusa’ but he was not THAT weak, to be this damaged by a single strike from the dragon indicated that this dragon is no ordinary bone dragon because he already saw a bone dragon previously and it was sure as hell that it was not this strong .
. . . .
Belic still couldn’t understand what happened, he indeed knew Arthur can summon the bone dragon but he never thought he can endlessly summon skeletons, furthermore, they were strongly armed and attacked with coordination .
He knew a bit about necromancy but one thing for sure is that to control this many skeletons you need a lot of wisdom or else your mind can’t handle it, and to make them be this coordinated, one must have immense wisdom .
His view of Arthur already completely changed, he even started regretting accepting his offer, since the beginning he was not going to give him what he wants, he was going to offer him a compensation that would appease him, but seeing now he started of other ways, otherwise he would meet his end at Arthur’s hands .
However, his mind calmed a little when he thought about the old fogeys in his clan, he was considered weak compared to them so that’s why he was sent to guard his granddaughter, though they didn’t give him face, he didn’t mind but they would surely act if someone dared to kill him or Robin .
. . . .
The large-scale battle already reached its peak intensity, there were hundreds who died at the skeleton’s hands, but a number of skeletons were far greater, however, their numbers never decreased by even a single one, they came out endlessly from that dark pit, so the dark-clothed people couldn’t help but feel hopeless, if this continued, their stamina would run out and they would surely die .
After being struck by the dragon’s tail, C12 started dodging the beast non-stop and focused on evasion more than attacking, he was more powerful than the others so he still got a lot more stamina to spare, the problem wasn’t that, but that this freaking bone dragon is troublesome to deal with so he was puzzled on what to do .
His control with his ’power’ is not yet good, it was given to him by a high ranked so he could use some of it, but it was not enough, so he switched to his wind magic, he already reached advanced in it so maybe it would be more effective against the dragon .
Wind magic is known to be the sharpest amongst all the other normal attributes so he had high hopes to cut the bone dragons into pieces .
A long time ago, he managed to find a very powerful wind magic skill, it was called [Rinotsu], a weird name but that didn’t depress him, when he read it’s effect, he was dumbfounded for some time .
By using this skill, he would trap a volume of air in a circular invisible barrier and compress it until it’s a fist’s size, once he releases the condensed air, it would create a huge explosion .
Normally, Wind magic uses the air to create slashes or cyclone or whatever is the attack, however, to be able to control air, that’s impossible to do, even for someone who perfected Wind magic, so when he had gotten his hands on this skill, he became overjoyed .
Although the skeletons and the bone dragon were very powerful, C12 didn’t think that Arthur is strong like them as a necromancer is usually weak, his way of attacking is by curses or his summonings, so in his mind, if he gets rid of the bone dragon, then killing Arthur would be a piece of cake, he was also sure that he can’t summon another dragon immediately or else he would already have done it .
. . .
C12 retreated one final time, the dragon came at him slashing with its claws but he managed to barely dodge it and back away from the huge beast .
Then he began channeling his mana to use [Rinotsu], it would take half a minute or so to finish the skill and he can’t be disturbed so he turned his head towards his subordinates, who were engaging in an intense battle against the skeletons .
"D18, D3! Come hold this f*cker for a second!"
Just as he said that the figures came out from that group of people and stood in front of C12, they didn’t have anything special, just like any other black-clothed people, however, Arthur could see that their LVLs were 173 and 189 .
Arthur was really impressed by this ’Medusa’, he was not interested in it that much in the beginning, but once he saw that dark magic, he couldn’t help but feel intrigued, he already decided to ’thoroughly’ question C12 about that magic .
Moreover, for a secret organization to have this many high leveled people, it seems that the holy church and the others being the most powerful existences in this world is but a mere lie to cover up and to fool idiots, this C12 is already considered stronger than a bishop .
D18 and D3 rushed at the dragon wielding daggers, they also created small dark balls which were as big as a baby’s fist, truly pathetic .
This small balls may seem weak to Arthur, but to others it was deadly, he just compared them to his dark magic, so of course, he would think they are weak .
They only needed to hold out for a short period of time, however, that easier said than done .
When they charged at the dragon, in seconds they were already close to it, each activated their strongest skill and launched their small dark balls, however, none of their attacks injured or scratched the dragon, in fact, it only made it angrier, it’s tail pierced D3 at lightning speed, the poor guy could not even react in time before he fell on the ground, the tail made a large hole in his chest, it was a horrifying sight .
D18, who saw what just happened, froze there without even moving, he knew it was already his doom, in a flash, D3, someone stronger than him was instantly killed .
The tail then attacked the petrified D18 horizontally, cutting him in two, his eyes were filled with disbelief and fear, he saw C12 fighting almost equally against the dragon so he thought he and D3 had a chance but they could not even hold a minute against this beast .
As it got rid of the two annoying ants, the bone dragon lifted its head and howled, then it headed towards C12 who was still condensing the air .
Even though D18 and D3 died, fortunately for C12, they managed to gain 20 seconds or so, it was enough for him to barely finish completing the skill, a bright orb was floating a couple of centimeters above his hand, it emitted strong pressure, and there was white light coming out of it .
Arthur, who was watching the whole process, was slightly astonished when he sensed the pressure from that orb, it may not even injure him, but it nevertheless was extremely strong, the pressure alone was enough to prove that .
Although he could interfere, he didn’t, he was still sitting on the bench enjoying the show, he wanted to know what can this orb do, even if the dragon dies, he could summon him in a few days, it’s not like he needed him .
C12, satisfied by the Orb, gently pushed toward the incoming dragon and backed away with his fastest speed, he was not afraid of the dragon, but that orb, it was his skill but it could hurt him too, normally a skill you make can never hurt you but this one did, maybe because his control over it was lacking but that didn’t matter, what really matters is that he needs to retreat far from it, cause he once used this attack and its destructive force is earth-shattering .
The speed of the orb was very slow, however, since the dragon was already coming in its way, ignoring the small little orb, it didn’t take long enough for it to touch the bones of the beast, and once it did .
A bright light emanated from it, all the surroundings had to forcefully close their eyes, and accompanying that bright light was a very loud screeching sound, yes, it was a screeching sound, as if a beast was howling .
A barrier was already formed in front of Arthur and the others so nothing happened to them, but all the skeletons and the black-clothed people were either sent flying away or cut into pieces .
The small port was full of the stench of blood, the disgusting red liquid dyed almost the entire ship, even the roof .
The skeleton was destroyed with only the ones far from the impact managed to barely stay unscathed .
There was no sign of the bone dragon, even part of the ship was gone, fortunately, the impact was on its edges or else it would have sunk long ago .
Arthur was momentarily stupefied, that orb could cause damage equal to his past ancient flame, it was truly a terrifying attack, even Yamak would be injured by this, perhaps not seriously injured by he will nevertheless be wounded, that was a fact .
Arthur was stunned and happy, since this enemy had this skill, then it naturally belonged to him, he could no longer wait to get his hands on it, even Lucy was slightly surprised but she didn’t say or do anything, she continued chatting with Saly to distract her a little from what’s happening, though it was barely working, it’s enough for the time being .
The little girl somehow grasped what’s happening, but she didn’t feel that much scared, Arthur and Lucy were with her and it was enough for her to feel safe, they managed to get rid of her master, who was like a god for her, so anyone else is a weakling for her, as her master was the considered the strongest, that’s just how she thought . She was a child after all and her way of thinking is still immature and limited .
. . . .
They were only a few black clothed people still alive, most of them were ravaged by the explosion, no more skeletons came out of the pit, which had already disappeared .
The skeletons which were left continued attacking non-stop, they didn’t care about the explosion and only followed orders .
As for C12, he was feeling proud of his skill and happy, he saw how the bone dragon got obliterated, and that meant that the troublesome opponent is finally down, now only he has to do is finish Arthur .
He rushed at Arthur, his plans were perfectly proceeding, and it’s not a little bastard like this ’Arthur’ that will stop him .
A distance of a hundred meters or so was crossed in seconds by C12, he already changed his hand into an axe and prepared to behead Arthur, who was still sitting leisurely and staring at the incoming C12 .
"Hmmm . . . . . . I think it’s time to finish this little play, don’t you think?"
Just as he heard Arthur’s voice, C12 body froze, it literally froze, he thought it was an illusion or something similar, but no! he was frozen in mid-air .
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t free himself, even the dark axe could not cut what’s binding him, he already felt it was some kind of threads but he couldn’t see anything .
"We are going to have a long chat~~ you better answer me truthfully, or else . . . I assure you that you won’t be having a pleasant time"
Arthur finally stood up and slowly walked toward C12, who was still confused at what just happened .
"You . . . what did you do!"
C12 didn’t know what happened, a lot of thoughts raced through his mind and he couldn’t comprehend how he was frozen like this and what the actual f*ck did this bastard do, so he couldn’t help but shout at Arthur, as if shouting would help him . . . .
"Nothing special . . . no need to think about this, more importantly, focus on honestly answering"
Even in a situation like this, C12 didn’t feel like obediently answering, he was a strong figure and he had a decent position in ’Medusa’ how can someone except his superiors talk to him like this?
"F*ck you! who’s going to answer you?"
He continued to curse Arthur and use vulgar words, however, Arthur just acted like he didn’t hear them, he turned his head towards the still living subordinates of C12 and was pondering on what to do with them, question them or kills them right now?
After a couple of seconds, he concluded that they are useless, and C12 was enough, even if he didn’t answer him, there’ll be someday when he personally goes to ’Medusa’ Headquarters if it existed and forcefully extract his answers from its people .
Streaks of lightning fell from above, the wood couldn’t withstand the lightning and soon crumbled, there was exactly 27 streaks of lightning, the same number as the still standing black-clothed people .
The speed of the lightning was just beyond them, the only thing they managed to see before their death was hearing the ’bzzzt’ sound of the incoming lightning .
Arthur controlled his lightning so it would only kill them and not turn them into ashes, his control over the lightning magic was obviously perfect so something like this can easily be done .
The streaks of lightning contained some natural lightning which literally tore theirs hears, they instantly died without being able to defend or react in time .
Belic, Robin, and the other nobles, who were standing a dozen of meters behind Lucy and Saly were dumbstruck by the sudden appearance of the lightning .
Belic brought them all behind Lucy because he knew it was the safest place, though they kind of sneaked behind Lucy and did not just ask for protection, which was rather shameless, Lucy didn’t mind and completely ignored them .
As for C12, who was cursing Arthur, he paused and stared at his subordinates with eyes full of disbelief, even someone such as him, couldn’t see the lightning in time, he only managed to get a glimpse of it when all of his subordinates already died .
His pupils constricted and he no longer cursed or shouted at Arthur, just by seeing the 27 or so figures die instantly, he knew that from the very beginning, it was within Arthur’s plans . He was easily bound like this and they died in a split second .
He now understood this opponent is no mere necromancer, the lightning was the proof of it, however, he had something in case of emergencies, so he didn’t waste any time and began mumbling some incantations with a low voice .
Obviously, Arthur noticed the change in C12 and heard him chant, however, he didn’t stop him, it was not a teleportation since there was no crystal, maybe it was a strong spell? no matter what it is, he wanted to see what this person would do when he discovers that his trick is useless .
The chanting lasted 10 seconds before a violet pendant in his chest began vibrating .
It flew out of his chest and floated in front of his face, Arthur stared at this pendant and sensed that something was coming out of it .
C12 began laughing out loud
"HAHAHA, you are f*cking doomed now, you piece of sh*t!"
All of a sudden, the violet pendant shattered and a dark figure came out of it, it stood in front C12 .
It was a silhouette of an old man, he had both of his arms behind his back and very soon, his figure became clear .
The old man wore a violet robe with some symbols and runes in it, he looked like he would die at any moment, a long beard stretched from his chin all the way to his chest .
He raised one of his hands and began stroking his long beard while the other free one was still on his back .
The old man didn’t say anything, he merely looked around to grasp the situation, once his eyes landed on Arthur, he furrowed his brows for a second .
Except gazing a little longer at Arthur, he didn’t do anything, when he finally finished looking around, he turned his head and saw C12 frozen a couple of meters above the air .
Seeing the old man look at him, C12 felt a cold chill round down to his spines, however, he didn’t dare be disrespectful .
"Lord A, I’m sorry to call you like this, but I encountered someone unexpected and I couldn’t handle him so I had to call you, please forgive this one"
C12 had a special pendant which can summon this old man, not all people had it, but it was given to him because he managed to finish a high difficulty mission so the higher-ups gifted him this .
He also knew that there is a handful of people in the category A, however, he when he spoke to the old man, he didn’t dare say his rank too, or else it would enrage him, so he just called him ’Lord A’ .
The old man already understood the situation before C12 even talked, he also knew that the man in front of him was the person C12 was talking about .
Seeing that the old man remained silent, C12 continued to talk
"L-Lord A, this person is a necromancer . . . I barely managed to defeat his bone dragon . . he also used lightning magic . . . . "
He didn’t waste time and informed his superior about what Arthur was capable of .
When Lord A heard that, his gaze landed on Arthur yet again, his eyes turned serious and a smile formed on his aged face .
For someone to be able to use necromancy and lightning magic, he must be a powerful individual, plus C12 he fought a bone dragon . . . so that means this person can summon one? all of this piqued the interest of the old man .
"Indeed, you weren’t wrong by summoning this old man, how can this old man miss such an opportunity to meet someone such as this . . . . "
When Arthur saw this old man, he couldn’t feel happier, he heard how C12 addressed him so he must certainly be a high-ranker in ’Medusa’ so maybe the answers he would receive would be more than he would get from C12, isn’t that something to celebrate for?
Arthur grinned at the old man who was staring at him, he lifted his hand and a dark blue sword was created, it was floating a few inches from his hand
"Old man, what do you think this is? . . "