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Chapter 316 - The Great Expedition (18)

Just when Kington regained his vision as well, he murmured, “This is...?”

Kington took a defensive stance and slowly looked around. Besides Ronan, everything seemed unfamiliar to Kington. He had never been here before.

Ronan bent down to pick up a handful of soil from the ground and examined it.

‘It’s not frozen, so we’re not in the north, but it’s also not tough, so we’re not in the east either. Which means we’re either in the south or in the west...’

Of course, it wasn’t necessary for them to figure out where exactly they had been taken on the continent. They had received the Log Stones beforehand, so as long as they held onto them, the Sages would soon come to pick them up.

But the question was whether they could keep themselves safe until then.

Ronan was on high alert, looking and listening for everything around him so that he could instantly defend himself against any possible threats, but just then...

“It feels like I’m watching lion cubs.”

Clank!

The moment they heard an unknown voice, the two of them instantly drew their swords and swung them simultaneously in the direction of the voice.

Father and son—although they weren’t actually blood-related, Kington and Ronan had once been father and son, and they had practiced the same swordsmanship under the same roof for a long time, which was why, even now, they moved like mirror images.

The two sword strikes flew out like shark fins and eventually exploded at the same time.

However, the same voice came from the opposite direction.

“Stop.”

An invisible stranger calmly ordered them to stop.

Following that, Kington and Ronan froze in their places instantly as though they had been poisoned with a paralyzing concoction.

“Let me correct myself. You guys aren’t lion cubs, but more like rabid dogs. How ferocious you are...! Well, they do say that dog fights are the best, right?”

The mysterious stranger kept rambling, more so to himself than to Kington and Ronan. However, the more the two listened to him, the more goosebumps they got.

They finally realized whose voice it was.

He was the one that everyone from the expedition team despised and sought to kill.

“Arthus Highlander!” blurted Ronan.

“Correct.”

Arthus finally showed himself after Ronan called him out. He was dressed in the same uniform as the apostles, adorned with a few extra decorative pieces.

He was still as handsome as ever, his hair long and flowy, and he exuded sheer nobility.

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, Arthus summoned a chair, evidently for him. He sat on it right in front of Kington and Ronan, who were frozen like statues.

‘Damn it...!’

While this was happening, Ronan desperately tried to move, but no matter how much he struggled, the only thing he could move was his eyes.

Seeing how pitiful Ronan was as he tried to move, Arthus sneered, “Why don’t you just stay put? You’ll regret it later if you waste your energy now.”

Ronan didn’t know exactly what Arthus meant by that, but could tell that something terrible was going to happen later on. Thus, the only thing that mattered to him at that moment was getting out of this damn mess, which had completely taken him by surprise.

Arthus kept them frozen, and with a glass of wine in one hand, he slowly studied the two as if he were examining the work of an artist.

It was very unpleasant for both of them.

After gazing at them for a while, Arthus finally looked satisfied and whispered, “This is the beauty of divine power. No other power in the world allows you to see right through your opponent’s mind.”

‘What?’

“Ah, no need to worry that much about what I just said. I only brought the two of you here because I was getting bored of just waiting around. Of course, I’ve been watching your guys’ every move, but... Everything became repetitive at one point, so I lost interest.”

Indeed, Arthus had been watching Henry’s expedition team from the comfort of his hideout in Lizark Hill, but he had lost his excitement seeing his apostles get defeated one after the other.

Well, Henry’s surprise offer had made things a little more interesting, but this didn’t change the fact that he had watched numerous fights that ended the same way.

So, Arthus had used this opportunity to separate Kington and Ronan from their group so that he could have some fun with them.

“Oh, your legs must hurt from standing for so long, right?”

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, Arthus finally released the two of them from the force that had been keeping them paralyzed.

Ronan instantly used this opportunity to draw his sword, but with another snap of Arthus’ fingers, both his sword and Kington’s vanished from their scabbards.

Having gotten rid of their swords, Arthus said in a cold voice, “You better watch it when I show you mercy. Since you guys are my specially-selected toys, I’m going to give you special treatment, unlike the others.”

Snap!

Arthus snapped his fingers again, then several large mirrors appeared simultaneously in front of all three of them.

Ronan’s eyes widened as he glanced at the mirrors.

‘T-that’s...!’

“That’s right. It’s just as you see it.”

Arthus smiled proudly as he showed them the mirrors, as though he was showing off his cherished treasures.

They didn’t see their reflections in the mirrors, but the members of the expedition team, looked around with panicked expressions.

Their faces were vivid.

They were all confused and panicked at having been suddenly taken away from their comrades.

“How is it? Some of you guys had a cliché story with each of my proud subordinates, so I’ve decided to be flexible and let them enjoy their reunion as they pleased.”

‘Flexible? No way...!’

Stories and flexibility—these two words were enough for Ronan to understand why they had all been split up. He realized Arthus hadn’t split them up just for the sake of his entertainment, but also because the apostles had wanted it.

“Haha, this is going to be a fun game.”

Arthus chuckled at his so-called flexibility.

However, this had nothing to do with flexibility in Ronan’s eyes. Rather, it seemed like nothing more than a brazen attempt to break down the expedition team and to enjoy the process of their demise.

Each member of the team only possessed the divine power of one single ringe, and they weren’t really prepared to fight against power in the first place.

Of course, they had planned for a situation like this in advance during their preliminary meeting.

‘Are the Sages the only ones that can get us out of here?’

Ronan looked anxiously at the Sages in the mirror. The only way out of this situation were the Log Stones they had shared with them.

As Ronan and Kington stared anxiously at the screen, Arthus chuckled and said, “On this note, wouldn’t it be a bit too boring to just stare at the mirrors?”

“...What do you mean?”

“It’s simple. I haven’t had someone watching these kinds of things with me in a while, so don’t you think it’d be a waste to just watch all this good stuff without taking any bets?”

Arthus was being serious, and he seemed very confident.

Ronan was baffled by Arthus’ outrageous confidence.

However, Arthus already thought of himself as a god, and no matter what the expedition team did, including Henry, he was convinced that he would be the last one standing in the end.

Ronan was furious, but he was forced to admit that Arthus’ arrogance, however twisted, wasn’t groundless. He knew well that he couldn’t even lay a hand on Arthus. Thus, he decided not to be arrogant himself and let his pride cloud his judgment.

Ronan knew that ultimately he might not be the slightest bit helpful in defeating Arthus, so he just wanted to avoid doing anything rash and die in vain.

‘Even if I can’t be of any help, I must survive somehow. That itself will be helping Henry.’

He had no choice but to accept Arthus’ proposal.

“Tell me what you want.”

Ronan spoke very slowly and with difficulty, as if walking on thin ice.

Finding Ronan’s answer satisfying, Arthus laughed and said, “Khaha! Great! That’s the spirit! There’s no need for you to be so scared because you have nothing to lose in this bet.”

Arthus made a gesture, and Kington, who had just been listening, was instantly bound again and lifted in the air.

“Mmmp!”

Kington’s face turned red as if it was about to burst, and he was unable to get a single word out.

“The bet is simple. As you can see, those who have found their mates will have a duel to the death. I trust my subordinates, so if they win, I’ll cut you. But if your teammates win, then I’ll cut him. How about it? It’s simple, right?”

“Cut us? What the...!”

“Why? Aren’t you confident? Don’t worry. Unlike with this guy, I’ll heal you right away whenever you get cut.”

Arthus explained his absurd game like a child joking around.

It was ridiculous. No, it was beyond ridiculous. Ronan couldn\'t wrap his head around what Arthus was thinking. He hesitated for a few moments.

Seeing Ronan’s reaction, Arthus’ lips curled up into a devilish smile.

“Why are you making that face? This bet is in your favor in a lot of ways, isn’t it? I trust my subordinates just as much as you trust your allies. And you happen to dislike Kington anyway. Besides, I promised that I’d heal you, so the odds couldn’t be more in your favor. Now, stop making that face and make your choice, because if my excitement dies down, I’ll raise the stakes even higher.”

Coercion, but not coercion...

Threatening, but not threatening...

The devil made a cruel offer.

Cornered, Ronan couldn’t escape the devil.

This was his share of the fight.

***

After confirming that the Log Stones were pointing to Lizark Hill, Henry and his team slowly tried to grasp the situation.

During this process, the Saint finally woke up, which meant that they would get a more detailed explanation of what had happened.

However, she woke up with an unexpected answer.

“You... don’t remember?”

“Yes... I’m sorry. All I remember is that Sir Logger fought against Palo in order to protect me.”

Her expression was riddled with guilt, and she truly felt bad that she couldn’t tell her allies more. And although she was grateful to Logger and Ananda, she was still overcome by a gut-wrenching sense of guilt because they had sacrificed themselves for her.

Henry brought his hand to his forehead and tried to sort out everything they had learned so far.

‘If the Saint’s right, Ananda is dead for sure. Then did Logger kill Palo? No... If he had killed Palo, his Log Stone wouldn’t have disappeared. But if Palo killed Logger, why did he leave the Saint alive?’

A myriad of thoughts rushed through his mind.

Ananda’s death was basically confirmed, but the whereabouts of Logger, Palo, and the Log Stone were still a mystery.

Because of that, they couldn’t switch locations. There were too many uncertainties and risks to teleport to Lizark Hill, where Ronan and Kington’s coordinates were pointing to.

As Henry bit his lip and contemplated what to do, Balak turned to him and said, “Commander.”

It was somewhat unexpected to hear Balak say something, given that he usually wasn’t the one to voice his opinions.

At Balak’s voice, Henry turned his head and answered, “Yes? What’s the matter?”

“Get a grip.”

“...Sorry?”

“What are you waiting for? You’re our leader and also the last hope of this world. In this kind of situation, are you planning to ruin this entire cause over a small uncertainty like Logger’s life?”

“That’s...”

His words were cold and blunt, but in a way, they were also true.

Logger’s life was worth very little when compared to the fate of this continent, which was at risk of falling into Arthus’ hands.

Henry didn’t want to take Logger’s life lightly, which was why he was hesitating to make a move. But the more he thought about what Balak had said, the more he realized that the Punishment King was right.

Balak’s words were like a cold knife that pierced the hearts of everyone in the team, waking them up to reality after analyzing the situation calmly and without any urgency.

One by one, they all agreed with Balak.

“Sir Balak is right. We’ve defeated all the apostles, and all that’s left is that bastard, Arthus.”

“That’s right. We must head to Lizark Hill right away and slit his throat.”

Starting with Balak, everyone slowly came to their senses and realized what ought to be done.

This ignited a small spark of courage in Henry, who deep down had been afraid of failure.

Having made his decision, Henry said reluctantly, “...I understand. We’ll set out for Lizark Hill at once, where Arthus is, and rescue our men, who are being held there”

After voicing his decision to everyone, Henry summoned Wisdom in his hand and created a Teleportation gate to Lizark Hill.

“Let’s go.”

Flash!

With a flash of light, Henry’s great expedition team teleported away, possibly for the last time.