Chapter 181: Lies and Deceit

"[Zephyr Lupus Overdrive]!" Chonk shouted after activating [Grand Restriction], radiating an aura of intense pride and confidence while doing so.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Not long after, Chonk's fur started to glow a faint green as the Wind energy particles within a certain radius around him started to congregate, transforming into tangible particles as they made their way towards Chonk's fur, sticking on his fur before hardening, transforming into an armor that protected most of his body.

Surprisingly, this armor intensified the aura Chonk was radiating by a few notches, making Aurus and Herellia, who had already transformed into Pseudo-Animates, feel a sense of slight fear whenever they looked at his body. Of course, they suppressed these feelings as much as possible, remembering that Chonk was the only barrier hindering the peace in Tempest Cliff.

"Fear me, weaklings!" Chonk said with a haughty expression on his face. "This armor has allowed me to fight against Rank 2 Animates without losing!"

While listening to Chonk, Aurus thought that he had turned into one of those annoying characters in the novels he used to read back then. As of present, Chonk seriously resonated with the characters that explained every move they were doing in his mind. Even though Aurus found it annoying, this was a chance for them to find out the intricacies of the [Grand Restriction] spell.

"Blabbering won't get you anywhere," Aurus, who was currently controlling the Infernal Spirit, said haughtily in response as he charged towards Horell with his right fist clenched. Not long after, golden flames started to manifest around the fist, giving one the idea that Aurus was going to use the power of the sun to incinerate Horell to death.

On the other hand, Horell saw this attack come for him, making him freeze up in fear as he knew that this attack would undoubtedly kill him in one hit. Fortunately for him, just as the attack was about to hit him, a gust of wind hastily enveloped Horell, sending him a few meters back as a being took over his place, swiping with its paw in retaliation.

Whoosh! Bang!

At the very instant the attacks collided, a loud explosion had occurred, with one of the two beings sent flying for tens of meters. Herellia, who was currently a Crimson Spirit, watched this scene unfold from a certain distance, her mouth turning agape as she could not believe the gap the two had in terms of strength.

"Gah!" A loud shout could be heard while it was accompanied by the sound of something hitting the ground. Not long after, the sounds of hissing in pain could be heard as the being that was sent flying stood up and looked at the one who retaliated against its attack. "Don't you dare use underhanded tricks in front of us, Chonk!"

Unsurprisingly, the one sent flying was the Infernal Spirit, radiating an intense aura of rage as it stared at Chonk from afar, who was currently inwardly elated at the increase in strength [Zephyr Lupus Overdrive] had given him. In actuality, Chonk had no idea as to how much of an increase the skill would give him, saying those words to inflict a bit of psychological pressure on the two.

Hearing what the Infernal Spirit shouted, Chonk could not help but cackle as he replied, "All is fair in war!"

Whoosh!

While Chonk was laughing, the Crimson Spirit decided to make a move, reducing the gap between them in an instant as multiple blood-red tendrils started to manifest all over her body. She then manipulated these tendrils to attack erratically as it replied to Chonk's statement, saying, "All is fair in war indeed!"

"[Crimson Rain]!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In that instant, multiple blood-red tendrils tried to pierce through Chonk's body, creating a sound that was similar to a firing machine gun. Unfortunately, just as the Crimson Spirit thought that its attack had worked, Chonk let out a grin as the armor on his body glowed, a wave of Wind energy particles radiating outwards not long after.

Boom!

"Guh!" Just like the Infernal Spirit from before, the Crimson Spirit was sent flying for tens of meters as the blood-red tendrils that had manifested all over its body started to disintegrate as it fell to the ground with a thud.

Looking at the results of the attacks of the two Pseudo-Animates, Chonk could not help but laugh loudly once more as he yelled, "Useless! Incredibly useless! Unless you dispel [Grand Restriction], your attacks shall become useless in front of me, Chonk!"

While Chonk continued to maniacally laugh, Horell, who was moved by Chonk to a safe distance a while ago, could not help but look at the Crimson and Infernal Spirit with worry. Just as he was about to send a message to Aurus as he wondered if he was safe, a familiar voice resounded in his mind, saying, "Don't worry about us. We're fine."

"It doesn't look like it though!" Horell could not help but reply with a hint of worry.

"Trust me, Horell. We're fine," the voice replied not long after. Of course, this voice came from none other than Aurus. After saying that, he asked Horell, "I think I'm pushing my luck here, but do you know anything about the [Grand Restriction] spell Chonk used?"

Letting out a soft sigh of disappointment, Horell replied, "Unfortunately, Chonk kept me in the dark from this matter. Should I ask him about it?"

"Nah, don't," Aurus replied to Horell's suggestion with disagreement before adding, "It would just make Chonk suspect you even more. We'll try our best to get information from him. By the looks of it, he's becoming drunk with power after activating that skill of his."

"What should I do, then?" Since Horell could not ask Chonk regarding the [Grand Restriction] spell, he wondered as to how he could help the two in obtaining the information they needed.

"Hmm…" While Aurus was pondering, he had already moved to where Herellia had landed. The two of them talked about a few things through strands of energy, making sure to be covert while doing so. Eventually, Aurus and Herellia finished talking, with Aurus sending a response to Horell not long after.

"Try to make Chonk not fight as much as possible since we're more or less powerless against an Animate. Even more so with the spell activated. In other words, volunteer to fight against us since we're under the [Grand Restriction] spell. Make sure to use all of your buffs to reduce suspicion…unless he tells you to not use them."

"Alright then," Horell acceded to Aurus' request, slowly making his way towards Chonk, who was still savoring the feeling of strength flowing all over his body.

On the other hand, Herellia and Aurus watched Horell's movements, with Herellia asking Aurus, "You think this will work?"

"Hopefully," Aurus replied to Herellia's question. He then added, "Let's get closer to Chonk though. We have to make sure that Chonk has no choice but to let Horell fight in his stead."

"Mm." After responding to Aurus's words, the two of them started to move closer to Chonk, radiating an imposing aura along the way. Of course, the aura they radiated did not go unnoticed, with Chonk snapping back from his savoring session as he noticed that the two of them were only a few meters from them.

Unfortunately for Chonk, just as he was about to go ahead and charge at them with a swipe of his paws to increase the advantage of their side, a strand of energy was sent to him, prompting him to look at the Pseudo-Animate that had appeared beside him. Of course, this Pseudo-Animate was none other than Horell.

"Master, would you allow me to fight against these fake Pseudo-Animates?" This was what the strand of energy contained, the strand that prompted Chonk to look at Horell. Just as Horell felt that Chonk was about to say no, Horell followed up with another strand of energy, saying, "Master, wouldn't it be better for me to exhaust their energy so they cannot retaliate against your attacks? Not only that, but I also have a feeling that Master does not want to waste too much energy in this war."

"Hmm…" Chonk pondered over Horell's words for a bit, with some of the words resonating with him. Fortunately for Horell, Chonk agreed to his suggestion, sending a strand of energy that said, "Well, you're not wrong. If you think you can call kill them, then kill them. If not, just exhaust their energy as much as possible."

Chonk then sent another strand of energy as a continuation to the previous statement, saying, "Of course, never underestimate them even though they're under the [Grand Restriction] spell. Even though their combat power has been considerably weakened, they still dealt a bit of damage to the armor I'm wearing."

While he acceded to his "servant's" request, Chonk loudly laughed to attract both Aurus's and Herellia's attention, shouting, "You better be grateful that Horell here is going to attack in my stead. Oh right, wasn't he a part of your alliance back then? Think of this as a reunion then! A reunion where the only memory you'll make is despair!"

Whoosh!

Not long after uttering those words, Chonk went ahead and hastily moved far away from the three, closing his eyes as an ominous aura gradually radiated out of his body. On the other hand, Horell looked at Herellia and Aurus with an aura of malicious intent surrounding him.

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"[Mana Ascension]."

"[Will of Nature's Mana]."

"[One with Mana]."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, the aura Horell was radiating had easily surpassed the aura Herellia and Aurus were radiating, with him laughing in a slightly malevolent manner before saying, "Herellia. Aurus. It's quite nice to see you again."

"To think that you've defected from the alliance to help such a tyrannical being." Herellia was the first one to respond to Horell's words, her tone having a hint of disdain. "Are you satisfied with the choice you've made?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Master is far more powerful than you, Alliance Leader," Horell replied to Herellia's question with a hint of a mocking tone at the end. "This is farewell for the two of you."

After saying what he had to say, a ball of silver light manifested over Horell's head, gradually growing in size as the aura it emanated intensified alongside the increasing size. Both Herellia and Aurus could not help but look at the silver ball in fear, with Aurus voicing out his fear in a serious tone. "Are you seriously going to kill both of us?"

"As I said earlier, why wouldn't I?" Horell evilly laughed as the silver ball grew larger. "The two of you are weakened by the [Grand Restriction] spell. By killing off the two of you, this would allow Master to easily kill the other members of the alliance and truly rule the Tempest Cliff."

Hearing what Horell was saying, Chonk, who was circulating the ominous aura that had manifested a while ago around his body, could not help but cackle malevolently as he said, "As expected from my loyal servant!"

He then looked at the two, who he thought was about to die either under his or Horell's hands, scoffing as he said, "Since the two of you could die from the hands of your former alliance member, with my attack being the final nail on the coffin, how about I enlighten you two on the spell that has led you two to your untimely demises?"

With a haughty grin on his face, he said, "Although I said that it was a 2v2 earlier, in actuality, it's a 2v3." He then continued, "The [Grand Restriction] spell is being consciously controlled by another member of the army, who is at the Animate existence level."

"You could go ahead and try dispelling the [Grand Restriction] spell, but you'd surely die under his hands before you can even do so!" Chonk added before laughing once more, thinking that his army had finally won. On the other hand, Herellia, Aurus, and Horell could not help but look at each other with expressions of disbelief.

"Too easy…" All of them let out a sigh soon after as they muttered at the same time. They could not help but wonder if something was wrong with Chonk's brain. Nevertheless, the three continued their facade, with Horell shouting, "Prepare to die!"

"[Canus Excidio]!"

Fwoosh!

In that instant, the silver ball over Horell's head had transformed into a large beam, aiming at both Herellia and Aurus. Due to the distance between the three, the bodies of Aurus and Herellia were fully covered by the beam. But against Chonk's expectations that the two would die, although it seemed that the beam would kill the two, the two had conjured barriers in front of them, giving off an expression that they were still struggling to the bitter end.

"Grh…!" Aurus grunted to keep up the facade of them being at a disadvantage before shouting, "We will…never surrender!"

"Dream on!" Horell replied to Aurus's words before saying, "You'll eventually exhaust your energy and die under my beam! Master wouldn't even need to make a move!"

While Horell was saying this, Aurus sent a message to him through their connection, asking, "Could you focus the beam's strength towards me for a bit? I'll use the beam's strength to fly towards the alliance base. Of course, I'm going to make it look like I was defeated by the beam, dispelling my transformation."

"Uh...alright." Although Horell did not know the reason why Aurus wanted him to do this, he still did it anyway, shouting words that mostly revolved around the topic of despair and demise as he shifted most of the energy in the beam towards Aurus. While this was happening, Aurus continued to put up a struggle as a facade while sending a message to Herellia through their systems.

"I'm gonna go and dispel that [Grand Restriction] spell," Aurus said to Herellia through a connection.

"Is that the reason why Horell focused the beam towards you?" Herellia could not help but ask after Aurus told her what he was going to do.

"Yeah. I'm gonna it look like I've exhausted all of my energy, dispelling my transformation as I use my trump card to go and kill that other member in their army." Aurus responded to her question before adding, "You're fine with me doing this, right?"

"As long as it allows the fight to be on an even playing field again, I'm fine with it. Then again, Chonk might attack while you're gone so I'll alert you when he does," Herellia replied to Aurus's question. Not long after, she added, "Don't get caught."

"I'll try not to." After responding to Herellia's reminder, Aurus reduced the strength of the barrier in front of him as he shouted, "I...will…never…surrender!"

"Just die already!" In response to Aurus's words, Horell focused all of the beam's strength towards him as Aurus reduced the strength of his barrier to zero, allowing the beam to shatter the barrier as Aurus, who was still an Infernal Spirit, was sent flying tens of meters towards the alliance base.

"Gah! Noooo!" Aurus could not help but shout in agony due to the beam's strength. Of course, Aurus was just shouting as a facade as he manually dispelled the transformation, sending him, Fenrir, and Charisa flying towards the alliance base with a loud thud.

Chonk, who looked at this situation from afar, could not help but look at Horell in a new light as he muttered, "He truly is a capable servant."

…

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Are you two okay?" At the instant the three of them had landed somewhat close to the alliance base, Aurus hastily returned to his normal position, asking both Fenrir and Charisa if they were fine.

"I'm fine, Master." Fenrir was the first one to respond since he landed on his four paws. On the other hand, Charisa took a while to respond as she landed in the same position as Aurus, eventually getting up as she said, "I'm kind of dizzy…"

Fortunately, it did not take long for Charisa to return to normal, returning to her exuberant self in a matter of seconds. With Charisa finally recovering from the fall, Aurus looked at the two of them and said, "I'll put you two back into the system once more. Is that alright with you two?"

"You don't have to ask us this question every time, Master~" Charisa responded to Aurus's question before adding, "We were summoned to protect you. Don't worry about it~"

"If you say so," Aurus said before letting out a sigh, inwardly feeling bad for what the two had to put up with. He then said, "While the two of you are in the system, please practice the incantation for the forbidden art. I have a nagging feeling inside that this war is coming to a close."

After listening to both of them acceding to his request, he then commanded the system to keep the two inside as Aurus let out a short sigh of relief. He went over the plan he had in mind, which he had created after Chonk revealed the information regarding the [Grand Restriction] spell, before radiating an aura of seriousness around him. Soon after, he suppressed this aura to a bare minimum, remembering that he had to keep up an illusion that he had been defeated by Horell.

Nevertheless, this did not stop him from becoming slightly excited inwardly, muttering, "Time to initiate the operation that shall turn the tides to our favor…"

"And hopefully, even end the war."

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