Chapter 134: Chapter 133 : Wicked Plot

The ring was turned into a most beautiful canvas. Flashes of dazzling blue and orange went off repeatedly as the two fighters - no artists displayed their craft.

Flames and electricity decorated the space intermittently and sporadically, making for an entrancing spectacle that left the audience spellbound. The matter of winner or loser faded from their minds as they simply enjoyed the show for what it was, a visual masterpiece.

Fire swords, fire lances, fire palms, fireballs, streams of fire; Ralf represented his lineage well tonight. He fired off flame-based attack after attack with skill and finesse. Dan was no one-trick pony, but in the context of flashiness, a clear winner had been decided.

After this contest was settled, it wasn’t long before the real one was ended as well. Having made good on his word to expend his entire supply, Ralf then went in for the ‘killing blow’. It wasn’t as simple as willing it into reality, but after several seconds of repeated attempts, he finally managed to find a way through the maze of lightning snakes. Once in close, it was over, his Oscillation Wave coated punch dyed Dan red in an instant.

“Aha, I lost…a shame.”

Despite saying this, Dan wore a wide smile. The frustration he felt from losing was drowned out by the overwhelming frenzy and satisfaction flooding into his vigorously throbbing heart.

To go all out using his electrical attacks against an equally flashy opponent was everything he didn’t know he wanted. The match was a dream come true. His soul couldn’t help but vibrate with joy.

“Thank you, Ralf. That was amazing.” Dan said with a toothy grin, face radiant with gratitude.

Ralf smiled. “Back at you Dan, it takes two to dance, and you were an excellent partner.”

He retrieved a candy from his coat and handed it over. Dan moved his hand as was expected of the receiver and caught the ball of chocolate. But then something unexpected happened.

*Boom*

As though his palm was a landmine, Psi suddenly burst from his figure. However, instead of the Rank 5 aura he had stepped into the ring with, his Psi signature now betrayed his Rank 7 status.

The boisterous venue silenced in an instant, and then a second later, a roar, double the volume, rocked the Combat Arena.

Vostel’s voice boomed through the minds of the audience.

[[Unbelievable! Just when we thought he was out of electrical attacks, he delivers the most shocking one yet. The candy once again does the trick. I’ll have to snatch a few for myself, Raiken knows I could do with a few level ups - ah, enough about me…]]

Getting back on track, Vostel congratulated the two fighters on their individual victories before officially announcing the match’s result.

“Aha, thanks again Ralf,” Dan said, his smile even more dazzling than before.

Where his smile increased, Ralf’s decreased. His subsequent smile wasn’t as sunny. He was happy for the young man but couldn’t help but be a tad bitter at seeing another progress while he remained stagnant.

“Glad to be of help, enjoy.”

Hiding these negative emotions perfectly, he spoke these words before turning and heading to his gate.

***

The next day…

In a hotel room, Ruben Ulven stood at the edge of his balcony, looking down on the passing Popleigh residents as they carried on with their lives.

Even as high up as he was, their conversations still managed to reach his ears. A testament to both his hearing and their loudness. Hearing the names mentioned grated at his scalp. Ralf, Ray, Silver…since arriving a day ago, he had heard these names no less than a hundred times already. His face scrunched up in displeasure.

Without delay, he cast a soundless barrier to shield himself from the annoyances below. After doing so, he shifted his attention to the ‘pair’ behind him.

“He isn’t a fake? It is confirmed?” he asked.

Lawrence’s face twitched with irritation at the other’s conduct. Despite being a valuable tool, he was still a non-noble, so Ruben speaking with his back turned irked the middle-aged nobleman to no end. Still, knowing the position he was in, he suppressed his anger and answered the other’s question.

“He isn’t, it’s been confirmed. He’s an actual Rank 3, not someone in disguise.”

‘Hmm, not someone in disguise, that’s even stranger.’ Ruben didn’t doubt Lawrence’s words. As a Mental Master, Nikolas would be able to easily confirm the fact.

“What about the Silver Path? Has anything been discovered about them?”

“No, nothing, but one thing is for certain…that faction can’t exist as that bastard claims it does. With the oddities that he’s shown, from his supposed perfect memory and now the use of vibration techniques, the Silver Path must exist in some form. There might be a few powerful characters making up this faction, but it’s definitely not a collective of the world’s strongest fighters or anything close to that.”

Ruben frowned, the words hadn’t removed even an iota of his previous concern or trepidation.

“Hmm…even if the faction falls far short of its initial claims, is it wise to purposely antagonise one of its members? If they have even a single Ascendant in their midst, it’ll spell disaster for us.”

“Don’t worry about that. If such a situation arises, we’ll be covered.”

Ruben’s eyes flickered wildly at the claim. He took a few breaths to calm his nerves before speaking again. “Sir Advanti is powerful but against multiple Ascendants…”

Ruben let his voice drift off, he dared not finish the words, for while Nikolas was absent in his senses, he was sure the sadistic Mental Master was within earshot range.

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“That won’t be a problem. Whether one or ten, we’ll be covered regardless.”

“Hmm?”

Lawrence’s eyes twitched at the questioning look the other was directing his way. His lips moved to deflect again but his foster son’s voice persuaded him otherwise.

[Father, it’s best to let him know. Without knowing, he won’t have the confidence to go through with it. I’ll implant an array in his mind to prevent any leaking. And once he’s done playing his part, I’ll scrub his memories.]

Agreeing with these words, Lawrence revealed the reason for his words.

“Dimitri Drazan.”

At the name’s mention, the bulky fighter jolted as though electrocuted. By the next moment, everything clicked in place.

Lawrence continued. “He was the one who initially confirmed that Ralf was not a fake, and the one we asked about the Silver Path. He’s also the person who will act as our assurance this time around.’

Hearing the words, Ruben’s heart surged with relief. His body lost its pent up tension. Dimitri’s exact vessel number and quality were unknown, but in Ruben’s mind, the World’s Shadow was sure to have at least a few Ascendant vessels.

Not to mention, an Ascendant operated with his ungodly skill was as strong as twenty regular Ascendants at the same level. Under Dimitri’s metaphorical wing, he had no qualms about poking the hornet's nest that was the Silver Path.

While the brawny fighter was rejoicing, Lawrence continued.

“Rather than if…it is what we’re are hoping for. With the recruitment not going as planned, I and by extension, you, have been given a different task. The task will be to lure out other Silver Path members and ascertain for sure, whether the bellows of smoke leads to a great blaze or a humble campfire.”

“How will we do it?”

“This,” Lawrence said as he lightly kicked at the large black box near him. “Open it.”

Ruben nodded and then had his Psi do the honours. His telekinesis slowly removed the lid. Once the items were fully revealed before Ruben’s blue eyes, he couldn’t help but tilt his head. It was a full-body black armour set, one identical to the one he wore during his matches.

Lawrence’s eyes flashed with disdain at the other’s ignorance. Taking a breath to restrain his nature, he prodded the armour with his finger and said, “Inspect it.”

Ruben did so without delay and bathed the items in his Psi Scan. He went through section after section without any great discovery, but as he got to a certain piece, his eyes lit up. His head snapped towards Lawrence with an astounded look in his eyes.

Lawrence nodded. “Indeed. That will be your trump card. If you can, don’t use it, but if you must, make sure you end the match immediately afterwards.”

“What about the possibility of it being discovered beforehand?”

“That’s a possibility, but it’s unlikely. Your armour is iconic at this point, they won’t suspect a thing, I’m certain of it.”

Ruben’s face showed agreement. On the surface, the armour looked identical and save for one piece, every other section was completely normal.

Ruben retracted his Psi from the armour and brought up a point of confusion. “I understand that my victory is important, but how will it lure out the other members.”

“Victory for us isn’t you simply winning. Your goal will be to kill him during the match. Even if you can’t, as long as you injure him severely, I’m sure other Silver Path members will make themselves known in response.”

Ruben’s brows creased up. Not at the order to kill or injure, but at the impossibility of carrying out the task.

Lawrence read his expression and followed up. “Of course, injuring others in that ring is impossible…that is, in a normal match. That’s why we must goad that bastard into agreeing to a special match without any protective Psi.”

“You think he’ll agree? Or the Duke will for that matter?” Ruben asked sceptically. The Combat Arena’s safety standards were very strict. He had tried his darndest to bypass it many times to no avail.

“If we were other people, no, but because it’s me and you, the Duke will definitely agree. As for Ralf, he’ll surely agree as well. He has yet to be so much as scratched; his arrogance is through the roof. As long as we propose it in the form of a bet with something to gain, he’ll surely jump at it, thinking he has nothing to lose. But in the end, the thing he’ll lose is his life. As long as you use the armour at the right time, killing him will be easy. And then, we’ll play it off as an accident. A heat of the moment thing. We’ll then head back to our dukedom and warmly welcome the Silver Path members that will show up to avenge their fallen member.”

Hearing the entire plan, Ruben was impressed. But at the same, he was confused about the roundabout way they were going about this.

Couldn’t Nikolas just kill Ralf now? With his power, he could easily make it look like an accident, so why did the Mental Master not do it.

This was the question on his mind. Still, Ruben knew not to voice it.

The meeting concluded and Lawrence left the hotel room, but not before imparting one last string of words.

“Prepare well for your upcoming battle, failure won’t be tolerated.”

Unbeknownst to the duo, a diabolic plan had been hatched with their deaths at the forefront.

Would things move as planned, or…

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