“Even if I can’t count on them to honor the contract, it’s the only option I have.”

He glanced in the direction of the now-burning city hall that was locked away under the isolation array. He then looked at the two Awakened rankers with a look of resolution in his eyes before replying.

“I’m not justifying what I have done. I know what I’m doing is a punishable offense by the kingdom. A death sentence would be a light punishment. But I can’t just let my soldiers and the townspeople die for nothing.

Besides, now that I have done exactly what the contract had told me to do, the other party is liable to honor their end of the deal. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.”

Roland said and grabbed the hilt of his strapped-by-the-waist sword. He then started walking past the two Awakened rankers and looked in the direction of the burning city hall before commenting.

“Don’t worry. If my guess is right, Bulal’s henchmen won’t immediately kill your team members. They would want them for the demonic blood ritual, I reckon. We still have some time to save them if we play this right.

Once I get what I want, I’ll immediately launch a recovery operation for your team members with the soldiers who are willing to come with me. I’ll then run away from the kingdom to seek shelter somewhere else.

I don’t want to harm any of you. That’s why I’m keeping you locked up without harming you. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t force me to do something I don’t want to do.”

Roland said and let loose his own Awakened rank aura. It was clear that the guards’ captain had thought things through before taking steps. It was just that what he had come up with wasn’t a solution but a way out.

***

“Something’s coming. Wake the fuck up.”

Eren’s mana-imbued voice woke everybody up. Reece and his squad were among the first to open their eyes.

Some of them were still sleeping. And some of them were delirious and still half asleep. But some rankers had drawn their weapons, sensing something dangerous coming for them.

Boom!

The two large doors of the city hall were blown away. The hall was coated in fire-element mana that was part of another intrinsic array paired up with an isolation array.

This was to prevent any movement spell specialist from running away from them. That is if they had the means to break the isolation array instantly.

“Hahahaha! Our sacrifice was delivered right to our doorsteps. Lord Bulal would be very happy.”

With big smiles on their faces, the demonic rankers entered the scene. They enjoyed the fact that their prey had all been caught under one roof without them having to battle them all over the town or inside the forest.

The one who spoke first among the demonic rankers was a tall and burly man. He was holding two axes in each hand. His torso was bare. And he was wearing brown pants with brown long boots.

The most peculiar thing about this man was that he had almost no facial features. The skin on his face had dried, making his face look like it was just his skull with a minimal amount of skin over it. He did not have lips, and he didn’t seem to have any nose.

This man also had two horns growing from above his head that had been skewed erratically. The man’s voice was deep and full of malice. His mana signature was different from normal rankers, making him stand out as the demonic ranker.

The other nine demonic rankers who were with him had their own peculiarities that would make them stand out from the crowd of normal rankers. And they had all come here to fulfill one objective their leader had given them. They aimed to capture guild rankers who had arrived in Pointlet town to launch a campaign against their leader Bulal.

***

Bulal was very cunning. Instead of fighting the battle in the forest where he might or might not have the advantage depending upon the counter strategies used by his opponent, he had chosen to strike first and create his own battlefield in which he would have maximum control.

Bulal had managed to affect the soldiers with his spell and imprison some of them along with a portion of the townspeople. All so that he could strike at his opponents when they would be least expecting it.

There was one more reason for Bulal to act this way. The quality of the demonic blood ritual varied depending upon the raw materials used in the process. Raw materials were sacrificed in the form of rankers and mortals.

Stardust guild rankers had a higher value as raw materials than mortals and rankers who were nearing the end of their potential. Better raw materials would then mean better results out of the demonic blood ritual.

So Bulal came up with this plan to not only take care of his opponents but also use them to advance into the Arch rank. Killing two birds with one stone.

One could say that the kingdom and even the Stardust Guild underestimated him and his tactics.

***

“Don’t be afraid, my poor lambs. You shall be cut with my Lord’s blade and used as his nourishment. In doing so, you would find freedom from all your miseries. The apex of your life is to aid my Lord into breaking into his next rank.

Now sleep. Sleep and let us take you to your final destination.”

Jario– the ax-wielding leader of the demonic rankers spoke and spread his arms around. In the next moment, with him as the center, voluminous clouds of miasma spread in the surroundings.

Green in color, this miasma was so dense that it severely hindered visibility. Even mana sense could not help anyone that was trapped inside the miasma due to its mana-sense-interfering properties.

The demonic rankers had not come here to fight. They were here to collect the quality raw ingredients needed for the demonic blood ritual.

The miasma spread with incredulous speed and soon covered the entire city hall. In the next moment, the sounds of bodies dropping on the floor could be heard from every direction.

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