Chapter 719 Too Late, Already Surrounded.
Chapter 719 Too Late, Already Surrounded.
Roadside Kiosk
Obrita
Wolfen
July 17th
Year 1053
"Five Thunder Bear Meat Skewers Please!"
"Five? Are you sure you'd be able to handle all that magic power?"
"Hahaha! I can handle ten, even."
Evan replied to the roadside kiosk owner as he sat down and passed the man money for the order. He released a small bit of his aura as well, allowing the man to see he was 'quite strong'.
"Oh! You're an adventurer, I see."
The man chuckled and accepted the money before beginning to roast the thunderbear meat for Evan.
The Young Hero was currently in one of the Eastern Wolfen States, where he had been looking for a certain Hidden dungeon which he wanted to raid together with David and Laurene after the war. The dungeon was somewhere in the Rahead Notch, plains that were surrounded by the semi-circular Rahead Mountain Range.
'Wolfen sure has a lot of Mountains. Guess, they wouldn't miss the one I destroyed.'
After the stunt he pulled a week ago, the international stage had been abuzz with news headlines about him.
This came with more people trying to shadow his movements at all times and though he knew It was to be expected, it was still annoying.
'Oh well, after they continuously lose track of me for the next few months, they'd give up.'
Right now, even the best information guilds would have a hard time trying to track Evan due to the wonders the combination of Lethe and Concealment worked.
He could not count how many foreign intelligence operatives he had pulled disappearing acts on over the past week.
'I guess it'd take them a few more hours to realise I'm not in Croville anymore…'
As Evan purchased a drink from a hawker along the bustling city streets, he took a moment to sip it in silence, observing the lively activity around him. Despite the turmoil plaguing Northern Wolfen, the atmosphere in the Eastern cities he had visited over the past day felt remarkably different.
The hustle and bustle of the streets, the chatter of the people going about their daily lives—it all seemed far removed from the conflict gripping the nation.
"Here's your meat, kiddo."
"Ohh, that's sparkly!"
Evan exclaimed, taking the plate and immediately digging into the food. The sight shocked the other patrons at the kiosk seating area.
"Oh! The guy's on a roll! Three in a row!"
"Four! He ate four without stopping for a spring water break!"
The adventurers present rallied around Evan as he ate, and when he finished the fifth skewer, they burst into cheers.
The reason for their excitement was that the monster meat Evan had consumed was from an S-Rank creature, containing vast amounts of residual magic power. Eating it could help increase one's internal magic reserves, but it came with risks.
The thunder-attribute energy within the meat was highly volatile, and improper absorption could lead to injury. Yet, Evan had effortlessly consumed five portions in one go, astonishing everyone around him.
Even the kiosk's owner, a retired A-Rank adventurer, was impressed.
"Here's another one on the house!"
He offered Evan, who accepted without hesitation.
As for why they—Wolfen Citizens—were not freaking at the sight of Evan, it was because the boy was currently wearing one of his hooded jackets that had recognition inhibition on it.
Basically, as long as the Hood was on, they would not be able to figure out who he was even if they felt he looked 'familiar'.
Evan engaged in some small talk before rising to his feet and preparing to depart.
As he was walking out, he collided with someone, but before he could utter a word, his Danger Sense skill sent him a sudden warning.
*TING!
Evan's Hypercognition allowed him to perceive everything that happened in slow motion, his eyes catching sight of the round black ball that the man who bumped into him dropped to the ground.
*TING!
It bounced once, before beginning to emit a white light that roused the instincts of all the nearby adventurers. They could sense the magic power building up inside that ball and if magic power condensed into such a small space was released all at once, the results would be devastating—even for them.
Now, if Master Level existences capable of tanking town-level attacks considered it devastating, then what would happen to the thousands of normal Bronze/Silver Level civilians within the blast radius?
Complete Obliteration.
All of them moved to act instantly, wanting to get that bomb out of there, but there was someone who was even faster.
Evan grabbed the orb with his right hand, spinning his body around to generate momentum before flinging it into the air with all his might.
The resulting sonic booms sent those nearby tumbling, but the orb was successfully tossed thousands of metres into the air in an instant.
**KAABOOOM!!!!
A deafening explosion ensued, jolting the city's civilians and eliciting screams of fear. Swiftly, the police force mobilized to address the sudden disturbance.
Nearby officers noticed something go up in the air moments before the blast, so they rushed to the place it came from and they were met with a startling sight.
None of them present was ignorant of the War currently going on, so there was no way that they could mistake the face of the boy they saw.
"…Irregular Evan!"
One of the Adventurers called out and it was then that Evan noticed his hood had fallen.
The boy's eyes narrowed as he ignored them and searched the crowd for the person who had just bumped into him.
"That man…he's gone."
"?! Come to think of it, the dude who dropped that bomb!"
The Adventurers snapped out of their shock and quickly returned their focus to the main issue here. The person who had bumped into Evan had seemingly vanished.
That person was also the one who had pushed back Evan's hood to reveal his face.
Although the Wolfen Adventurers had mixed feelings towards Evan, they didn't deny that he was the only one in range who could react fast enough to deal with that orb before it exploded.
Even the retired A- Rank nearby would have been a second late.
They quickly reported this to the police officers but before their report finished, the owner of the Kiosk shouted out.
"There! It's that masked guy who dropped the bomb!"
All heads turned and the adventurers caught sight of the man who had bumped into Evan standing behind the perimeter the police had created to evacuate citizens. Holding up his hands while looking right at Evan, he dropped a similar black orb to the ground.
Evan teleported in and grabbed the orb, freezing the energy within with Harbinger of Ice, but the man who dropped it had vanished in that short moment.
'Track Down!'
With a command, Evan activated his skill, and his eyes honed in on the target atop a nearby building.
Surprised that Evan spotted him so easily, the man flinched for a moment but he quickly composed himself and held out another similar bomb.
Following Evan's gaze, the other adventurers nearby also saw the man, and they saw him as he vanished after dropping another bomb. In a split-second manoeuvre, Evan reappeared in his previous position, catching the orb and freezing it once more.
With a narrowed gaze, the young hero locked eyes with the man who had reappeared on another rooftop. Police officers on the ground were scrambling to catch him but Evan held out his hand and created a wall of ice that blocked them from getting too close.
'This guy…he's baiting me.'
Evan figured this out as he noticed that the man had always turned to face him first before dropping the bomb as if trying to make sure Evan saw him do it.
The scene of him dropping a bomb and Evan catching and freezing it repeated itself one more time, confirming Evan's conjecture.
'He's trying to bait me and make me follow him, but does he really think I'd be stupid and follow him alone?
It's obvious that there'd be others lying in wait for me wherever he's trying to lead me.'
Evan shook his head as he saw the man trying to get his attention. The boy then took a deep breath before raising his hand to smack away the magic missile the man fired at him.
"Kuro, get Kayla then come to my location immediately."
[Yes, Master.]
"Roselia, I think we've got our first batch. Some guy is trying to bait me somewhere. Basically, what I did with Terrence in Osto."
[Already? Also, why are you so far out from me? It'd take me at least half an hour to get to you even if I used the Teleportation Waypoints.]
As Evan conversed with Roselia, the man reappeared on another rooftop, firing magic missiles to get Evan's attention but the boy just used an Elemental Shield to block them without looking at him.
He did his disappearing act two more times and Evan ignored both times. This seemed to infuriate the man as he pulled out three bombs and dropped them all at once, 100% sure Evan wouldn't ignore him after this.
"Change in situation guys, I'm engaging him."
In an instant, Evan's voice pierced the air, and the boy vanished from his spot, reappearing directly in front of the masked man.
"Wha-!?"
The man exclaimed, attempting to teleport away, but before he could act, Evan's left hand seized his neck in a tight chokehold, preventing him from activating his skill. Simultaneously, Evan's right hand froze the bombs, swiftly stashing them away into his inventory.
As other adventurers chasing the man arrived at Evan's location, they were met with a powerful sonic boom, knocking them back as Evan disappeared into the distance in a blur.
'He was trying to bait me in the Northern direction. Maybe that's where his conspirators are?
If so…I'd go South instead.'
With that thought, Evan unfurled his wings and made a U-Turn, streaking across the sky like a golden comet as he flew in the opposite direction of where he was being baited.
Arriving at the Rahead Notch in the South, Evan forcefully slammed the masked man onto the unforgiving ground of the plains below. With relentless fury, he dragged the man across the earth, subjecting him to the brutality of the rocky terrain.
Opening his inventory, Evan retrieved the three bombs he had previously frozen. He then ripped off the man's mask and mercilessly stomped on his stomach, which forced his mouth open. Evan stuffed the bombs into the man's mouth, ensuring that this time, he left the magic power within the bombs unfrozen
Seizing the man's legs, Evan spun around and hurled him into the air with all his might.
**KAAABOOOMMM!!!!
The simultaneous detonation of the three bombs resulted in a catastrophic explosion, obliterating the man's body in a devastating blast of destruction, sparing Evan from witnessing the gruesome aftermath.
"I've taken out the first guy, but like I said there may be oth-!"
Evan's words were cut short as he sensed incoming danger. He summoned the Unforged into his hand and swung the blade, knocking down the six arrows of light that hurtled towards him from a distance.
The arrows exploded and enveloped him in magical smoke clouds that obscured his perception.
From within it, two shadows blitzed in, attacking Evan from both sides at once.
The Hero's lips curled up into a grin and he turned to look at the assailant on his right. Evan's grin sent chills down his spine but it was already too late.
'Vindiction's Strike.'
Point Blank Vindiction's Strike, the skill activation concealed by Evan's Mystic Eyes Stage 3 Effect.
Chances of survival = 0%.
Evan spun around and parried the dagger the other one attacked him with, noticing that there was some sort of greenish liquid on it.
'Poison…they don't know I'm 'Loved By Nature', do they?'
He let go of the Unforged and clenched his fist before sending in a right straight to the side of the man's face, activating fracture and mimicking Kayla's Electroflame to triple the damage.
The man's body was sent flying hundreds of metres in an instant, and Evan called the Unforged back into his hands before releasing an aura slash, and a blade cannon.
Surprisingly, the man was able to react despite the damage he received from Evan, spinning around to gain momentum as he drew a sword and cut down the projected slashes.
"Burst Cannon."
The instant the man touched the ground, Evan's barrage of destruction essence bullets pelted his body with holes, ending his life in an instant.
Right after this, Evan turned around and wanted to leave, but he suddenly stopped and sighed.
"Should have used BoD. Would have dealt with them faster…"
Evan smiled depreciatingly as he spoke, regretting his decision not to use BoD the instant he had sensed those two Assailants.
Because of that, he had wasted 'too much time' in dealing with those two. Now, it was too late to run.
After all, he had already been surrounded.