Chapter 522 - Creeping Fear
Chapter 522 – Creeping Fear
After a few weeks of intense battle for some reason Ren’s men suddenly retreated. The allied kingdoms’ forces were confused but they still did not let their guard down. Even though the enemy army retreated they did not advance but instead tightened their defenses. The allied Kingdoms knew that the only reason they were winning was that they were defending, if they make a mistake now and start an offensive they might be annihilated. So they continued to stay within their borders.
…
It was during a rainy day when the allied kingdoms’ forces received intel that five people from Ren’s side were approaching their borders. It has been a while since any from Ren’s side came to them. It was quite curious as to why they picked today to attack.
Also seeing that every time Ren sent a smaller force meant each individual was stronger than those in a larger group, which means each of the five individuals approaching was a monster beyond imagining. These should be the people Ren trusts the most, and it was entirely possible that Ren himself was among the five. 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Based on rumors and the intel they received from spies, they had a few guesses who the five were. Lara and Valdel who were his childhood friends could certainly be among the five. There were also his two apprentices Arthur and Lance. Then the mysterious woman that’s always by his side. These five people were the most likely to be the group approaching their borders.
Knowing what they know, the leaders of the allied kingdoms made six of the seven heroes intercept these five people alongside ten thousand of the strongest knights. If Ren was truly among the five people that were coming then this might be their only chance to beat him while he wasn’t surrounded by his army.
…
Artemisia sat on her throne waiting for the supposed five warriors from Ren’s side to arrive. At her side were the other heroes and the knights of the allied kingdoms. While they were waiting for the enemy to come the six suddenly felt a very massive energy coming towards them. They could easily dodge this energy blast but if they did most of the knights would perish. So without any hesitation Artemisia and the gentleman Julian stood at the front and deployed a barrier.
The surrounding area was destroyed but the knights were saved. Artemisia and Julian were sweating bullets as they had used a large amount of their energy to block that one strike. It was then they saw five silhouettes approaching them.
“So you were able to withstand my greeting. Heh, that means you guys have become rather strong from the last time I saw you. This might actually become quite fun.”
The person who spoke was walking ahead of the others and had a vicious smile on his face. That person was suppressing his aura but the six heroes had ways of telling how strong their enemies were. The moment they laid eyes on Ren they all started to unconsciously tremble in fear.
…
Helk was the strongest warrior of his tribe and had been in many life-and-death situations. He had a sixth sense and could tell how powerful his opponent was. Even if the opponent was stronger than him he had never backed away and had always survived. Yet now his entire being was screaming at him telling him to run away from the monster before him. It was telling him that no matter how hard he struggles no matter what luck comes his way, victory… No, survival was impossible.
…
Artemisia stood up from her throne and looked at Ren her eyes betrayed the fear she was feeling.
She had the ability to see how large the opponent’s mana was even if the other party tries to hide it, her ability sees all. So the moment she used this ability on Ren she nearly puked from what she saw. An endless wave of mana that was trying to devour all in its wake was what she saw. She bit her lips until they bled. She did this so that she would not wanting to succumb to her fear.
…
Dzala the so called greatest adventurer had acquired an item that tells him how dangerous his opponent was. The item in question was a small orb that would change color depending on how dangerous the opponent was. The color green indicated that the opponent was weak, and the color red indicated the opponent was extremely dangerous.
He had seen it glow green when in front of a baby and red when facing a dragon. Yet now it was shifting from color to color until it turned black and broke.
Dzala smiled weakly as he looked at Ren. This was the most dangerous situation he has been in since the start of his adventures. He who had traveled his entire world, who had faced countless adversaries was now trembling in fear.
‘This might actually be my last adventure…’
…
Zol the man who continued to sleep on his bed was now fully awake as he looked at Ren in horror. Unlike the others, he had a better grasp of how strong Ren was since he had the ability to glimpse into one’s soul.
What he saw was similar to what Xia saw. The image of endless battle shrouded Ren’s soul, but upon trying to look deeper what Zol found was despair. He saw the countless powerful beings hidden within Ren’s soul.
Not only was Ren himself powerful beyond belief but there were several others hidden in his soul that were more powerful than him.
…
Julian gulped dryly as he stared at the monster before him. He could hear the echoes of the slain from that monster with a vicious smile. The image of him and the others being skewered had flashed in his mind.
He knew that if they don’t retreat now there will be no chance later. Yet despite knowing they had no chance he did not retreat. As a gentleman, he could never leave his allies behind.
…
Hayate who had been in this world for several months now had grown from the frightened gamer into a respectable warrior. He had the ability to see the levels and stats of other people, but the information gained depended on his level. He was currently level 720 two hundred levels above his ancestor Sora who had fought Demon Lord Kretos.
In the beginning, he was too weak to see through any of the heroes’ levels as they were shown as ??? but now that he was strong enough he could see their levels. Xia was the strongest among them at level 982. Artemisia and Zol had similar levels, level 840. Julian was level 800, Dzala was level 700, and Helk was level 689.
Hayate had learned that even with a higher level that doesn’t necessarily mean you would win in a fight. Victory depended on one’s luck and skills, the levels simply indicate their physical stats.
Hayate thought that with his current strength he would be able to see through everyone’s level but when he saw Ren all he saw were question marks. He could not even see through Ren’s class, the only information he could see was Ren’s name. This could only mean one thing, Ren’s stats were way above him and the others.
‘This guy is a literal raid boss… Can we really beat him?’
…
It wasn’t just the heroes who were visibly afraid but even the knights were feeling an intense fear gripping their hearts. They might not truly understand how powerful Ren was, nor could they feel his power like the heroes, but they knew of the countless legends surrounding Ren. The most famous of them all was a warning. Some of them could not help but whisper that warning.
“Once you see his vicious smile do not bother to flee for you’re already dead.”
They might have come here to kill Ren, but even after mentally preparing themselves seeing Ren in person was an entirely different thing.