Chapter 1004 Breaking Out
Chapter 1004 Breaking Out
"A war against the nine cities?" asked the shadow, shocked – a sentiment shared by Ramiel. "How would this benefit us?" 𝓝𝑂𝐯𝔢𝗅𝓊𝑠𝒷.𝐜𝗈𝔪
"We need to either defeat a lord or make one acknowledge us through military merits," said Arthur, smiling as he leaned over the iron bars. "However, a certain knight proposed an idea to unite the second floor."
"Unite the second floor? For what purpose?" asked the shadow again, confused. Arthur smiled and spoke the following words with ease.
"We are turning the second floor into the only residential paradise inside this tower. Once we conquer the tower, many people would choose to stay inside it. The second floor can welcome them."
"…is it okay for him to overhear us?" asked the shadow, turning its eyes toward Ramiel. A pair of beastly eyes glared at him from beneath the hood, but Arthur waved his hand in dismissal.
"His only objection is the risk we are taking. He believes that even if we unite the cities, the second floor would be weakened against the invasion of monsters. He underestimates…"
"…our strength," the shadow completed his sentence. "I will notify the rest of our plan. If we need to infiltrate the Xelorian Army, we need to join them as soon as possible. What about you?"
"You don't need to worry about me," said Arthur as he returned to sit beside his wall. "I will be just fine, even if imprisoned. I will wait for that certain knight to finish his preparations before joining the army as well. Then… we will make a mess."
"As you command," said the shadow before bowing and disappearing. Ramiel remained at a complete loss for words, finding himself unable to understand what was happening anymore.
"Are you going to tell the guards about our plan?" asked Arthur as he looked at him with a smile. Ramiel remained silent, unable to decide what the right choice would be. "If you are worried about what is going to happen… how about you join us?"
"You mean… leave this place?" muttered Ramiel with hope in his eyes. "What would you stand to gain from freeing me as well?"
"Nothing," admitted Arthur with an expressionless face. "However, you remind me of someone I used to know. He died a month ago, and I cannot seem to forget about him."
Ramiel was silent as he searched for any clue about this man's intentions, but found none. His face displayed nothing but sincerity and a hint of grief. The man presented him with the choice of leaving this prison and making a change.
"If I leave, I would be bound to your plan, right?"
"I know that you want to know what happened to the lord's daughter. You can be our man on the inside and investigate the situation too," said Arthur with an understanding smile. "You have until the knight returns."
***
Time passed inside the cell, and Arthur realized that he could not enter his room. It seemed that a lord had many authorities, including the ability to imprison those he deemed a threat to his city. This prevented the challengers from entering their rooms anymore, rendering them unable to grow stronger.
Soon after Whisker left, the guards woke up again, confused. Naturally, they all suspected Arthur of releasing another soul them could do anything to him, as they all knew he was stronger than them.
attack, or so they whispered among themselves. However, none of them could do anything to him, as they all knew he was stronger than them.
A few hours later, the Knight of the Silver Rose returned. This time, he came with his squad, who all recognized Arthur and looked at him with gratitude. Even though they were once his enemies, their hearts were changed by his kindness.
"What is your choice going to be, Ramiel?" asked Arthur as he saw the soldiers approach their cell. "Are you going to leave with me, or stay here to rot?"
"You are presenting me with a ridiculous choice," said Ramiel with a grin as he rose and pulled on his shackles. "Even if I had to become the devil, I would choose my freedom. As long as I get out of here, I can do something to save the second floor!"
"…you make it seem as if I'm the villain here," said Arthur with a sigh before rising and walking toward him. The light fell on the half-demon, revealing his gruff and hardened face. Arthur realized that this man was taller than him, with skin made from stone. "You seem more suited to play the role of a villain…"
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Ramiel with a frown. Arthur pressed his lips together as if holding back laughter as he tugged on the chains. "These cannot be broken. We need a key to…"
Clang!
The chains shattered as he pulled them apart, even though he was also cuffed. Then, black lightning exploded from his hand, striking their cuffs and rendering them limp as they fell to the ground. Ramiel remained in shock, staring at the chains that had haunted him now torn apart easily.
"You could have at least waited for us to free you…" said the Knight of the Silver Rose as he arrived outside the cell and saw the chains on the ground. Then, he furrowed his brows in confusion as he stared at Ramiel. "We cannot take him with us. The lord wants to execute him."
"And what is he waiting for?" asked Arthur with raised brows.
"A demon," said the Knight of the Silver Rose with a sigh. "If your friend from yesterday had joined us, our lord would have asked her to execute him so that he would not revive. This shows how risky it is to take him with us."
"That means he cannot execute him now. We can execute our plan before Ramiel gets executed," said Arthur with a smile. "Ramiel would be a valuable asset for our plan. From what I gathered, he knows the castle better than us and can provide inside information about the next strategic moves that Xeloria wants to make."
"…is he going to sneak into the castle with that size of his?" asked Jonathan with disregard before sighing when Arthur said nothing. "I understand… it would make the lord furious, and he might punish me, but it makes more sense for two people to break out."
"Break out?" questioned Arthur with a raised brow. Jonathan gave a grin as he stood with his squad in formation, unsheathing their swords. "You want us to escape from Xeloria before making a run for it into the wilderness?"
"We will come to fetch you from there and integrate you into our platoon," said Jonathan with a grin. "Please go easy on us, or we might not survive."
"I never got to test how strong I actually am," said Arthur as he stretched. "If you tell me to cause a ruckus… you cannot expect me to hold back. Remove the weaker soldiers from this place, or… they will die. This can be a test for you too, to see if you can survive against me."
"…can we talk about this?" asked Jonathan, but Arthur grinned as he turned his hands into fists. Golden mana beamed from his body, making the surroundings shake. "You seem oddly excited…"
"I had to keep myself in check for a while," said Arthur as he took a stance and readied a punch. The soldiers turned pale as they assumed a defensive formation.
"If we want to work together, you have to see my full strength, right?"
"…not against us!" the knight almost cried as he took a few steps back as well. "If this is how it's going to be, then I won't hold back either!"
"Suit yourself," said Arthur as he threw a careless punch forward, but it shook the world. Air rumbled as it met his fist, which launched toward the iron bars. The next instant, destruction ensued.
Boom!
As if struck by a cannon, the cell exploded along with the rest of the prison. Jonathan and his soldiers tried to hold their ground against the air pressure, but their feet were lifted from the ground. The next instant, all of them were sent flying.
***
Whisker was in no rush to reunite with the others, as he needed to gather intel on the Xelorian army before joining them. After visiting several offices, he rushed back atop the rooftops, searching for his comrades. As he made his way back to the two, he was pleased to find that Sarohan and Haldor hadn't left his sight.
"Why are you still here?" asked Whisker with a frown, addressing the tall Waiga who attracted attention from the crowd. "You were supposed to gather money before Seika returns."
"I already finished the job," said Sarohan as he showed him a pouch of money. "It was a request to take care of a local gang. I found them easily and captured them. The neighborhood rewarded me with three gold coins in return."
"You found them that easily?" asked Whisker with surprise. "In any case, I met with Seika a few hours ago. It seems that he wants us to..."
Boom!
The entire city of Xeloria shook as a loud explosion shattered its windows. Sarohan and Haldor were thrown from their chairs, while Whisker barely managed to stabilize himself.