Blood fell from Sylas’ fingers as a corpse fell from his hands, its neck snapped and its jaw hanging down to one side as though it had been torn off.
This was already the third checkpoint they had taken down, including the first that Bass had led him to.
It wasn’t that the Ravenclaws were so slow to react, but rather that Sylas was too fast.
He had a Speed that far outstripped most Mounts these days, and he was already at a level where he could rival and even outpace vehicles at this point, while also having an agility they couldn’t match.
The first time he was in his Evergreen Territory, just after conquering Paradise, it would have taken him at least an hour to make it to and from all these checkpoints. But now, it took him not even a dozen minutes.
As for the actual conquering process, even though she was a bit handicapped in an attempt to keep Sunniva in line, the addition of Nosphaleen might as well have been a cheat code.
Sylas had grown used to fighting alone, but he had to admit that having something to support him from the back made things far easier.
This time, he had cleared the checkpoint in not even five minutes.
It was simply too fast for the Ravenclaws to react.
‘This should be shaving it pretty close. There is likely a group rushing here. Let’s retreat and assess the new situation.’
Sylas realized something else as he targeted these two checkpoints: Sunniva was quite powerful amongst the Ravenclaws.
This didn’t raise Sylas’ eyebrows. If he was correct, Ragnar had sent her so far away, and to a relatively obscure checkpoint, likely because he knew that she wouldn’t like his choices.
This way, not only could Ragnar use her as a vanguard and a deterrence to enemies, he could keep her nose out of his business.
Deductions like this were important for Sylas to understand the kind of opponent he was up against. Ragnar might look like a meathead bouncer, but that didn’t mean he actually was one.
Ultimately, even if he felt he was losing the heir selection of his family, the Ravenclaws wouldn’t give a chance to a fool.
However, whether his intelligence was actually something to worry about was another matter entirely.
…
Ragnar stood in silence, a sinister air circling around him. He wore an almost too tight pair of dress pants, a half-unbuttoned dress shirt revealing his chest hair and dangling gold chain.
At first glance, it didn’t look like he was wearing any advanced equipment at all. As usual, he looked like the cross between a bouncer and a pimp…
And he seemed to carry the sinister gaze of one now.
He had already gotten the notification of failure the moment Sylas destroyed the first checkpoint. It had left him shaken.
Usually, if a Leg failed, it would be because the cargo was damaged. Never did he expect the opponent to directly target the checkpoint instead.
Because it was a Multi Quest, however, failure didn’t mean the end. It was just that the path to victory changed, so the Leg requirement shifted accordingly.
But then a second checkpoint was destroyed. Then a third.
And now…
—
[Leg 005]
[The Ravenclaws are on the verge of being expelled from the race for the Evergreen Territory; drastic measures must be taken. Find this enemy in the dark.]
—
This change worried Ragnar for several reasons. But the main issue was that the Leg wasn’t asking him to kill the enemy, just to find them.
The Legs of Multi Quests varied, but usually, they fell within a certain range of difficulty depending on the overall Quest Grade.
The fact that his only task for this Leg was to identify the enemy meant only one thing…
The enemy was mind-numbingly powerful.
However, by the same token, it was a chance.
If the enemy was so powerful, then due to this coincidence, the Ravenclaws had likely opened up a path to much greater rewards.
Until now, Ragnar had been essentially giving up on better rewards for the sake of securing victory. Colluding with the Sylphs like he was was bound to have such results.
The situation now was different.
At that moment, someone knocked on his door.
“Enter.”
A messenger came in with a lowered head and gave him a report.
‘I guess things aren’t meant to be so easy.’
Ragnar had tried to cheat a bit. He sent individuals to both of the remaining checkpoints with no other task than to record and send information back. He gave them both temporary visual Nexuses for this reason. He was even willing for them to die so long as they sent the information back to him.
But the enemy never showed up.
It was all calculated perfectly. It was a swift surprise attack, and then they retreated without losing a hair. Now, they were still in the shadows while he knew next to nothing about this person.
It was a shame. Otherwise, this might have been the easiest Leg he had ever received.
That said…
Ragnar looked at a message that he received from Rolland and his lip curled.
The City Lord was asking him about information. He wanted to know about any Grimblades powerful enough to kill Sylphs, and he was even threatening him, saying that he was holding back information.
The more Ragnar interacted with these alien Races, the more he realized that they weren’t so almighty.
This message alone was enough for him to be about 80% certain.
Back when he was manning the portal, a black-scaled man had suddenly appeared before him and stolen his kill. He hadn’t even been able to read that person’s stats.
But then… a video of the black-scaled man defeating a General of a System City went viral. And his name…
Wasn’t it Sylas Grimblade?
Someone powerful enough to kill Sylphs with ease? Couldn’t it only be him?
‘So you’re the enemy in the dark, huh?’
—
[Leg 005 Cleared]
