With another jump, he landed smoothly on top of the warship’s deck.
There was some artificial light above, but no guards in sight.
He sneaked over to the cabin, identifying a vulnerable spot where the warship’s mechanisms operated.
“Hahaha…Envor Feodor, your wish finally came true. This kingdom is finally meeting its doom!”
“Pah, that’s true… They dared insult me. They deserve it. I just said a few bad words about them, and the Emperor was enraged, hahaha…”
From inside, Aengus heard a few men conversing, mixed with faint moans from women.
“Ahn… Please be gentle, Sir Feodor! Ahn!”
“Not inside, Please! I will get pregnant.”
Smack, smack!
“Ooh, shut up bi*ch, just take it all inside…” the man only grunted with pleasure.
“Haha… Feodor, slow down a bit. You’re getting old… No more juice in you… haha..” another man’s vulgar voice echoed, reaching Aengus’s ears.
Aengus turned away with disgust, but he didn’t forget to place the Elemental Chaos Orb in a corner for their demise.
He was though curious if the man inside named Feodor was the same envoy he heard in the meeting. Either way, it was not important as long his work got done.
With another jump, he leaped onto another nearby warship.
This ship was well-guarded, likely housing some influential officials inside.
“Sneeze! Achoo!”
One guard suddenly sneezed, making Aengus freeze in the shadows.
The guards turned vigilant, their sharp eyes scanning the deck with Clearcut precision.
Finding no one, they looked at the first guard with a displeased expression.
“What? Can’t I even sneeze?” the guard shrugged.
They shook their heads helplessly and shifted their attention ahead.
Aengus continued to move, swapping shadows as he progressed.
“Commander, we are ready to attack tonight!” he overheard from the cabin, thanks to his sharp hearing.
“Good! Proceed with the Imperial Decree!” came the domineering command.
Without wasting any time, Aengus placed another orb here as well.
In this manner, he methodically planted eighteen orbs across various warships, covering half of them.
At the nineteenth one, however, something unexpected happened.
As he moved within the shadows on the deck, a sudden, intense light flooded over him. His shadow form dissipated, leaving him fully exposed.
He realized the deck was unique, adorned with luxurious decor and a concealed barrier that he thought he’d bypassed undetected. But from the looks of it, Clearly, he hadn’t.
Caught red-handed, Aengus saw a man in a red military suit smirking as he approached him.
“You think you’re so brave, daring to enter my domain, Soldier of the Araknis Kingdom!” the man sneered, pleased with himself for catching what he thought was a mere intruder, unaware that he was facing true trouble in the form of Aengus.
“Haha, what a foolish youngster! Trying to trick Lord Halton—The master of barriers? It’s a joke. He is unmatched in this field,” another mocking voice chimed in from the shadows, revealing an old man with a beard.
Aengus looked at the man calmly, even after getting caught. But, It was astonishing to see someone able to see through his Barrier of Chaos.
An imitation is an imitation, The saying is true after all. It can never be the same as the Barrier of Ruination, without any flaws.
The man was obviously a Transcendental, and a very special one at that. He specialized in Barrier Skills, both offensive and defensive. Aengus learned about Halton’s skills after using Appraisal.
“What’s with the response? Why aren’t you shocked? Or afraid? Shouldn’t you beg for forgiveness at least?” Lord Halton asked, feeling disappointed at not getting the expected reaction.
Aengus grinned, finding it amusing.
“It’s because… I am stronger—”
Whoosh!
Kacha, Kacha… Crack!
Aengus suddenly threw a casual punch to test the defensive barriers that Halton had cast all around himself and his allies. Though they were SS-Rank barriers, some layers shattered instantly, leaving the major layers still intact.
“Haha… Only this much? Too weak…,” Halton sneered at Aengus’s power, though he felt a slight impact.
But, honestly, inside he was shocked by the seemingly young man’s speed and strength. A young man capable of challenging a Transcendental was no simple matter.
Since when had the Araknis Kingdom produced such prodigies? Why hadn’t he heard any news of such a young talent?
“You call yourself stronger, then let’s see how you handle this, brat,” Halton cackled, regaining his composure.
Aengus, wanting to test Halton’s barrier, quickly found himself inside an illusion barrier where he surprisingly saw memories of his past with his mother. He saw himself eating and playing as a child with his mother, Eleanora—carefree and unburdened before he was deemed unworthy of wielding the Darkness law and the Family Head seat.
These bittersweet memories replayed, turning his heart heavy.
Of course, the barrier showed these memories only to him, trapping him in the illusion. Even if Halton tried his hardest, he wouldn’t have access to them.
“Enough!”
Aengus, having had enough of the display, quickly just snapped his fingers, causing the barrier to disappear with the help of Chaos energy.
Halton was gleeful, but that soon faded as he saw Aengus easily escaping the Illusion Barrier.
It was an SS-rank skill, for God’s sake. It could easily drive a person to madness by using their deepest, sorrowful emotions.
But he didn’t know that Aengus was immune to mental attacks due to his unique skill: Nullified Mental Attacks.
The old man beside him stiffened, feeling a little afraid of the boy now.
“Why couldn’t Lord Halton defeat a simple ‘Rat’?”
“Are you done?” Aengus asked coldly. “If so, let’s start this for real.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Aengus disappeared from his spot, appearing right before Halton like he had teleported.
Despite his considerable speed and reaction time, Halton couldn’t track Aengus’s movements.
Bang, bang! Shatter, shatter!
One after another, Halton’s defensive barriers broke, and he felt the impact on his body, coughing up blood from his mouth and nostrils.
The old man was scared out of his wits, seeing this. He tried to escape, but Aengus bound him in place.
