Being an existence at the level of a Warrior Mage, the Vice Sect Master had acute senses which allowed him to notice that the King, who had so far been someone who did not even think about opposing him, was now slowly changing his attitude.
"Don't even think about it. All of you are just ants in front of me. Everything is already lost, as there is no way to master the formation before the two forces outside unleash their trinkets. Each of them is equivalent to a full power strike from a powerhouse at the Champion Mage Level. Champion Mage! If someone at that existence really came to a backward place like this, he would have been able to destroy this whole palace in a few strikes. Just the value of those trinkets definitely exceeds the amount of money you can put up even if you sold everything your Kingdom has. I don't know why they are attaching so much importance to this Kingdom, so it's just too sad that I have to leave before I find out the reason."
The King was shaking where he stood, realizing finally how it felt to be called an ant by someone else. All this time, he had been the one towering over all.
It was quite clear that their agreement was now moot. The agreement was made on the terms that someone from the sect would take control of the formation and retain control of the Kingdom. Now, it seemed that the Vice Sect Master was just going to leave now that things had gotten out of hand.
"But before I do, I will kill each and every one in this room including you, Puny King. Someone in this room leaked the information outside, and I never let anyone go so easily after they have backstabbed me.
"Whoever it is, just come out and face your death. If you cooperate, maybe you can extend the lives of your family a bit longer, at least until the forces come in any way. Otherwise, I'm just going to kill each one."
Pin drop silence was in the room. Inside the barrier, the King, the Grand Court Mage and Kellor could only stare at this man who had made such a chilling proclamation.
In the panels, everyone could see that the two forces were holding the objects in their hands and concentrating as if they were activating the power stored inside.
As for the last panel, the enemy army seemed to have stopped out of attack range of the wall, clearly waiting for some kind of signal before commencing the attack.
"Stop him!", shouted the King, while he took out a jade coin from his pocket.
Hearing the command, each of the mages also took out two wooden coins from their pockets before squeezing them.
In an instant, the King held a gleaming jade sword in his hand whose blade was burning with a blue fire that distorted the air. Charging forward at a speed which made him look like a blur, he swung the sword at the Vice Sect Master, making a massive blade of blue fire shoot forward even before he reached the target. This was an attack aimed at distracting the enemy before going in for the kill.
The two mages had wooden staffs in their hands. The pommel of each had a stone that looked like Ether but of a different color fixed firmly, with the one on the Grand Court Mages staff twice the size of the one on Kellor's.
As both staffs were thrust forward, two flaming meteors each the size of a full-grown man came into existence, already shooting forth toward the Vice Sect master.
There had only been a few feet of distance between the trio and their enemy. Now, that distance was covered by these awe-inducing attacks, while the Vice Sect Master simply looked on with a sneer on his face.
As if taking a walk in the park, he first raised his arm to face the blade of fire which arrived first.
The King's face lit up as he saw the enemy not caring enough to dodge the attack. He was using a special trinket imported at a high cost which could shoot an attack which was equivalent to a destructive spell cast by an Amateur Warrior Mage, just like the Vice Sect Master himself. As for the meteors, they were also attacks at this level which were produced by the two staff-type magic-driven trinkets held in the mages' hands.
The trio thought that victory was in their grasp, as their opponent was facing not one but three full power strikes from someone at his own level. Yet, what happened next left them agape.
As soon as the blade of fire touched the Vice Sect Master's arm, it disappeared in the air as if it had never existed in the first place.
Only Daneel who was watching closely using elementary sight could tell that the Vice Sect Master had somehow compressed and absorbed the elementary particles of the blade of fire.
With a graceful movement, the Vice Sect Master turned in his place showing his back to his enemies while he connected his arms and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments.
Turning back around, his arm sliced the air, making the same blade of fire appear again. Only, it was now shooting towards the meteors produced by the two mages.
It was also different from when the King's trinket had produced it. Unlike before when the main intention of the arc-shaped blade had been to cause destruction using the high temperature of the fire, this blade was now compressed into a thin line, as if the fire had been subdued and tamed to become docile.
Only, it was the exact opposite. The blade of fire cut the meteors neatly into two halves each, making them miss their target and shoot onwards.
With a cunning smile appearing on his face, the Vice Sect Master gestured at the Dragon Heart near him, making the 4 halves of the meteors shoot towards the watching nobles due to the barrier deactivating for a second to allow them to continue on their path.
"NOOOOOOOOO!", screamed the King, while a thunderous BOOM shook the whole room.
Luckily, Daneel had not been in the two locations where the meteors impacted the room. The smell of burning flesh reached his nose, making him turn around and look on with horror as the smoke cleared to reveal multiple bodies lying on the ground, motionless.
"Well done, King. At least I have fewer people to question now. And even if the spy is among those already dead, then I'll just kill everyone here before leaving. You can at least die happy knowing that you bore witness to my Withering Leaf Sect's ultimate spell technique."
However much he cared about his longevity more than he did about his kin, these were still the people whom he had spent most of his life with. Even the deal had been to keep them safe and thriving in the Kingdom while he went to the sect to train.
As an expression of rage and desperation appeared on his face, the Vice Sect Master turned around with alarm to look at the panels.
It seemed that the trinkets had finally been activated, as both parties were now holding them in their hands, ready to throw them forward and bring an end to the standoff.
All Daneel could do was stand there and wait for the perfect time to move.
All he needed was a second to get near the dragon heart and take full control.
Thus, he waited for that second which would decide the fate of a Kingdom inhabited by millions of people.
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