Chapter 68: Hostages And Opponents

"You're finished!"

The Headmaster's voice echoed in the air, and the giant silhouette raised its hands again with incredible speed, not allowing the injured Arthur any time to respond as an invisible force pulled him towards the silhouette. Arthur tried resisting, but his injuries were far too serious.

"Halt! Leave him!" However, right before he could make his move, a rather disharmonious voice interrupted him, and both the Headmaster and the Second Elder's eyes widened in surprise when they heard the familiar voice, turning around towards the direction the sound came from.

Flash!

Suddenly appearing in the sky was none other than the Third Elder, and he was holding both Claude and Wilfred Beldon, both injured and unconscious!

The Second Elder could see that his two disciples were still alive, but not only was he not happy, he felt scared and angry, and without hesitating, he shouted, "Third Elder! What's the meaning of this? What are you doing with my disciples?" 

"Come on, Second Elder! You're not seriously asking me that question, are you? Do you really think I'm that oblivious to my surroundings?" The Third Elder said with a sneer on his face. "Did you really think I didn't know that you two were planning on getting rid of me while handing over the Academy to the Second Elder? Do you take me for a fool?"

Both the Second Elder and the Headmaster's face darkened. Considering their abilities, there was no way they could rescue Claude and Wilfred without endangering their lives. And the Headmaster definitely didn't have much time left for utilising the God Shadow Technique!

"You had the position of an elder in one of the most prestigious academies in the whole country, and you actually decided to resort to such despicable methods to get control over the Academy! I really wish to know where you've placed your face! Since you dared show yourself here today, you must be seeking death!" From the mouth of the giant warrior silhouette echoed the cold voice of the Headmaster.

"Hah! I should've known that you'd spin my reasoning for betraying you to fit your narrative. The only reason I did everything was to propel the academy to even greater heights. The academy under my rule will prosper and redefine achivements. And to accomplish that, I needed to be on the top. I thought you would understand, Headmaster. I really did. But unfortunately, you were thinking of choosing the Second Elder for the position. So I did what I have to do. I only did what I did because you forced me to!" The Third Elder coldly harrumphed, as his grip on Claude and Wilfred's necks slowly tightened, causing the Second Elder's countenance to turn unsightly. "Did you say that I'm seeking death by being here? Don't make me laugh! We both know that as long as I have these two disciples as captives, you wouldn't move a muscle, Headmaster! You always had a soft spot for your students..." 

"You bastard! To think we were once acquaintances. Using my disciples as hostages? You disgust me!" An aggressive look suddenly flickered in the Second Elder's eyes, but he couldn't do anything.

He knew that whatever he does, it will only put his two disciples in danger. He had to make sure that he doesn't make any unnecessary moves. He couldn't let his emotions control his actions. Not today. Not right now.

"Let's make a deal; I'll let the two of them go, but only if you let Arthur leave."

The Third Elder still spoke with the same indifference, ignoring the Second Elder's words, as he stared at the giant warrior silhouette in front of him.

Inside the giant silhouette, the Headmaster was staring angrily at the Third Elder. One of his faculty members, an elder that was in contention for his Headmaster position, was now using the academy's students as bargaining chips, which made him gnash his teeth in anger. However, at the same time, he felt helpless. He wanted to save the Second Elder's disciples, but for that, he had to let go of Arthur, who was an extremely powerful enemy. And furthermore, his God Shadow Technique would wear off any minute now, which meant that his enemies would have an even greater advantage afterwards.

"Time is running out, Headmaster. I haven't got all day. What will it be?"

The Third Elder said.

".... Alright, I'll let Arthur go. But you must release the Second Elder's disciples. Understand?"

The Headmaster's voice echoed throughout the air, as he tried his best to supress the fury in his heart. 

Whoosh!

The giant silhouette slowly started to fade away and disappear, revealing the Headmaster, who stared at the Third Elder. He then looked at Arthur, who was already unconscious because of the powerful force that was used by the Headmaster to hold him in place, and let out a heavy sigh as he let him go.

At the same the Third Elder loosened his grip on Claude and Wilfred, and the two disciples began falling from the air.

Whoosh!

The Headmaster swooped in and carefully carried the two in his arms, and pulled them both up. 

".... H-Headmaster?" Wilfred, who opened his eyes, stared at the Headmaster with a puzzled look, followed by Claude.

".... W-What happened, H-Headmaster?" Claude, who had woken up, tried to get up by grabbing onto the Headmaster's shoulders, put found himself unable to. 

".... Don't try to move a lot, young man. It appears that the Third Elder drugged you, so you might not be able to use your cultivation for while," the Headmaster let out a bitter smile. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you sooner.."

".... N-No, Headmaster," Claude shook his head as he continued, ".... We're sorry!"

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, the Headmaster felt a chill running down his back, and to his surprise, he began losing his ability to fly.

'What? I can't activate my cultivation abilities?' 

The Headmaster was startled. How could this be? Although he was weak due to utilising the God Shadow Technique, he thought he still had a bit of strength left. But then, what was happening?

'Did I get drugged? No, that can't be right.. I haven't let anyone touch me right n-' 

The Headmaster shuddered, and as he immediately looked at his shoulder and then back to Claude and Wilfred in his arms, his expression changed dramatically.

Slash!

In an instant, a knife appeared in the hands of Wilfred, who swung it towards the Headmaster, aiming for his neck. The Headmaster could see the fast approaching knife, but he found out, to his horror, that he couldn't move a muscle to defend himself. He couldn't utilise a cultivation technique, nor could he dodge the attack. 

Both Dymexine and Axerbjan had already spread through his body, and he would've needed at least five seconds to recover from it's effects, and Wilfred wasn't going to allow that.

Puchi!

The blade was extremely sharp, and it immediately slashed through the Headmaster's throat, causing blood to shoot out like a fountain.

"Headmaster!"

The Second Elder trembled and he let out a loud cry. He was still in the sky, and was keeping an eye on the Third Elder, to make sure that he didn't pull a sneak attack on the Headmaster while he rescued Claude and Wilfred. But he never expected such an outcome!

How did this happen?

"You should keep an eye on your surroundings, Second Elder!"

Unfortunately for the Second Elder, he had shifted his gaze towards the Headmaster, forgetting the Third Elder, who decided to use the opportunity to attack. With a sway of his arm, a dazzling sword that was emitting a cold shine appeared in his palms, as he shot forward, heading in the Second Elder's direction.

The Second Elder, who had realized his mistake, immediately tried to defend by raising his sword up to his chest, attempting to block the Third Elder's attack!

Clang!

The two swords collided with each other, producing a large amount of sparks and the Second Elder was knocked back dozens of meters before he could stabilize his body.

"Are you sure that you're training enough, Second Elder? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like it! You're honestly making me worry!" The Third Elder said in a sarcastic manner. He was obviously trying to make the Second Elder mad. And fortunately for him, the Second Elder had completely lost it.

"YOU SHALL PAY!" The Second Elder furiously roared out and unleashed an energy beam toward the Third Elder, but before the energy beam could hit its target, a powerful sword qi permeated the air, and a young figure appeared out of nowhere and blocked the attack using a sword.

"Third Elder, how could you not tell me about such an interesting opponent! You're too distrusting of me!" The young man, Commander Rivaldo Dante, said with a sneer as he looked at the Second Elder.

The fight had now turned into two against one!

Whoosh!

At the same time, Wilfred flew down and caught Claude, who was unable to move due to the effects of the drugs. Wilfred placed him down on the ground, and laid Claude next to a tree, and sat down next to him.

"That worked out well, wouldn't you agree?"