Chapter 262 - Unexpectedly Easy

"Activate your status boosting spells, Blob!" Since they were now forced into a situation where their only choice was to fight their way through the guards to exit the town, Argentum went ahead and commanded Blob. "Stall them for a bit! I need to create some space to effectively support you!"

"You got it, Argentum!" Blob replied not a second later, radiating a fiery red aura that was far stronger than what he originally had, which attracted the attention of the guards as they felt that they could not take their eyes off of him. As for Argentum, even though he also had the urge to not take his eyes away from Blob, due to their relationship, he was able to resist most of the urge as he swerved his way through the group of distracted guards that were nearer to the gate.

While he was doing just that, he could not help but ponder over what had happened just a while ago. The thought that was in his mind was the conversation he and the guard had, feeling that he could have made a peaceful reconciliation with the guards, which would allow them to leave without needing to put a fight. Nevertheless, as he thought about that second choice, he could not help but think that something was affecting him in the background, as if it was telling him that fighting is always the viable option against enemies.

"[Infernal Sonata]!" Noticing that Argentum had finally escaped the encirclement of guards they were surrounded with just some time ago, Blob went ahead and deactivated the aura that he was radiating, applying a confused state on all of the guards as he went ahead and activated the strongest status boosting skill he had in his arsenal.

Whoosh!

With greater power circulating throughout his body, he went ahead and dashed towards the closest guard in his proximity, gripping on the man's uniform tightly not an instant later. In response, the guard, who had just snapped back to reality, felt immense fear as he realized that one of the people that they were about to capture was now grabbing on his uniform with killing intent.

Just as Blob had clenched his free hand into a fist, about to punch the guard's face into oblivion, Argentum, who went ahead and activated his status boosting skills in the meantime, sent a strand of energy with a message to Blob.

"We're not here to kill them!" was what the strand of energy contained. "Just make sure that they're as far from the exit gate as possible!"

Not even a split-second later, another strand of energy entered Blob's mind, telling him, "There's no need for us to kill these beings that are just doing their duty!"

In response, Blob let out an inward sigh of slight disappointment as he went ahead and raised the guard in the air while hastily putting his clenched fist down. Wondering what this person was about to do, the guard belatedly realized what was happening to him as he was flung at breakneck speeds with a single throw, crashing through multiple houses with loud bangs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Seeing what had just happened, the guards were left at a loss for words as they froze in place. Even though their weapons were in a position that they could attack the person that just threw one of their comrades, they could not bring themselves to do just that, feeling an immense sense of fear from the thought of being thrown.

On the other hand, Argentum let out a sigh of relief as he saw Blob throw the guard instead of punching the guard into a pulp. As he continued to look at the expressions and auras of the guards surrounding his companion, he could not help but imitate the sound of a being clicking their tongue as he muttered, "I've got to say though."

"These guards are actually weaker than I thought."

With Blob's aura as a point of reference, Argentum was able to utilize his enhanced senses and deduce that the strength these guards had was at most at the level of a Rank 1 Animate that had been at that level for a decent amount of time. The strongest amongst these guards were those that radiated the aura of a Rank 1 Animate at their peak, with some even giving off an aura that made him feel like they were about to ascend to a Rank 2 class at any time.

Nevertheless, even if these guards were Rank 2, Argentum was certain that Blob would still be able to triumph over them with sheer power, already undergoing one Power Baptism. With that in mind, he could not help but mutter to himself, "I might just be looking at this from the wrong angle. A town wouldn't have such high strength unless it was placed in a special location."

With a light chuckle, he added, "I guess Blob is just too strong for them to handle."

Whoosh! Bang! Whoosh! Bang!

Since the guards did not move from their places, to Blob, they looked like they were chickens that were ready to be beheaded. Without hesitation, he went ahead and grabbed a few nearby guards by the collars of the uniform before flinging them away from their current position, remembering the command that was given to him by Argentum through the strand of energy.

Fortunately, after around 5 of their comrades were thrown at random directions by Blob, the guards finally realized that they needed to make a move if they did not want to end up in the same fate as their thrown comrades, rushing towards Blob without hesitation as they gripped on their weapons tightly while shouting.

Just as Blob was about to go ahead and retaliate against their moves as he radiated an aura filled with elation, he received a strand of energy filled with a message all of a sudden, prompting to hastily read it and let out a sigh of indignation while scratching his head.

He then said loudly, "Alright, Argentum. Give it your best shot."

"Hehe, thanks!" Argentum chortled as he replied, prompting the guards that were dashing towards Blob to take a glance at him. It was then that they noticed that a green ball filled with an intent of destruction was conjured over Argentum's palm, making them freeze up as one thought simultaneously entered their minds.

"We're up against a mage! We're so dead!"

To these guards, people that could cast magic spells were considered as mages. Even if they could only cast basic spells or incredibly esoteric spells, to them, these spells brought forth a level of might that could only be emulated if ten or a hundred of them attacked at once. With that in mind, the directions their weapons were pointing at had abruptly changed in the opposite direction, wanting to run away from Blob.

Unfortunately for them, with the help of a few auxiliary spells, the ball of wind that Argentum conjured had arrived in front of them in an instant, sending around ten or so people flying at once. After a few seconds, these guards landed on random locations with a thud and a pained groan. Some were fortunate to land on the asphalt that covered the roads, while some…landed on the roofs of houses, crashing through multiple floors before landing on cold hard ground.

And just like that, the guards were at a loss on what to do once again. At first, they thought that the person covered in fiery red energy was the only being they had to worry about since the person covered in green energy did not radiate that much strength. But lo and behold, the person covered in green energy revealed that they could actually cast spells, placing him at the same level of strength with the one covered in red energy.

Right now, all of the guards that were still standing right now looked at each other and had the same thought in their minds. If it weren't for their jobs, they would have definitely allowed the two people to escape scot-free. They would not hesitate to turn a blind eye to these two if they did not remember the possible reaction of the leader of the town.

Indeed, the only thing that was hindering them from doing so was the leader of the town. In their minds, they could still vividly remember what he had done whenever the guards had failed in their missions, with the most lenient punishment being their own death. As for the more severe punishments…it was better left unsaid.

As for Argentum and Blob, they could not help but look at each other as they noticed that these guards did not move once more as cold sweat dripped down their foreheads. Although Blob was eager to send these vulnerable guards flying to allow them to escape, Argentum gave Blob a gaze filled with killing intent, prompting Blob to suppress his urges.

Since he could not do what he wanted to do, Blob went ahead and sent a strand of energy towards Argentum to strike up a conversation, saying, "So…what now?"

"Well, we could go ahead and leave these guards here," Argentum said in response to Blob's question before adding, "But I have a feeling that waiting here for a bit longer would lead to some satisfying and fruitful results."

"To be honest, same," Blob said, letting out a chuckle through his reply as his aura remained unchanged. "Should I go ahead and wake them up from their stupor again?"

"No need," Argentum replied to Blob's question as his enhanced vision caught a glimpse of an entity that wore the same uniform as the people that were surrounding Blob. Surprisingly, this entity radiated an aura that was far superior to the guards near them, making Argentum feel that this being could put up a fight with Blob.

"[Higher Zephyr Magic: Zephyr Burst Omega, Second Verse]."

"[Higher Ignis Magic: Ignis Burst Omega, Second Verse]."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

While the entity gradually made their way to where they were, Argentum went ahead and cast a few buffs onto Blob, who could not help but look back at Argentum with a confused expression. In response, Argentum sent a strand of energy to him, saying, "There's an Animate coming closer that's wearing the same uniform as the others. In order for the current situation to stay as is, before that being could finish what they have to say…"

"Send them flying with a hard punch."

"Hehehe." Blob chuckled in response to Argentum's command, muttering soon after, "Roger that."

…

Eventually, the entity that was making its way to where they were had finally arrived, prompting the other guards to look at the guard that had just arrived with gazes filled with regret. On the other hand, the newly arrived guard looked at the current situation with an extremely bemused expression, wondering what made the guards freeze up in place.

He looked at the two beings that stood out from the rest, with each of them covered in green and red energy respectively. Then again, although these two beings were covered in energy, the aura they radiated was at a level that did not seem to be on par with his, concluding that they needed their morale to be raised.

Taking in a deep breath, the new guard shouted, "Everyone, are you going to let these two people get away with what they have just done?"

"You're the guards of Verdant Breeze Town, for heaven's sake!" the guard continued, somewhat arousing the will to fight within the other guards. Seeing that there was a slight effect, the guard went on with his words of motivation, saying, "Do you really want to disappoint your family with your current looks? Do you really want the town leader to cast us away for others?"

"If so, raise your weapons and fight ba—!"

Bang!

Just as the newly arrived guard was about to finish with his motivational speech, it was unfortunately cut off short as Blob went ahead and dashed towards him before he could even notice, clenching his right fist before sending it flying towards the guard's face.

Due to the guard's position, as well as the strength Blob put in his punch, the guard was sent flying through the whole street before crashing into a house made out of bricks…then another one…and another one…only to stop until about 7 houses had a hole through their walls thanks to this newly arrived guard.

It was then that the other guards found out that these two people were actually suppressing their powers to a great extent, giving off the feeling that they wanted to come to a conclusion that was more on the peaceful side rather than the violent side. With that in mind, the other guards sheathed their weapons without hesitation as they adjusted their postures, deciding to just give off the illusion that they were intimidating these people if the citizens look at them from afar.

As for Argentum and Blob, both of them could not help but look at each other with auras of slight happiness, seeing what the remaining guards had just done. After exchanging a few strands of energy, the two of them went ahead and radiated an aura that made it seem like they were feeling fear, making the remaining guards look at them from a positive light as they silently gave them words of gratitude.

"So…should we wait a bit more before leaving?" Blob went ahead and asked Argentum through a strand of energy.

"Yeah, I think that'll be for the better," Argentum said in response with a light chuckle. "The feeling that I got a while ago hasn't gone away just yet."

"Same."

"In any case…"

"This is unexpectedly easy."

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