Chapter 167 Ch 165: Gathering Forces [Pt2]

"What do you know about me and Bernetta? An outsider like you had no business interfering between me and my lover like this. Darn it, if only not for you then Bernetta would not have had this ridiculous idea of going after the central cord. Isn't this all your fault in the end that things ended up like this?"

Yohan had to give it to Shiue. Despite her well-kept appearance and understanding nature, she knew how to apply pressure when it was needed.

Her fighting style was especially down and dirty, using everything and anything she could take advantage of even in her hurried state. It said a few things about her growing-up conditions.

"Hey, you are overreacting. And this is the last time I will warn you to stay away. Next time, I won't hold my fists back."

Shizue did not know how lucky she was for Yohan to hold back against her. He had never been extra careful when he was against female opponents since they tend to be sneaky and faster.

The only reason he was not going on an all-out offense was that Shizue was Bernetta's girl. And Yohan did not want to sour that relationship before they both could take advantage of each other.

*swish*

Shizue's sword rushed past Yohan's neck and it managed to create a small gash that bled. He quickly put his hand on the small wound to stop the bleeding.

At the same time, Yohan's eyes went blank and he stopped holding back. He was going to show Shizue why she should not mess with Yohan like this.

Yohan fired off a spell before Shizue could blink and it caught her off guard. Shizue quickly got prepared to retaliate but Yohan was faster than her and managed to knock her conductor out of her hand.

"Y-You! What kind of person are you? You also did not even use a conductor properly. How were you able to cast the spells?"

Shizue looked like she was in pain, but she continued to ask questions and try to get Yohan to confess. He was sure that she would not get it even if he explained everything to her. So there was no point in her knowing.

But as things stood, Yohan could not let Shizue keep on doing what she was doing and disregard Yohan's warnings.

"Now then, should I deal with you now? I am sure that Bernetta would be disappointed but she won't be able to find me out if I do this right."

"Y-You won't dare kill me, right? Bernetta would know you killed me and then she would never cooperate with you again."

For all her doubts and misgivings, Shizue sounded confident in Bernetta's revenge if she died. It would have been a heartwarming display of faith if only Yohan was not on the other side.

"Oh, I am sure Bernetta would be pissed off but who would tell her how you died? You know, it all could have been avoided if you talked things out with your girlfriend, right?"

Yohan kicked the sword Shizue was using away from her hand and quickly picked it up before Shizue could move. It all happened in a matter of seconds and Yohan was about to do Shizue in when he noticed a familiar face.

Bernetta had finally decided to show herself and Yohan lowered his weapon with a sigh that he had seen her.

"Fortunately for you, your caretaker decided to come and get you."

Shizue looked up with a jolt, her eyes wide and panicking. She had not even noticed Bernetta's presence up until now.

"Ya. Sorry for all the trouble my partner caused you, Yohan. I will take her now if you do not mind it. Also, can I finally get an answer from you regarding that raid I talked about?"

Bernetta walked carefully until she was standing between Yohan and Shizue. Despite her carefree attitude, it was clear that she was shielding Shizue from Yohan's attack.

If Yohan made any sudden move, Bernetta's position would give her enough time to remove Shizue from danger before facing Yohan.

"No, it was no trouble having a small chat with your partner, officer Bernetta. But it would be good if you keep your partner away from me next time. I am not too fond of being cursed at and attacked out of the blue."

Bernetta laughed out loud at Yohan's words but they both knew that Yohan had made no joke. He had been 100% serious when he said those words. It had been a warning more than anything.

"I see. In that case, I will keep my girlfriend out of your hair for the time being. Oh, and I also managed to get my hands on some rare news about the chaos core's movement. If you are interested then make sure you message me."

Yohan did nothing to stop Bernetta from picking up Shizue and jumped away. They both did not look back at each other when they left.

"Aww man. This happens every time I come out. Is it even worth going back home for? Maybe I will make a real trip outside and pay a visit to that priest I met."

Yohan had all but forgotten about Bruce until now. That priest had struck Yohan as interesting when he had met him but then he had forgotten all about that character.

And if Yohan's instincts had asked him to reach out to the priest, he was going to do that.

'System, find the location of the temple and Bruce for me. I have a feeling I need to visit him.'

Things were suddenly getting interesting now. The rebels were beginning to rear thier heads and it was also the time for their leaders to make a move. And for Yohan, it was an opportunity to make use of everything and play behind the scenes.

'Besides, I need someone to make use of the samples Khole provided me with. It will be good if they turn out to be useful for me.'

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The forest looked to be the same as the last time Yohan had been here. But this time, he had a purpose and he did not stop to stare at the scenery. He also ignored the other forces who were following him.

They would lose interest in Yohan soon enough.

Or that was what he thought would happen. But people were still following him after an hour. It was all up to Yohan now to get rid of it and to do that he took out a small veil from his coat pocket.

It was a greenish liquid that smelled truly foul if it was let into the open, but Yohan was not able to smell it most of the time due to his demonic half.

"Hope you suckers have a nice time."

Yohan broke the bottle and he heard the other people fall onto the ground one by one. The smell must be truly rancid for everyone to collapse all of a sudden.

Yohan was enjoying his place of power a little too much.

"Hey, are you not having a little too much fun at the expanse of our people? These people did you no harm, right? So can I ask you to let them go? No, don't attack him. You won't be able to handle a monster like him."

Yohan smiled a bright smile as he heard that familiar voice. He had not expected Bruce to come out and meet him on his own. Looks like Yohan managed to get here at the perfect time.

"Priest Bruce, I was waiting for you to come and find me. Are these people yours? They are really tough and they followed me all the way here so I decided to teach them a lesson. I hope you do not mind it too much."

Both Yohan and Bruce's eyes clashed with each other. Only one would be able to keep their head high after such a confrontation.

And it seemed like the person who would win this time had been decided.

"You are right. All these are good people and I am sorry that they bothered you. But can you cure them now? We won't be able to carry out our operation if all our people collapsed right now."

Yohan could see the priest backing down. The game was over now and Yohan allowed his easy-going and stupid smile to fall as well.

His eyes turned sharp as he looked at the group of fallen men in front of him.

"Yeah sure. Your people will be alright in about an hour. But more importantly, I heard from Diantha that you managed to secure a lot of funding and manpower. I think you know why I am here as well?"

Something shifted in Bruce's eyes as he looked at Yohan. It made Yohan sure that Diantha had told him about the plan.

And for sure, Bruce's next words confirmed Yohan's guess.

"You will be going after the chaos core, right? But are you sure we can trust those officers? What if they are leading us into a trap? Can we take such a big risk? Who will take the responsibility?"

Bruce sounded like a good leader since he was worried about his people. Too bad for him since Yohan was going to ignore all his questions.

"So Bruce, are you in or not?"