John slowly stood up.
Although still pale, he now appeared much better than before, no longer resembling someone unconscious.
"How is that possible?!"
Alastair was shocked, staring in disbelief at everything before him.
How could this be real?
That was poison given by the master himself!
Even a semigod-tier powerhouse was doomed to die from it.
How could this man be completely unharmed?!
He was merely at the gold-tier.
How could he possibly withstand such potent poison?
Alastair's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Could it be..."
Could it be because of the power of control?
A realization struck Alastair almost visibly, his eyes nearly sparking with fury.
Yes, it must be the power of control!
He himself was only at the emerald-tier level but had been elevated to semigod-tier solely through the power of control.
So, for a gold-tier like him to detoxify with the power of control wouldn't be so difficult.
"Sophia Winchester!"
Alastair gritted his teeth as he uttered each syllable of the name.
Cursed be Sophia Winchester for giving the power of control to John!
Otherwise, he would have wiped them all out in an instant.
How could he have allowed them any chance of turning the tables?
But then...
A sudden thought made Alastair's lips curl into a slight, sinister smile.
"So what if you've detoxified? You're all still going to die here! I want to see how long your protective shield can last!"
Alastair's skills crashed down one after another.
Although he felt the power of a semigod-tier powerhouse rapidly draining from his body, he couldn't afford to care about that now.
Even if he dropped to apocalyptic-tier, he was determined to kill them all.
They had survived far too long; they shouldn't continue to live.
John keenly noticed that something was off with Alastair.
While Alastair was still furiously casting skills, with each skill unleashed, more dark spots appeared on his body.
It seemed like something was corroding his body from the inside out.
That was... the backlash of the power of control!
"Are you done on your side? We'll be ready here in 15 minutes!"
Just as John was pondering this, he suddenly received a message from Isabella.
15 minutes?
"Why don't we just test each other in a duel?"
As John spoke, he maneuvered his body, flying out of the protective shield's range.
Watching John's reckless action, the bystanders couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Has he gone mad?
Is he really going out to duel a semigod-tier powerhouse?
My God, has he completely lost his mind?!
That's a semigod-tier powerhouse!
Even with buff enhancements, even with that accursed power of control, level suppression is no joke.
Alastair can afford countless failures, but John only needs to slip up once, and it would mean a sure path to death.
"Has this kid gone insane? How can he dare to go out?"
"Waiting inside is the best strategy right now!"
"Good heavens, is this kid looking for death?"
The spectators outside were shouting as if they had lost their minds.
If John wants to court death, let him!
He's just a stranger, after all.
But he shouldn't drag their children into this.
Their children are still inside!
The situation is still unclear, but only John has the power of control, only John can lead them out.
Surely, they won't let so many children go down with John!
"Sophia, look at who you've brought in! How can he be so lacking in strategic thinking?"
One of the nobles first lashed out at Principal Sophia.
The others quickly reacted, beginning to voice their criticisms.
"He just needed to wait inside, why on earth would he go out? Isn't that clearly courting death?"
"I admit he's a genius, but to fight a semigod-tier powerhouse, he simply doesn't have the capability!"
"Has he truly gone mad? If he has, he shouldn't drag our children to their deaths with him!"
Geoffrey too seemed hesitant to speak, but ultimately he calmed the nobles.
"We need to trust the Principal!"
Principal Sophia glanced coolly at everyone and then spoke dismissively, "What other choice do you have but to trust him now?"
Her terse remark silenced the crowd.
Indeed... apart from trusting John, what other option did they have?
Tension gripped everyone atop the city walls.
Archibald, worried, watched John.
He had received a message from John earlier and understood why John had chosen to act this way.
But... it was incredibly risky.
John had already drawn all of Alastair's enmity, and now stepping out of the protective shield was perilous.
One wrong move could cost him his life.