Wasting not even a single second, Edward dashes straight to the front yard.
'Both of them came from the north side of the mansion, and both of them sent the signal at the same time. Just what did they see together to send a signal at the same time?', Edward thought with a clear frown on his face.
It was supposed to be at least the same or a very good night with Ryze waking up.
Just like any other day that somehow feels comfortable and right, a hidden danger is already lurking and waiting for the perfect time to show up. And it really did, Edward was excited from seeing Ryze waking up.
But that was nothing more than a happy facade for what was about to come.
Upon reaching the front yard he made eye contact with Tandu that is also already alert, his eyes then shifted to Zelene that is looking at the exploding spells in the sky unaware of what they really meant.
"Zelene! Get inside right now!", Edward commanded seriously.
Similar like before, Zelene wanted to rebut but her eyes saw the seriousness on Edward's face.
Realizing that the exploding spells that she thought were just fireworks were not like what she thought, Zelene nodded her head in understanding especially when she saw the Awakened guards are becoming chaotic.
With their training and awareness, a fast reaction is expected.
Although Tandu is not as strong as any of the Awakened guards here that are at least in the sixth-rank realm, he is still the captain and he instills the discipline that he was taught back when he was still serving as the Disaster Squad in the military.
Each of them is now very much organized like any military group.
On top of that, Edward has also told them to keep on a very high alert until Rex came back ever since his conversation with Mrs. Greene. Thankfully he did that as the trouble finally came, it was the bad air filling the air for the last couple of days.
Awakened guards started to get into their formation while some went out of the mansion.
Swoosh...
Slowly but surely, each of the Awakened guards are cloaking their bodies with their respective elemental aura anticipating for the worst to come. Being attacked was the worst possible incident, and they are preparing exactly for that.
Every one of them knows that there are set of rules that they need to abide by.
As the guardian of the mansion belonging to one of the most influential people in the entire Ratmawati City, they need to keep this rule at heart. It's the rule of always anticipating the worst in any kind of situation.
Being prepared for the worst will fortify their defense and spare them from mistakes.
Glancing to the side trying to make sure that Zelene has already gone back inside, Edward's eyes widen when he saw she hasn't got inside the mansion yet but that's not because she doesn't want to but there's someone blocking the mansion entrance.
Opening the door slightly, Mrs. Greene walks out while looking at the brightly lit sky.
Upon looking at the remnants of the exploding spells cast by the Awakened guard stationed outside, Mrs. Greene's expression slowly turns pale. Darkness gathered in her eyes and filled them, showing the extreme fear that she was feeling right now.
Edward can feel all of his anxieties stumbling back, he gritted his teeth and looks away.
'I can already hear the wolves howling at me...'
Remembering what Mrs. Greene said back then that gave Edward a sleepless night as her words kept repeating inside his head, Edward looks at far away distance knowing that this was definitely it.
Some bad some are heading straight towards them, and Mrs. Greene is the target.
"Protect the mansion! I don't want anything or anyone to even step inside the mansion's territory! Give everything you have, and none of the people inside the mansion can get hurt. We're going to protect them with our lives!!", Edward shouted fiercely putting his senses to the max.
The Awakened guards roared back in confirmation, they were determined.
Soon enough each of them notices the sudden disappearance of the station Awakened outside, their auras instantly disappeared as if they were swept away by the wind turning into nothingness and this made everyone ultimately alert.
'I-I can't feel their auras anymore, don't tell me they're already dead?!', Edward exclaimed inwardly.
Just as he thought of that glowing dot of light in the far distance coupled with the extremely heavy auras suddenly pressing them down, it was like needles stabbing their skins and forcing them to bow down.
Upon feeling the aura, the Awakened guard instantly went outside of the mansion's front yard.
Only a handful stayed behind, Edward, the Disaster Squad, and about eight Awakened guards stand their ground in front of the mansion's entrance while the others moved outside without any hesitation.
As the glowing dot of light got close, they realized that it was a person, an Awakened.
Radiating with powerful burning mana that is blinding, the approaching Awakened is without a doubt a very powerful figure and also a Light Elementalist. It made the Awakened guards clench their weapons tighter.
Squinting their eyes, they find that the approaching Awakened is covered in blood.
From the blood all over the Awakened's clothes and face alone, the Awakened guards know that this Awakened bore malicious intent and has definitely killed the roaming Awakened that patrols around sector 2.
Out of everything, this Awakened is definitely a rogue Awakened.
Commanding the Awakened guard outside, a particular Awakened then shouted, "Get in formation! We're going to block that Awakened's advancement, and failure is not an option! We'll die defending if we have to!"
"Yes!!", the other Awakened guard shouted in a union.
Ever since the published article regarding Rex's triumph over the Vampire Stronghold, each one of them started to look at Rex in a new light. Now, Rex has become a leader that is worth dying to know that he's a powerhouse capable of changing the tide of war.
What is his life cost compared to theirs? they simply can't even be compared.
Like an army of solidified chemistry as if they were already working together for countless years, the Awakened guards created a barricade line before each of them gathers as much mana as they possibly can.
Even though each of their power is not comparable to the approaching Awakened, it kept on rising.
Swoosh!
Slowly but surely their mana gathered together creating a devastating amount of pressure that is even comparable to the approaching Awakened and increases his speed even further, it didn't seem like the approaching Awakened was going to stop.
"Combination Spell, Shield of Dual Elements!"
Immediately after they chanted that, a spark of energy exploded from their bodies.
Red energy coming from the fire element alongside the green energy coming from the wind element formed a shield bigger than the entire mansion, it stands strongly in between the jet of light and the mansion.
Knowing that it won't be enough, the Awakened guards force themselves to generate more mana.
Putting everything they can into the shield made by fire and wind that connects with each other, some of the Awakened guards are starting to bleed from their mouths and nose just from forcing themselves to the utmost limit.
Edward watches this in worry, he can feel the shield's power rising but it's not enough.
Swoosh!!
BOOM!!
One devastating shockwave exploded from the point of impact between the jet of light and the Shield of Dual Elements, the shockwaves destroy the entire place like a powerful reign of terror.
Most of the impact was absorbed by Edward and the others to protect the mansion.
But as the jet of light keep on pushing through the Shield of Dual Elements, cracks started to appear on the shield forcing the Awakened guards to push themselves again. It was clearly the display of power from a very high-ranking Awakened.
If they were to guess, this Awakened should be an eighth-rank realm Awakened.
Upon realizing that the Awakened is an eighth-rank realm Awakened, Edward's expression instantly turns troubled knowing that there is no one inside the mansion that can fare against an eighth-rank realm Awakened.
On top of that, the Awakened also has a very rare element which is the light element.
While still blocking the forceful shockwave that created an unending gust of wind, Edward looks back at Mrs. Greene and Zelene before he shouted, "Go back to the backyard! If the fight between us starts, use that time to flee the mansion as far as possible!"
"But what about you?! I'm not leaving you!", Zelene shouted back in worry.
Edward gritted his teeth as the gust of wind becomes even stronger, pushing him back a couple of steps, "Go now!! Mrs. Greene, bring the others to the backyard and run away as soon as the opportunity presents itself! and don't look back!"
Knowing the dire situation, Mrs. Greene snap out of her daze before nodding her head.
Zelene started crying profusely not intending to move from her spot if Edward don't run away with them, the Awakened that attacked them is definitely a stronger one compared to Edward and she knows it.
Giving an assuring smile to Zelene, Edward then said, "I'll catch up to you, don't worry!"
Upon hearing this Zelene started crying even more knowing that Edward is definitely lying, she can tell when her brother is lying just from the looks on his face. It's clear that he was going to fight whoever this attacker was to buy them as much time as possible.
Pulling the crying Zelene, Mrs. Greene went inside the mansion and closed the entrance door.
Shrill screams and wails of agony coming from Zelene were still penetrating through the entrance door before her voice slowly fades away, and until then Edward finally focuses back on the fight.
Crack!
BOOM!
Just after Mrs. Greene and Zelene went inside, the shield shattered into countless fragments.
Following the shattering Shield of Dual Elements, another shockwave exploded but this time is even stronger as the Disaster Squad and the Awakened guards beside Edward got flung and hit the mansion wall behind them.
Only Edward stands on his ground, resisting the last shockwave that attacked them.
After the aftermath of the powerful shockwave from the shattering Shield of Dual Elements, Edward looks at his front into the slowly fading smoke that blocks his vision. Soon enough, the first glimpse of his front finally can be seen.
It was the destruction of the strong fences of the mansion and the injured Awakened guards.
Most of them are lying on the ground, especially the ones that helped in blocking the attacker. The ones that are left standing were the ones beside Edward who finally regain their composure from being planted into the mansion's wall behind.
Edward's eyes were then attracted to the glowing figure flying in the dawn sky.
With the slowly rising sun at the back of the glowing figure, the aura the figure emitted is also getting stronger showing he was a true Light Elementalist that becomes stronger at the first sign of daybreak.
Upon looking at the figure, Edward finds that it was an Awakened that he didn't know.
"Who are you?! Why are you attacking our Silverstar Family? Heavy consequences await you, but it's not too late to turn back right now and I'll plead to Rex Silverstar for his forgiveness!", Edward shouted at the figure.
But the figure's expression twitch when he heard the name Rex Silverstar.
It was clear now to Edward that this Awakened surely knows Rex Silverstar but still insisted on attacking. Edward can only think of two reasons that made the figure like this, either the figure is not scared of Rex or the figure has no other choice.
From the looks of the figure's expression, it seems it was the latter.
The name Rex Silverstar still clearly terrifies the figure but that didn't dissuade him from attacking the mansion, "You must be Edward, bring the others and come with me voluntarily. Nobody is going to help you, and I'll definitely bring all of you back with me either peacefully or forcefully"
Upon hearing this, Edward's eyes sparkled, 'Somekind of vendetta? but why?'
"I'll come with you voluntarily, there's no need to fight. But let the others go!", Edward replied trying to substitute the others for himself, it's going to prevent an unnecessary fight with the others still in the backyard.
Shaking his head, the Awakened then continued, "You chose the latter then..."
"Don't blame me, I gave you a choice. But now I'm going to use force to bring you all back with me"
After hearing that, Edward's expression darkens as his body slowly sizzles with dark fire.
The dark fire acted like a steaming blanket of darkness which even made the grass underneath his feet burnt and turned into black ash, he was slowly activating his dark fire element that feels like an anomaly of an element.
Even the Awakened frowns, he can feel something weird with Edward's dark fire.
It has the scorching feeling of a fire would but also the coldness of the darkness, almost as if the dark fire is the mix of both elements. Something that even the Awakened has never seen before.
But under the gaze of the onlookers, a spirit slowly materializes.
Although a sixth-rank realm Awakeend can materialize their spirit on their back can help in a fight and enhance their power, the spirit that materializes is not on Edward's back but instead right beside him.
Slowly the spirit's energy expanded and makes the air around them tremble.
'What kind of spirit is that?! But more importantly, he's able to use a Spirit Shadow and there's a completed spirit core inside his chest which means he has reached the seventh-rank realm', the Awakened thought in surprise.
Not only does his spirit is pressured, but Edward's power is also surpassed his expectation.
Edward's eyes which are burning with dark flames alongside the spirit made by dark fire gaze at the Awakened with clear battle intent, they are determined to stop this Awakened from advancing anywhere closer to the mansion.
"Forcefully bringing us with you? You can try, but don't expect me to let that happen easily"
"No... don't expect US to let that happen easily", Edward added after glancing at his spirit that is even on par with Rex's spirit, Devoratar Tridan. His spirit is also an ancient one, and its name is Sentine the True Fire Sentinel.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!