Chapter 281 Heating Up (4)

Charles looked at the empty spot that had been previously occupied by Chester silently in wonder. He was surprised by what Chester had done as much as he was annoyed at himself for being fooled twice.

Once again, figuring out what Chester had done wasn't hard for him; he only needed a couple of seconds to do that. What Chester had done was very simple, and it really surprised how it had still managed to fool him.

Apparently, Chester wasn't as carefree as he looked. Just like him, Chester was an extremely cautious person whose cautiousness could cause many people to call him paranoid.

Due to his cautiousness, just right before entering Southevile, Chester had set a [Teleportation Point] as a precaution to increase his chance of survival if something that wasn't wanted to happen happened.

Charles didn't know how a new Fifth Circle Mage could already possess that level of mastery over [Teleportation] Spell, but he attributed it to Chester's genius.

He didn't even really care about how quick Chester mastered [Teleportation], since he, too, had already mastered it when he was a mere Fifth Circle Mage. For him, it wasn't as impressive as what people might think.

What had gotten him intrigued, though, was the fact that Chester could still manage to escape his Isolation Spell. After all, no matter how well Chester had mastered [Teleportation], his five Magic Circles would never allow him to forcefully break free from the Spell.

In other words, the [Teleportation], which Chester had cast, shouldn't have worked as it was apparent that the Isolation Spell wasn't broken yet.

It took him awhile to to figure why this had happened, and when he did, Charles' interest was piqued even more.

"To think that he can see the gap in my Spell and use it to his advantage ... Should a Fifth Circle Mage be able to do that? How could I never hear about his name? It is a sin for not giving someone as competent as him his due recognition."

As simple as the trick might be, he still had to give Chester the appreciation he deserved.

Being a genius himself, Charles treated the other geniuses with respect. Although he was more "daring" than the other geniuses—although they had a different mindset, he still believed geniuses like him should be the rulers of the world.

Therefore, when he had first met Chester, who had been showing a very keen sense towards his surrounding, he wondered about why he had never even heard Chester's name being mentioned by the King.

His eyes had never failed him. He needed to only glance at someone once to know they were exceptional.

Chester was one of the most brilliant young Mages he had encountered, and it was quite absurd to him that Chester didn't get as much recognition as those mediocre Mages from the Noble families.

"Well, it has been the case since a decade ago." Charles scoffed coldly then looked to the direction where he could sense Chester was running to. "What matters is that I have just encountered an interesting fella."

Charles laughed coldly as his eye gleamed incomprehensibly. Someone showed up from behind him not long after, then kneeled respectfully in front of him.

"I greet my Master."

"Drop the disguise—it is not needed anymore."

The person kneeling in front of Charles, who was none other than Redford, raised his head. He then slowly transformed into someone else, or rather, assumed his true appearance once again.

The white hair was replaced with a violet hair, the wrinkled manly face was replaced with an unblemished feminine face, and the muscular stature was replaced with a lean but fit stature of a woman.

Redford was no more as he was replaced with a beautiful violet haired woman, who was none other than one of Charles' remaining two disciples. She looked at him neutrally, but it was apparent that she would always do what he ordered.

"How did it feel when you found your Art wasn't as great as you thought, Ione?" Charles asked with a smile.

"Since this is not the first time, I feel nothing other than the urge to develop my Art better," Ione answered emotionlessly.

"Indeed. That is the spirit that a genius like you shall posses." Charles nodded his head. "I have a task for you, and I believe you already know what it is.

"I do, but may I know what you will do with the other people?"

"Oh, don't worry about them. What do you think I cast [Reality Altercation] on them for?" Charles quirked his eyebrow. "Your Art was nothing but a mere precaution. Even without you disguising as my late father, they will still see him."

"I see..." Ione nodded her head faintly. "I have initially thought that you cast [Reality Altercation] on them to make them feel they are really in the presence of your late father, while using my Art to fool their eyes."

"You are as sharp as I expected." Charles chuckled faintly, then looked at the direction where he could sense Chester was heading to. "That man is as keen as you, which is very rare, and I want him to be on my side ... Don't fail."

"I will not betray your expectation, Master."

Ione lowered her head in respect, and with a hand gesture from Charles, she disappeared from the vicinity. She was determined to accomplish her mission, which was no other than bringing Chester back.

"You attracting my attention might either mean an opportunity or a bad omen, Chester ... Choose well—to willingly join my side or painfully become mine."

Expecting things would go his way, Charles smirked coldly as he pictured the day when Chester served him as one of his loyal disciples.

...

BA—32 (2 kilometers from the Obelisk).

The news about Basil's victory against Cabalen reached the ear of the Five Princes when they were having a strategy meeting. All of them immediately looked at each other in surprise when the messenger relayed the news to them.

The situation in Woster County, after all, was way worse than the situation in BA-33. Although the amount of Demons there was astronomical, they had not yet encountered a single Demon that was strong enough to immobilize 10 Knights by itself.

That doesn't mean they were having it easy there, but compared to the hopeless situation in Woster County, the situation there was incomparably manageable.

This was the reason why they were wondering just what kind of person who had managed to bring the close to collapsing Woster County back on its feet.

Other than that, they were ashamed of their lack of competence as much as they envied Basil's achievement.

"Are you absolute that this lad is a Fifth Circle Mage?" Aldrich, the First Prince looked at the messenger questioningly. "Is there not a possibility of it being just an exaggeration?"

"No, your Highness. I have seen him myself and he is indeed a Fifth Circle Mage," the messenger answered surely. "If you still have any doubt about it, I can provide you with the recording of the fight."

"I believe you still don't have it in your hands."

"Indeed, your Highness. It will be available in a few days." The messenger bowed politely at Aldrich.

"A Dual Principle Practitioner, huh?" Edward, the Fifth Prince mused. "Is there currently even a Blue Core Knight that is as young as him?"

"The youngest Blue Core Knight in our Kingdom is 21 years old, your Highness."

"Hoh? Our Kingdom really hit a jackpot this time, didn't it?" Cameron, the Third Prince smirked. "I wonder why we have only heard about this lad now."

"That is not a surprise." Edward scoffed. "People with superiority complex like you will never pay attention to a commoner after all."

"Do you care to explain, my brother?" Aldrich looked at Edward in interest. "It seems to me that you have some idea about this lad named Basil."

Edward smirked. "He is my soon to be right hand person."

As soon Edward said that, the entire tent descended into silence. All of the other Princes, along with some of the Legion Commanders were looking at Edward in disbelief, wonder, and astonishment.

It was clear to them that Basil would definitely become someone big in the future. As a King candidate, to merely have Basil openly supported them would dramatically increase their chance of being elected.

Therefore, after they heard that Edward had already had his hands on Basil, they couldn't help looking at Edward cautiously. Now with Basil supporting him, Edward had become their biggest rival after all.

... At least, that is what they believed.

"Calm down, my brothers." Edward smirked. "Like all of you, I haven't coerced Basil to my side ... Yet. Ah, in case you wonder about who this Basil is, he is the lad who refused his stepfather's title of Nobility."

"Oh, so he is the son of the late Viscount Cobham..."

"It's the lad who killed his own father," Aldrich mused. "I wonder if he knows not to bite the hand that feeds him."

"Hahaha. Like what our little brother has said, Basil is a commoner, not a dog." Cameron waved his hand with a smirk. "He won't bite the hand that feeds him. He will only come up to the hand that feeds him."

Each of the Five Princes was extremely obsessed with the thought of succeeding the throne. Even if they were in the middle of a war, as long as a topic about who would likely to succeed the throne came up, they would ignore their surrounding.

They knew Basil hadn't bloomed perfectly yet, but the thought of how great he would become in the future fueled their desire on him greatly. It was enough to make them forget about what they should be concerned about.

"Alright, brothers. You have digressed too far."

... At least, it wasn't the case for Edward, who was really focusing on the task Anthony had assigned them.

"It is time to think of a strategy to breakthrough the rank of the Monsters. We have been here two days, and it is embarrassing that none of us has reached the Obelisk yet."

The Princes stopped talking about recruiting Basil at Edward's words. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then nodded their head as if they had just mutually agreed about something.

"I have a suggestion." Aldrich slightly leaned forward, then interlaced his fingers. "What about you go ahead first, little brother? We, as your big brothers will support you from the back."

As soon as Aldrich finished his words, Edward's eyes immediately turned cold. He could see the smirk Aldrich was hiding behind his hand.