Chapter 449 449. REFUSE

The ground continued to tremble violently as the one-sided battle between the two forces raged on. The over 200 tier 3 experts beneath the barrier had died after the second wave of attacks. The lower stage tier 4's dying right after.

Noah and the others were left with the scene of a barely complete man floating in the sky. His gaze dark and deathly.

He had lost his legs and left arm. A chunk of his torso was also gone. He would be dead if not for his tier 4 body.

The world around the group had turned into a black mess. Huge chunks of the terrain had been shaved off. A huge crater-like mess now existed in the place of a once vibrant forest.

The middle-staged expert had managed to survive the first four waves. It seemed his path had to do with great defense as he had managed to remain as intact as he was.

Still, his state was pitiful and his aura was diminishing. He would die in no time.

"Give up," Elder Malachi's voice was loud, his gaze condescending. He stood from a high and lofty place backed up by tens of incredible experts. He had never felt so confident in his long life.

The middle-staged expert tried to chuckle, but he simply coughed and vomited blood. His breath was ragged and it was enforced by his now unstable power. Allowing it to reach places it normally shouldn't.

Elder Malachi scoffed before raising his hand. He wanted to assume leadership of the group but the commander wasn't having that.

Elder Malachi lowered his arm expecting a wave of attacks to rain down upon the expert; finishing him, but nothing happened. Not even his group moved.

The event startled him and he furrowed his brows to sweep his gaze on the casually floating experts around him.

Everything was silent. He shot an annoyed gaze at Commander Glee, the man gave no reaction, simply floating forward.

"I am their commander," the brown-haired expert muttered as he passed by the elder. He seemed to hold a grudge against the man.

"According to our information, there is something within your possession that needs to be retrieved," The expert's voice unfolded, calm. The event made Elder Malachi furious.

"What is the meaning of this?" His voice spoke well of his anger. He wanted to move forward when the lady in his group grabbed his arm. He furrowed his brows and she let go.

'With all due respect, Elder. We are simply following orders." Sir Glee announced, his voice holding a little bit of annoyance. He was stronger than the said elder.

"I was never informed of this," Elder Malachi frowned, losing his cool. Noah suspected the expert was simply good at acting.

"Well the sealed letter you delivered to us contained the information about an item within his possession,

"You mean this?" Suddenly, the bandit's head rasped, pulling all attention to himself again.

Noah snapped his gaze toward the expert's right hand and saw that a small black orb lay on it. It felt dangerous.

Commander Glee raised his hand as he went on guard. According to the words of the elders of the council, the black orb was one of the three that if put together would summon a sealed-up being who had been within the sixth tier.

It was an ancient object that even the ruler of the Cusk nation knew about.

"I was never told what this thing was. But you seem scared," The middle-staged expert revealed, staring at the black orb with curiosity and back at his opponents.

"I'd prefer to pick it out of your ashes, but the royals have need of you," Sir Glee explained, still wary of the thing.

"What do you mean?" Elder Malachi asked, completely lost. It would seem important details had been kept from him.

"It's a hassle to explain to you. But all you need to know is that they want to know who hired him," Sir Glee explained.

"Did you hear that," the commander threw his gaze back at the almost-dead man. "The royals are willing to receive you if you come silently."

"And then they'll kill me when my usefulness is over," the middle-stage expert snorted, but he now began to wonder what the thing was.

"They promise not to carry out such actions," Sir Glee revealed and Noah snorted for the bandit's head, even if the man himself remained silent.

"Words are useless. The real representative of the royals is not even aware of this. Your words are more than weightless," the expert stated after a few seconds of silence.

"I understand, but if you do act unyielding we'd have no choice but to end it here," sir Glee raised his hand again, the auras of his group flared at that point. They would launch their spells as soon as he gave the go-ahead.

Silence filled the world at that point when the middle-staged expert suddenly began to cough violently. His life was ending, he only had a few minutes left.

"You don't have much time. Make a choice already," Sir Glee stated coldly. He wanted to get over that event. He had a bad feeling.

"A tight corner," the bandit's head cursed, but he stayed in position.

"Make a choice," Sir Glee insisted, his hand still raised.

"Sheesh! Then I refuse," the expert revealed, his aura flaring as a bright green light flowed out of his skin.

Danger spread in the world. Although the middle-staged expert had been overwhelmed, he remained a middle staged cultivator at his core. He had simply not been given the chance to properly express his power.

Notwithstanding, now that he had decided to detonate his core, he could well take Elder Malachi his group, and some others, given the chance.

Sir glee instantly knew what he planned to do. His expression went dark as he shot backward lowering his arm.

The sheer intensity of the spells that flew forward after that gesture suppressed the sunlight. No one wanted to die.

Both waves of attacks reached each other and a world-shaking explosion unfolded. Bathing the sky for miles around in a blinding white light featuring a tinge of different colors. One that contained enough power to force the group even further backward.

Unknown to the group a black figure flew out of the sky to pierce the wave of erratic energy. Their body withstanding the dense power of the explosion.

The entity created a spiderweb of cracks on the very fabric of the white and multicolored energy when they shot out of it. Leaving with the black orb.