Edward opened his weary eyes and found himself lying down under the cool shade of a tree. The sunlight passed through the gaps between the leaves and cascaded down on his face.
"Ugh, where the hell am I?" Pain assaulted his body and the scene of what transpired before he passed out slowly flooded his mind.
He hurriedly sat up and looked around in alarm. "Adam!"
Recalling the scene where his close friend was standing before him facing off against the Magi, Edward started to panic, wondering if Adam was alright.
"Edward, you're finally awake~" A cheerful and sweet voice called out to the youth.
Edward turned his head to the side and saw Atiel sitting on the ground beside him, looking at him with a faint smile.
"Atiel, when did you get here?"
"About an hour back," she replied, "more importantly, how are you feeling?"
"Except for a slight headache, I'm doing fine," Edward groaned as he massaged his temples. Nausea and dizziness were common symptoms of mana depletion.
"Where's Adam?" He asked, his tone laced with concern.
Atiel pointed in the near distance. "My brother and Adam are there."
Edward looked in the direction she was pointing at and saw both Adam and Daneli standing side by side, gazing at the large clearing where all the Magi had gathered in groups.
He got to his feet and started walking toward them. "Let's go."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})As they were walking, he asked her out of curiosity, "Were you and your brother attacked as well?"
"Mhm." Atiel nodded. "But we were grateful. Adam was already waiting for us. If it wasn't for him, I don't know what would have happened to me and my brother."
She spoke with lingering fear. Attacking a Magus while they are in a state of disorientation right after teleporting was truly vicious. It was a guaranteed kill in most cases, to say the least.
So many Magi had died after being ambushed in this manner. The only ones that had managed to survive were those that already had people waiting to receive them, like how Adam had done.
Edward's expression turned solemn when he realized this. If it wasn't for Adam, all of them would have truly died.
In this place, no one had any scruples about killing. After all, they wouldn't have to face the consequences when they exited this place.
Any enmity formed in the secret plane could not be carried out into the outside world. Due to the agreement reached by the forefathers of the four major races in the Southern Federation, all conflicts were strictly restricted within the boundaries of the secret plane.
This was to prevent the unnecessary bloodshed birthed by the endless cycle of revenge.
"You finally awake, fatty?" Edward was jolted out of his deep thoughts by a very familiar voice.
He raised his head and his gaze fell on Adam, who was looking at him with a wide grin.
"Thanks for saving me." Edward was immensely grateful.
However, he didn't get the response he was expecting.
Adam made an ugly face and repeated his words in an annoying tone, "ThAnKs FoR sAvInG mE—shut your mouth! Don't say such stupid things."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Eh?" Edward was stunned but then broke into laughter. "Hahaha!"
That's right. There was no need to say such things between brothers.
After catching up with Adam, he greeted Daneli. He then looked around and saw that Lisa wasn't there, so he couldn't help but ask, "Has Lisa not come out yet?"
"Nope, we're still waiting for her," Adam replied as he gazed into the distance.
"It's going to be quite troublesome to rescue her," Daneli added with a serious expression.
Listening to him, Edward's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Look," The elven youth gestured with his chin.
Edward looked at the clearing in the distance and saw that dozens of Magi had formed into groups already. They were all intently staring at the center of the clearing where the Magi—
who were still inside the House of Cards—were being teleported to in fixed intervals.
Seeing this, even Edward couldn't help but feel the gravity of the situation. Rescuing Lisa from amidst so many Magi was truly going to be difficult.
"Don't worry. We won't leave one of our own behind," Atiel assured him with great confidence.
Daneli's lips twitched when he heard her. "That's easy for you to say."
"Of course it is!" Atiel chuckled. "It's not like I'll be the one to rescue her. I'll just be providing moral support."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Daneli was speechless.
"Just kidding." Atiel playfully stuck out her tongue. "I'll assist from afar. My arrows never miss their mark, huhu."
"Start replenishing your mana," Adam looked at Edward and instructed. "We're going to need all the help we can get, and not just to rescue Lisa."
Edward solemnly nodded. Without wasting another second, he cast one final glance at the center of the clearing before sitting down cross-legged and practicing mindfulness.
After all the Magi had been teleported out of the House of Cards, a brutal bloodbath would ensue amongst all the surviving Magi. After all, this was the perfect chance for them to acquire more treasure by killing others.
As Edward was restoring his mana reserves, Adam's gaze landed on a group of Magi in the distance.
The orcs!
This was the same group he had previously encountered before entering the House of Cards. Currently, there were seven orcs present, including the lanky one whom he had kicked unconscious, and they were intently looking at the center of the clearing, seemingly waiting for someone.
If I recall correctly, there were a total of eight of them back then, Adam thought to himself, feeling slightly surprised. If the person this group was waiting for also arrived here, that meant that none of them had died inside the House of Cards.
This spoke great volumes about their individual prowess.
Out of all the Magi present, Adam felt the most threat from this group of warrior orcs. To be more precise, it was their leader, Kurdan.
When he thought back to their last meeting, Adam couldn't help but come to admire the orc. Not only was Kurdan strong, but he was also very prudent.At the time, the orc had wisely chosen to retreat despite outnumbering Adam. This had left a very deep impression on him.
About more than an hour later, the space at the center of the clearing distorted, a clear indication of someone being teleported.
"Atiel, ready your arrow!" Adam instructed. Following that, he dashed toward the center of the clearing at his fastest speed. If it was Lisa who teleported, he had to be there to protect her from the other Magi.
However, soon enough, Adam stopped in his tracks when his gaze landed on the person who had been teleported. His eyes narrowed and his expression turned grim.
"It's him."
