When Kohen alerted Levi and Killian, they immediately turned in the direction from which they had also noticed the auras of Mages approaching where they were standing.
That was The Vile Altar, a long-abandoned place where there wasn't much to justify the presence of human Mages nearby.
The three Ironcrest natives felt several 3rd-stage auras approaching them and quickly realized the men arriving there were there for them or for Cesar.
Either way, this was a problem!
Raising his aura, Levi looked strangely in the direction of the men arriving there, someone of the same level as himself, a soldier of the royal army, Peter Asper, an old acquaintance.
"Levi Logan... I didn't expect to find someone from the Congregation of Revelation in this place. What are you doing here? Looking for something you people left behind in the war 2,000 years ago?" Peter asked as he looked at the Assistant Temple Master of Ironcrest.
"Peter Asper..." Levi muttered as Killian and Kohen looked at Arthur and Alex, Peter's two companions.
But as they looked at each other, the two groups of three could sense four more individuals stopping not far from them.
As the soldiers of the kingdom looked in the direction of two Acolytes and two Low-level Mages, Killian's eyes narrowed as he recognized these people. "Kaleb... Tyson. Why are you here?"
"Tyson?" Kohen looked strangely at the man, a member of The Faceless Ones, the second-largest underworld faction in Scott Province.
The Faceless Ones were an Ironcrest group. As such, all three Mages from the city's temple knew the identities of the gang members very well!
"What are the Faceless Ones up to?" Levi shifted his focus and looked at the two newly arrived Mages.
As much as the army Mages were more of a concern to him, these three men were members of an official force, relatively trustworthy. But the newcomers from The Faceless Ones were capable of betraying their own parents. Having one of them around would upset anyone!
"The Faceless Ones?" Arthur looked at the four individuals, aware of the history of the second-largest criminal faction in his province. 'Tsk! The kingdom is full of vermins!'
Tyson, the bald, sharp-eyed man, smiled as he saw two Mid-level Mages staring at him as if he were the most important one there. "Friends, why behave like this? Aren't we all here for Cesar?"
Levi and Peter looked sharply at Tyson, both noticing the other's intentions.
'Competitors?' Peter wondered.
'Are they here to help that brat? No, that can't be. They seem to be here to...' Levi clenched one of his fists, realizing the situation.
"I see... That's it." He muttered as Killian and Kohen stood beside him, both in position to fight if necessary.
"Boss?"
"It looks like that brat Cesar really used us. If I'm not mistaken, he lured everyone here to make us fight each other." Levi commented with a dark look on his face.
As valuable as Cesar was, he hated being used by others!
'Fucking brat! You'll pay for this.' He considered, but already being in this place, he knew escaping without a fight would be impossible.
These men were here for Cesar. Whatever the reason, if they moved, they would have to wipe out the witnesses. Otherwise, they might incur the wrath of Caesar's noble friends or even be punished for breaking royal laws.
That was especially true for the three soldiers who had careers to defend.
On the other hand, the three men from the Ironcrest Awakening Temple had their own reasons for protecting the information about their presence at The Vile Altar tonight.
"If the people from the Saltstar City Temple find out about our movement, we'll have problems." Killian looked at Arthur, aware this soldier served in the province's largest city.
Kohen's eyes narrowed as he realized the problematic situation they were in. "What are we going to do? These people probably want to kill Cesar. If we let them act, we can escape without compromising our presence here."
"But why are they here?" Killian asked quietly as the three groups looked at each other strangely. "We need to know that first."
Levi agreed and asked aloud. "Peter, Tyson, I'm here with my group to talk to Cesar. Why are you here? Do you have business with him as well?"
"Oh? Talk? Don't you want what he has?" Arthur asked as Peter and Tyson stared at him.
'Idiot!' Kaleb, the man with tattoos all over his body, thought as he looked at Arthur. 'Those three might not have known what Cesar had... Now we have another competitor.'
"What does he have?" Kohen was in the dark about the 3rd-stage herb, so Killian and Levi didn't know either. "With a yellow pentagram in the second slot of his Magic Gem, is there anything else for him to have?"
'So it's true...' Tyson closed his eyes and saw that Cesar really was as formidable as the rumors in Millfall said. 'That's why someone like Mark is taking a chance with us.'
Peter then opened his mouth, seeing Levi had already realized that wasn't all Cesar had. "Levi, if you're here just to talk business with Cesar, I ask you to leave with your group. Cesar has committed a grave crime! We're here to deal with him. We'll kill anyone who gets in our way!"
As he said this, Peter's three pentagrams, one red, one orange, and one yellow, emerged from his body while his magical pressure caused the two Acolytes of The Faceless Ones to retreat.
Meanwhile, a huge domino-shaped piece of bone, the color of bones, appeared behind him.
The two soldiers at his side realized what their leader wanted and acted accordingly, displaying the same configuration of pentagrams.
A large war-hammer made of mana appeared in Alex's hands while Arthur's body was covered in a green layer of energy.
There were an infinite number of magical forms in this world. Some magicians could control elements with their powers and form things of all kinds. Others could form weapons, artifacts, flames, and so on. There were many possibilities and different classifications of magical powers.
Arthur's was in the same category as the power of Vicente's first Magic Gem, while Peter and Alex's powers were of the tool type.
"Trying to intimidate us?" Levi's eyes narrowed as his expression turned dark.
At that moment, he and his two companions displayed their pentagrams together, causing the mana in the area to stir under the action of so many Mages.
A flaming orange bird emerged from the void behind Kohen. At the same time, an armor of mana appeared around Levi's body, hiding his entire body as he grew 40% in size.
Meanwhile, a glowing green crystal appeared in one of Killian's hands, and a green liquid flowed from it, spreading a negative vibration common to poisons into the surrounding area.
