When Vicente saw Christopher Hogan's older brother, he didn't think he had seen Arthur before because of this man's relation to the Commander of the army post in Millfall. Arthur and Christopher were very different in appearance.
But Arthur's appearance gave him a familiar feeling that Vicente couldn't explain at first glance.
"You... Are you sure you want to go this way?" Vicente asked in his mana-distorted voice. "There's still time to back out. Take an oath that you'll never raise your weapons to me, and we can all get out of here."
"Tsk! Brat Cesar, you're brave to say those words! Do you really think you can threaten us like that?" Kaleb looked at Vicente as he walked cautiously down the corridor, his mana circulating through his body, his attention focused on the floor and walls of the place.
'Trying to trap us?' Kaleb laughed inwardly, 'seeing' Vicente's whole plan.
"Cesar, you're powerful and talented, but you're far from being able to maintain the kind of resources you have at your disposal," Arthur said in a less harsh tone than Kaleb's. "Hurry up, give us the 3rd-stage herb, and swear in the name of your elements that you will not pursue this matter.
I'll tell you the same words you used. There's still time to back out."
Vicente looked at the black-haired man walking slowly toward him and asked. "Good words. The strong really have every right to demand what they want from the weak.
But before we resolve this situation, let me know your names. If I'm going to fall or if I'm going to take you down, I want to know the names of my opponents."
Vicente could easily get the identity of the soldier he was interested in. But Kaleb's identity was a problem that could cost time and resources.
Not every magician carried identification with them. The risk of death in certain operations was higher for warriors, so sects, families, and groups in general often didn't carry identification that could link them to their real forces.
That was even more common among criminals.
Not knowing who these unexpected enemies were who had come to The Vile Altar, Vicente wanted to have a hint before they fell into his trap.
"My name is Arthur Hogan, Commander of the royal army in Saltstar City!" Arthur said as he looked at Vicente with a noble look.
It would have made no difference if he had said his name. As someone whose identity could be easily verified, he had no reason to hide his name from an enemy he wanted to kill.
For warriors like him, knowing the name of the one who killed them or giving their name to their victims was a form of recognition for both parties.
But not everyone thought so. That was the case with Kaleb, who paid no attention to Vicente's question since the force he belonged to had trained him never to introduce himself unnecessarily.
"I'm the one who will kill you if you don't hand over the 3rd-stage herb. Do you have anything else to worry about?" Kaleb said with a hostile tone.
Vicente ignored the comment from the man covered in body tattoos as he looked at Arthur, realizing that this person was Commander Christopher's older brother.
'Another Hogan... Does he have something to do with my mother?' Vicente wondered, remembering his mother's last name was also Hogan.
He had known the surname of the Commander of Millfall post since his arrival in the city. But until this moment, Vicente had never worried about Christopher's possible relationship with Kate.
There were small families with the same name all over the continent and even in the Seidel Kingdom. It wasn't uncommon to find two families with the same name in the same province.
Having no great interest in his maternal family, Vicente had never tried to find out more about Christopher's origins. But when he saw Arthur, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, as if he had seen this person before.
But Vicente was sure that he had never met this man in his life.
'Is he related to my mother? Is that why I feel like I know him?' Vice pondered, feeling that Arthur might look a bit similar to Kate.
But that wasn't enough to stop him from doing what he had already planned. 'I will see if I can find out where he came from when I get back to Millfall. As much as my mother's family cast her aside, if I can find them, I'd like to let them know what happened to their daughter. They deserve to know.'
Vicente had no intention of seeking help from his maternal grandparents. But a long-standing problem with his parents and Kate's birth family wasn't going to stop him from telling them what had happened. After all, Kate was a daughter of the Hogan family, and even if she had left through the back door, they should be told of her death.
At least, that was what Vice thought he would want if he were in Kate's parents' shoes.
"Well then, Arthur Hogan and the man with no name, I will remember you. But since you want my life, leave your lives here!" As he said this, Vicente moved backward, causing the two Mages to jump towards him.
When he touched one of the traps in this corridor with his foot, Vicente activated part of what he had planned to deal with these enemies there.
"Idiot! This won't be enough!" Kaleb shouted as he activated his defenses and saw a defensive formation forming a defensive barrier around Vicente's body while several lasers emerged from the walls.
He and Arthur had expected something like this. They weren't surprised when they felt that the whole corridor was firing these lasers capable of cutting through the bodies of unprepared Mages.
But they had activated their defenses, so they weren't affected by Cesar's 'plans' at all.
"When your defenses go down, let's see what you do!" Kaleb shouted as he continued to move through the air, advancing without feeling the lasers in the area threatening him.
Meanwhile, Vicente looked sharply at the two fools, seeing they had fallen into his trap.
'Idiots! Do you think I would lure you into something so obvious? This is just a distraction.' He thought as his real trap sprang up at the end of the corridor.
As Arthur and Kaleb floated in the air from their leap towards Cesar, a series of mana blasts, twice as powerful as the lasers in this corridor, shot out from its ends towards the three individuals.
