"Hm? Those two Master Rankers, right?"
Leo finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Miss Overthinker. He pursed his lips, shook his head, and let out a dramatic sigh before sharing something with her.
"Yeah, I hate to break it to you guys, but both of them died a long time ago. They were killed by that irritating homunculus Layla for her experiments, you see.
So using them as a reason to harm me might not serve you. It can even backfire on you," Leo said, showing an understanding of their predicament and offering a plausible answer.
"If I were in your shoes, I would pin the blame on foreign forces. We're still at war with the Layos, after all. They have a history of such actions.
Now that's a more believable story if you ask me." Leo shrugged and concluded, emphasizing the plausibility of his suggestion, before allowing silence to envelop the carriage once more.
Of course, Leo's suggestion didn't sit well with his five abductors.
They exchanged grim glances, realizing that their attempts to intimidate him had not gone well. Leo had managed to intimidate them instead without resorting to foul language or threats.
The abductors came to a unanimous conclusion: Leo was either too oblivious to the mortal peril he faced or too confident in his abilities to care about their actions. Regardless, they knew they needed to find an advantageous location to confront Leo and force him to yield to their demands.
The carriage finally came to a halt at the edge of a nameless lake. Three abductors strategically disembarked, surveying the surroundings. Only when they signaled that the coast was clear did the remaining two forcefully escort Leo out of the carriage and join the others.
With the group now surrounding him, Mr. Creative Insulter took the lead, attempting to reason with Leo. "Leo, my friend, let's get straight to the point," he began, attempting to convey a sense of care and understanding.
"We don't want to harm you. We simply want you to relinquish your position as Grandmaster Baelin's apprentice. I understand it's not fair to ask that of you, and I know you might perceive us as evil.
But this is Anfang, and we all have to look out for ourselves. However, rest assured, we're prepared to offer compensation. How does a generous sum of 30,000 Extols sound to you?"
Although Mr. Creative Insulter's voice seemed considerate, his eyes betrayed the cruel intentions he harbored toward Leo. The artifact they had employed to suppress Leo's shadow-element powers was still in effect. It consisted of multiple parts, with each of the five abductors wearing a ring crafted by their combined talents as artifact makers. The artifact had been specifically designed to overpower Leo, compelling him to succumb to their demands.
In addition to Leo's elemental powers, these abductors had also considered his class as an array master when creating the five-ring artifact. Their confidence stemmed from this artifact. It made them believe that they could either coerce him into compliance or eliminate him from the land of Anfang without causing a commotion.
Leo felt the suppression of unknown origin working on him, rendering him unable to utilize his shadow-element spells or activate offensive and defensive arrays. The blockage in his mana pathways made it nearly impossible for him to tap into his Expert ranked abilities.
He immediately identified the source of this suppression—the five rings worn by his abductors. With an impressed expression on his face, Leo commented, "Hmm, those five rings are part of a single artifact, huh? Not a bad design at all. I must say, you've shown creativity in crafting this artifact. I might consider appropriating this design and employing it against my opponents in the future."
Leo said, sporting a week's worth of beard growth and having neglected personal grooming while assisting Grandmaster Baelin, absentmindedly scratched his chin. He didn't feel an urgent need to trim his newfound beard just yet. At the moment, he found satisfaction in simply relieving the itch and experiencing the brief respite it provided.
"This fucker is still acting strange," voiced the fourth abductor, who had remained silent until now. Leo fittingly dubbed him Mr. Foulmouth.
At this point, all of them had reached the unanimous decision that they needed to eliminate Leo. Using their available voice communication channel, they quickly devised a plan. They instructed Miss Loudmouth, who possessed an enticing figure, to create a distraction so they could launch a coordinated attack on Leo.
This one-time combo attack was a key function of the five-ring artifact, designed to inflict internal harm and fry his mana circuits once activated.
Miss Loudmouth stepped forward, offering a seductive smile to Leo as she began to speak. "Isn't 30,000 Extols enough, my dear prince? How about we raise the offer to 50,000 Extols, plus..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Miss Loudmouth felt a grip on her throat. In the next instant, her larynx was forcefully torn from her neck. As she blinked, Leo appeared before her, his blackish eyes reflecting her own image.
With another blink, she saw that his eyes had transformed from inky black to emerald green, emitting a subtle radiance. Not only his eyes but his stature also began to grow in real-time as he stared into Miss Loudmouth's eyes. While his black hair remained largely unchanged, it acquired a newfound sheen that hadn't been present before. She could feel that not just looks, Leo's Class had also been changed, rendering their artifact ineffective against him.
Miss Loudmouth attempted to speak, but she had forgotten that her voice box had been ripped out. She felt pain. And a lot more. Blood spilled from her mouth as she gazed at the transformed Leo in horror.
Miss Loudmouth's killer placed her voice box in her own right hand, raised in a defensive stance. Unfortunately for her, the killer's actions were too swift for her to display her skills or employ any trump cards.
All she could do now was clutch her larynx, dropping to the ground in shock as she witnessed her killer, Leo, casting the same downcast gaze he had given her inside the carriage.
"What a waste of a beautiful figure. It had so much potential."
The butcher lamented, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as his true self emerged after prolonged concealment.
AN: Layla kills the bandits in the Lancelot mountain range in chapter 710.
