Late at night, at the exit of The White City.
The night was especially quiet, and almost no Reclasser dared to stay out in the wild.
On the straight road, a figure suddenly appeared.
Kael staggered, covered in wounds, walking toward the deep of the wilderness.
He looked up at the night sky from time to time, clenched his fists, and muttered through his teeth:
"The heavens wonât let me die. The vice president of the Sovereign City Reclasser Association gave me a chance. If I can survive out here until dawn, heâll..."
He didnât finish his sentence. Suddenly, a rustling sound of leaves filled his ears.
"Who, whoâs there!"
A few huge bats flew out from the trees and into the night sky.
Kael let out a sigh of relief. He didnât know why Luke had helped him, but this was his only chance.
"Aiden, you waitâ Iâll make you pay for this humiliation tenfold!" Kael muttered, gritting his teeth. He picked a random direction and kept moving.
High above the night sky, a huge black crow was flying silently.
Luke, Aiden, and a few others stood on the back of the big crow, watching Kael below run away like a lost dog.
"Luke, Kael is still an Epic Reclasser. Isnât it a bit risky to use him as a bait?" A young man in his early twenties, thin and wearing glasses, said quietly.
Luke shook his head. "I think itâs fine."
"A few years ago, Dragonlight Guild was just a small group, and Ronald was just a regular Reclasser."
Owen adjusted his glasses and asked: "So, Luke, does that mean Dragonlight Guild and Evil Demons Guild were already connected back then?"
Luke nodded. He had already noticed this before coming to The White City.
Before meeting Aiden, he had planned to help Aiden a little while dealing with Dragonlight Guild.
But he hadnât expected that if he didnât get involved, Kael would have agreed to that fight for Aidenâs life and ended up dying at the banquet.
Owen, who came from one of the top universities in Sovereign City, asked: "Then why isnât Evil Demons Guild helping Kael?"
Luke didnât answer. Instead, he looked at Aiden.
Aiden thought for a moment and said: "Because of me, Dragonlight Guild can no longer stay in The White City. That means Kael and Ronald have no more value."
Luke nodded in approval.
The young man named Owen glanced at Aiden, said nothing, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Aiden felt a little strange. He got the feeling that this person had some kind of strange hostility toward him.
Luke didnât introduce any of them to Aiden. Just as Aiden was starting to feel curious, something strange suddenly happened below.
Kael, who didnât know where to go, was walking aimlessly. Meanwhile, in the nearby forest, a few figures quietly appeared.
"Kael, son of Ronald from The White City Dragonlight Guild, Epic Paladin. He meets the assassination criteria."
"An Epic-level Reclasser genius. Killing him would get us a big reward, right?"
"Itâs possible, but Ronald has given us a lot of useful resources over the years..."
"Ronald is useless now. Letâs go ahead and strike."
...
A cold wind blew. Kael, walking through the forest, was tired and hungry.
He hadnât eaten a single bite at todayâs banquet.
The son of Dragonlight Guild, now reduced to this.
It was all because of that annoying Aiden!
Kael angrily hit a tree trunk by the road with his fist. Leaves rustled, and grasses scraped against each other with a soft sound.
Kael just looked at it, showing no sign of alertness.
Suddenly, a black chain shot out from the grass, flying straight toward Kaelâs collarbone.
Kaelâs face turned pale. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
Pshhh!
The chain pierced his flesh, holding him tightly in place.
Four figures stepped out from the bushes. Under the pale moonlight, their faces looked ghostly white.
Kaelâs eyes widened in shock. He looked at one of them and gasped: "Ray?"
The man smiled and said: "Kael, you still remember me?"
"Relax, Iâll finish you quickly. You wonât suffer much." Ray said.
Kaelâs eyes widened in fear. "You... youâre going to kill me?"
"Of course. Youâre an Epic Paladin. Killing you will raise my status in the Evil Demons Guild!" Ray slowly stepped closer.
Kael took a deep breath and said without hesitation: "My father did a lot for you. And thereâs this guy in The White Cityâhis name is Aiden. He killed the level 40 Abyss Boss!"
"I can help you kill him. I can join you!"
"Please, donât kill me!"
Everyone knew the reputation of the Evil Demons Guild. They did all sorts of bad things. Every year they destroyed College Testing and killed top Reclassers.
But Kael never expected this to happen to him.
"You can rest easy." Ray said, licking his lips. "Aiden will join you in death soon enough."
"The White City... heh, it wonât last much longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ray pulled out a Silver Rank dagger without hesitation and aimed it at Kaelâs heart.
Kael struggled, but the black chain held him tight, stopping him from moving.
At that moment, a figure suddenly dropped from the sky and landed in front of Kael.
It was Owenâhis glasses on.
Owen shouted: "Evil Demons Guild scum! What are you planning to do to The White City?"
"Damn, thereâs a trap!" Ray didnât hesitate. He turned and ran.
Kael didnât know what was going on, but the black chain that had been holding him was gone.
He ignored the pain in his shoulder and rolled into the thick grass.
At that moment, a bright red light appeared above everyoneâs heads. A huge red magic circle covered the whole area.
It was the Legendary Tyrant Clericâs skillâDeath Match Arena.
"Owen, what are you trying to do?" Lukeâs body quickly grew bigger, and he was already almost three meters tall.
His upper body clothes were torn apart by strong muscles, and he was holding a huge axe. He crashed to the ground with a loud bang, creating a strong gust of wind.
Owenâs face showed a quick moment of fear, and he quickly answered: "Mr. Lu, Iâm just worried these guys from the Evil Demons Guild might do something to The White City."
"Besides, killing an Epic Paladin like Kael is a real shame."
After hearing Owenâs words, Lukeâs eyes turned red. His huge body gave off a terrifying, violent energy, like a cruel king from the end of the world. It was very intimidating.
Kael was supposed to die. The members of the Evil Demons Guild should stay alive, so they could find the groupâs base in The White City.
But with Owen interfering like this, Kael wasnât dead, and they had also blown their cover.
"Despotâs Realm!" Luke roared.
Red chains, like cold, poisonous snakes, shot out from behind him.
In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around all the escaping members of the Evil Demons Guild, as well as Owen and Kael.
The red chains suddenly pulled tight, dragging all the targets in front of Luke.
With a loud crash, the huge axe fell down, aiming directly at Owen.
Owenâs face turned pale. His equipment suddenly activatedâevery single piece was Diamond Rank.
"Dummy Life Swap!"
At the exact moment the axe fell, Owen threw a straw dummy and his body suddenly disappeared.
He had switched places with the dummy!
Lukeâs axe landed hard on the dummy. The solid ground trembled, and a deep crack dozens of meters long appeared.
"Youâre serious? Iâm from the Ginger family! If you kill me, youâll die too!" Owen looked in fear at the straw dummy now turned to dust.
His level was only 55, a Legendary Rank Puppeteer. But Luke was a level 79 Tyrant Cleric.
If Luke really wanted to kill him, heâd be dead for sure right here.
"Who would have thought you guys are still fighting among yourselves, even when facing the common enemyâthe Evil Demons Guild. Youâre only thinking about your own interests!"
"Owen! You wonât live through today, not if you donât pay a price!"
Luke was really angry. He never expected Owen to act on his own like this, at such an important moment.
"My grandpa is the Chief Minister! You dare to kill me?" Owen took a deep breath and shouted.
The axe hung in mid-air. Lukeâs arm was shakingânot from the weight of the axe, but from his own anger, which was almost out of control.
At that moment, Aiden used the Abyss Flame Demon cloak to slowly land on the ground.
Others were also there, looking at the scene in confusion.
Luke finally put the axe down and took a few deep breaths.
"Felix, a Legendary Rank warrior, a level 90 super strong person, the top minister of the empire. Iâm his grandson. Who dares to kill me?" Owen stood up straight, and the fear on his face disappeared.
"Besides, what did I do wrong? Kael may have made a mistake, but heâs still an Epic Paladin. He might become one of the empireâs main supports in the future."
"The Abyss is getting restless. The more strong Reclassers we have, the better."
Owen got more and more excited. His face was full of confidence, completely different from his earlier fear.
Luke looked at him coldly and said: "Youâre just trying to use Kael to cause trouble for Aiden, arenât you?"
"Aiden and Vespera have nothing to do with each other. He just saved her in the Abyss."
Luke turned to look at Aiden. At that moment, Aiden was pulling out a staff and pointing it at Kael, who was still tied up by the red chains.