Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Variables
Riven’s gaze lingered on the army of undead in front of him. A few minutes ago, some undead were attempting to stand up but now there was not even a moment.
Only the movement of their bodies twitching uncontrollably was visible. The man stood up and quietly watched the army of undead sprawled on the ground.
The man turned to him and said calmly.
"Tell your wolf to follow my directions."
Riven frowned and his eyes narrowed. Not in shock but in anger. Who was this stranger to command him? Now that there was no immediate danger... he wasn’t going to let him ride with them until he got all his answers.
Riven ignored his words and asked.
"You are a member of the Supremacy Guild right?
That symbol on his robe belonged to the Supremacy Guild and no one other than them could use it because of the so-called purity of the symbol.
According to the Supremacy Guild... the purity of their symbol would decrease if mundane people even touched them. It was the sacred duty of every member to protect the purity of their symbol.
The man didn’t reply immediately. He sighed and said.
"It’s complicated. We can talk about that after we get to safety."
Riven shook his head and pressed harder.
"Answer my question damn it! Yes or no!"
This time the man didn’t reply calmly. He replied in a raspy voice.
"We will talk about it later... I don’t like to repeat myself."
There... the nature of being a member of the Supremacy Guild was revealed. Arrogant and aloof. They don’t even treat people who aren’t part of their guild as humans!
However, the strength of this bastard was undeniable. He couldn’t defeat the man in a fight even if he had his army of Subjects. So he clenched his fist harder and said.
"Fine! Have it your way then bitch!"
The man didn’t reply immediately. He looked at the wolf and back at them. Then he asked.
"So will the wolf obey my commands?"
Riven replied in a raspy voice and said.
"Who do you think you are? Why will my subject obey you?"
The man frowned, raised an eyebrow, and said.
"You are contradicting your earlier words."
Riven shook his head and said.
"I am not... You will tell me the directions and I will relay them to my subject. But first you must tell me where you are taking us?"
The man didn’t reply immediately. His gaze lingered on them and he said with a slight smile.
"For someone this injured and mana reserves so low, your demands are very high."
Riven’s face darkened... that meant the man had no intention of telling them anything. He was certain that this man had ulterior motives in saving them.
What was he planning to do with them?
The man said, his voice resounding throughout his ears.
"But because I mean no harm to you, I will entertain this question...",
The man paused, pointed towards a certain direction, and added a heartbeat later.
"I am taking you there. That is my base."
Riven turned his head around. A massive building stood in the distance, its surface covered with a thin layer of sand, and sections of its walls were missing.
On top of this massive building, there was a large flag swaying left and right. This flag didn’t belong to any of the races of Astrionis that he knew of.
A particular symbol in the flag got his attention... It was the symbol of a handshake between two people. The hands looked very human-like.
Riven frowned. This wasn’t the first time that he had seen it while traveling through the abandoned city before meeting the army of undead... he had spotted the same flag.
But he hadn’t noticed this symbol... humans weren’t the natives of this world so it couldn’t be humans.
So which civilization owned this flag?
He thought for a moment and the answer was obvious.
The presence of this flag so high in the sky could only mean one thing... This was the flag of the defenders of this city. The true inhabitants of this city.
But who exactly were they? Why did the hands in the flag look like they belonged to humans? The
As he stared at the flag, the man’s voice resounded through his ears.
"Now that you know, let’s go to my base."
Riven turned to him firmly.
"I don’t want to go."
The man frowned and said coldly.
"Your mana reserves are low and you are injured, you don’t have any other choice. Trust me, I won’t harm you."
Riven didn’t speak a word. He looked at his battered body then back at Ayala. The man was right... They didn’t have a choice.
He realized that they were at the mercy of this man right now.
The only way to boost their chances of survival was to listen to the man while their mana reserves replenished themselves.
Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and said.
"Tell me the directions."
The man nodded his head and told him the direction to the tower. He relayed the directions to Devil Slayer and then moved closer to the tower.
With every passing minute they got closer to the tower and the uncertainty in his heart grew stronger.
The moment they stepped inside that tower... they would effectively be in the territory of the man with no way out. The man was also very strong so they would be practically at his mercy.
Their battered body and low mana reserves made the situation even worse...
A heartbeat later, the devil slayer came to a stop. He looked in front of them — the tower was mere inches away from them but a boulder as large as trunks on Earth blocked their path.
It didn’t look like they could be smashed into pieces... that meant they couldn’t enter the tower. He was relieved since that would give him more time to replenish his mana.
But the man turned to them and said,
"Wait a moment... let me go and open the entrance really quick."
The man got off Devil Slayer’s back and walked towards the boulder. He put his hands on the surface of the boulder and pushed harder.
At first the boulder didn’t move an inch but then it slowly moved inch by inch, creating a path for them to walk through.
When the boulder was moved, the man turned back to them and said.
"Let’s go inside... Oh, and I will have to request you to keep your pet wolf outside. I don’t like variables inside my base."
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