Chapter 154: Becoming the public enemy of Serenity Town Part 6
After close to an hour, Kayn and the others immediately left the Peaceful Volcano and hurriedly went on a journey back to Serenity Town.
Along the way, Kayn can't help looking at the Storage Ring where the Molten Magma Core is inside as he felt delighted inwardly.
Now that he has the Molten Magma Core, there's only one item left that he needs in order to finally get what he intended to obtain in 'The Bridge'.
However, to tell the truth, until now he actually still doesn't know what exactly that item is. Natas never mentioned it to him and he only satisfied him by describing vaguely how mysteriously powerful the said item was.
He had asked multiple times, but it seems that Natas is quite adamant about keeping the secret to himself until the right time comes.
Anyways, he trusts Natas with all his heart in this specific adventure only and he believes that the latter won't lead him to somewhere or something that wouldn't help him achieve his goal of defeating the 'Tower'.
All of a sudden…
"Halt!" Friedrich raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
"What's the matter?" Kayn moves closer to Friedrich.
"Something is wrong," Friedrich muttered as he look from right to left. "We've been walking for almost ten minutes, and until now I still haven't spotted a single soul,"
"Now that you've mentioned it," Kayn realized something.
When they were coming up to the Peaceful Volcano back then, they would pass a group of adventures almost every one hundred steps either going in the same direction as them or going back to the Serenity Town. Hence, it is quite suspicious that they haven't met anyone else on their way down.
Moreover, the surrounding is strangely quiet as well.
If this was the past, they would immediately understand why the path to the Peaceful Volcano is quiet. After all, it is a rarely visited place despite the fact that it is close to Serenity Town.
However, from the moment the scavenger hunt for the Molten Magma Core was issued by the Chief of the Serenity Town, this place has never been quiet ever since.
Friedrich immediately orders everyone. "Take out your weapons and prepare for the worst,"
Hearing this, Kayn quickly took out his Molten Ice Sword along with Gilbert and the others.
With their weapons in their hands, Friedrich signals to everyone to proceed cautiously.
"Gilbert, Natasha, and Jackson," Friedrich halted everyone again. "Go ahead and scout a twenty-meter perimeter around us,"
"Kimberly, Cyril, and Jude," Friedrich motioned his hand. "Make sure to always position yourselves in the center of our party,"
"The rest, proceed,"
With that being said, Kayn and the others continued walking under the lead of Friedrich.
Along their walk, they would occasionally hear an alarming cry of pain from their surrounding.
Even without needing to see it for themselves, they could already guess that those cries were from the individuals who were hiding and waiting to ambush them. It was akin to the sound of a failed attempt to lay in ambush.
"How did they know that we have the Molten Magma Core?" Chastine was confused.
"Remember what we said earlier? You claim that it can also be the former, but I and Friedrich believed that regardless of what it is, it is only going to be a matter of time for them to find out,"
"But how can they be so sure that we truly have the Molten Magma Core?"
"They are betting on chances," Jude interjected.
"Or it could also be something else," Friedrich added. "I can't help but feel that those members of the Assembly of Freedom before have something to do with this,"
"Are you saying that they've successfully persuaded everyone to come after us?" Kayn raised his eyebrows. He doesn't dare to imagine it because that would mean they are in an extremely dangerous predicament.
"It's possible, especially considering that it is them that we are talking about,"
"I believe that's not the only reason why you are assuming that possibility,"
"To tell the truth, I felt a familiar aura from one of their mages. I believe I've met that person before and probably had also fought against him in the past,"
"That mage is probably formidable enough to still survive after fighting against you,"
"Exactly! And there are only two mages, particularly from the Assembly of Freedom, that have survived fighting against me," Friedrich paused to think for a bit. "One of them was a skilled battlemage called Cairo, and the other was the mage who is infamously known as Wicked Marionette Wesley,"
"Wesley… I remember him! He was a mage whose gift was to charm people and control them to do his bidding,"
"If my guess is correct, then we have most likely crossed paths with Wesley," Friedrich sighs heavily.
"Assuming that's true, are you telling me that he has charmed everyone in that cave in a matter of less than an hour?"
"It is possible," Chastine affirms.
"How?"
Friedrich explains. "Wesley possesses a unique form of charming people that sets him apart from his counterparts. Unlike those who slowly captivate others upon first meeting or have to get close enough, Wesley's charm requires a gradual process but is also sudden and abrupt. Although it may not appear as potent initially, his charm operates through the medium of food, enchanting people in a distinct manner. Once you tasted his food, that means that you have met the requirement to become his puppet and now you are just waiting for the time he activates his charm on you,"
"How long does his Gift last?" Kayn asked. With his experience, the Gift to charm people isn't actually as powerful as it seems on the surface. Although they can indeed control people, there's always going to be a set duration.
"I am afraid it would entirely depend on how much food that was cooked by Wesley has been ingested in their bodies before the latter had finally decided to active his Gift in them," Friedrich replied. "If I remember correctly, one dish would equal an hour of being under his control,"
"That's not the most important part," Chastine quickly added. "Considering that he is able to influence this many people, it only means to say that he has been staying in Serenity Town long enough to influence these many people. And in that case, it means that he owns a very popular restaurant that's widely visited by the residents of this town,"
"That means…" Friedrich eyes widened.
Chastine interrupted Friedrich to finish his life. "It means that there's also the possibility that he can control everyone in the Serenity Town…"
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