BXBX NOVEL Chapter 447: Awake.
Looking out a broken window, Cain realized he had slept through the night.
'Less than two days to go.'
He was getting anxious. There wasn't a lot of time left. To top it off, they were now faced with the seemingly impossible task of battling the Crimson Knight.
'The old man said the Devil Horde will invade on the dawn of the third day. There's still some time before that happens.'
Cain kept walking through the spacious halls of the forgotten manor. He was under no illusions that the entire city was out for their blood. There were many abandoned manors like this in the city, but they weren't numerous enough.
Very soon, the guards would catch on and begin searching. And yet, here they were, leisurely walking about.
Jenny walked to his side, quietly ruminating through her thoughts. Cain threw her a sideways glance. The soft light of dawn streaking in from the broken windows bounced off her face perfectly, painting a rather beautiful picture.
Her black hair was not groomed at all. It was very messy, but that didn't detract from her beauty at all. In fact, it made her seem a bit wilder. And most of all, her...
Jenny fixed her eyes on him and smiled,
"Could you be less obvious?"
Cain coughed but ignored the question. Soon, they entered a small living room area. Almost everyone was seated here.
He said nothing and sat down. Jenny sat down beside him. It seemed like they were all waiting for him to arrive before they began.
Cain looked around, spotting Steve at the rear of the crowd with a huge grin on his face.
Cain smiled wryly before beginning,
"As you all know, last night's reduction was a success. We also acquired additional information on the nature of what obstacles we will be facing."
Vincent chose this as the best moment to chime in,
"Boss, with all due respect, let's just give this up. We can't have any more people dying. I didn't want to admit this before, y'know. But... We didn't prepare enough for this shit."
Blaze glared at him, "Shut it."
Vincent shrugged. Cain smiled,
"He's right we didn't prepare enough, despite knowing the disadvantage we were coming in with."
A resolute expression came over him,
"But I'm still not giving up. Power comes to those who dare snatch it up from the jaws of death. I can assure you all that I might be many things, but a coward is not one of them."
A grin appeared on Vincent's face for a split second, but it quickly vanished,
"In that case, we need a strong plan!"
Cain nodded as he stood up, "I have a plan. But I need more information. Let's go somewhere."
Since he wasn't going to be needing a lot of firepower for this particular mission, he decided to call on those who were light on their feet. Manny, Jenny, Dan, and Steve...
"Hey! Heyyyya! What about me?!"
A tuft of hair suddenly appeared in Cain's field of view, forcing him to look down. There, a beautiful, yet petite girl stood with her hands on her his, glaring up at him.
"I'm going too..." Sue said with finality.
"Sue..."Jenny tried to dissuade her, but she was having none of it.
Cain grinned down at the tiny human,
"But you're just a little girl. What can you do?" He said teasingly.
Sue's face turned bright red as her glare intensified. However, before she could say anything more, he relented,
"Okay, then. Let's go. However, remember not to draw attention to yourself."
Sue huffed and then turned to Jenny. The aggressive look in her eyes melted away as she smiled at her. Jenny sighed, then smiled back, rubbing her hair.
Because of the delicate situation they found themselves in since the start of the trial, they couldn't do anything to attract attention to themselves.
They had appeared as a group, but they immediately came under pursuit by a group of Temple warriors. Jenny who was with them stopped to buy them some time to escape. Since then, they had been hiding it out.
It wasn't until last night when they heard the things Steve had said, did they finally crawl out of their hiding place.
"What should the rest of us do?" Li asked, slamming his gloved fists together.
Cain frowned, 'Ideally, it would be best to tell them to stay put here. However...'
He could see it on all their faces. They didn't want to sit here without doing anything. They also wanted to contribute towards their goals.
Cain thought about it for a few seconds before deciding,
"Hunter, Blaze, Vince, Sisi, Stan, you guys go through the royal district and see what's up. Gather whatever info you can and relay it back to me. See if you can get your hands on the whereabouts of Ruby."
Hunter nodded, "Alright."
"Leah, Roselle, Kai, Lin Lin, you four go to the commercial district and get your hands on anything that has elemental energy in it."
Leah raised an eyebrow, "What for?"
Cain smiled at her, "It might come in handy. Of course, you can stay back if you don't what to do. It's your choice."
The mutant Beastwoman snorted.
Cain turned to the last person...
"Blaze..."
Blaze shook his head, and replied firmly,
"I'll hold down the fort here."
Cain gave the red-haired teen a strange look. This wasn't the same Blaze he had started this journey with. He had been quick to anger, and impulsive in the beginning.
Now, he had changed...
It was like they weren't even the same person, but they were, at the same time. It was quite confusing.
However, Cain had to admit that they had all changed. Everyone had. He had changed the most. He was finally beginning to accept this mantle of leadership that had fallen on his shoulders.
"Alright, then. Everyone..."
Cain's steps were firm as he walked towards the exit,
"Move out."
***
Meeting the old man again hadn't been as difficult as he expected.
Upon finding the old man's house again, he was greeted by his elderly wife and they were instructed to wait for a while.
When the old man came in, he didn't seem surprised to see him at all.
"So... You want more information on Lord Crimson, correct?"
Cain's mind drifted to the persona that donned the full-body crimson armor. Something flashed inside his eyes,
"You certainly seem to know a lot. Who is he, and what is he capable of?"
The old man chuckled, "Before that, don't you think it's a bit rude not to introduce your friends?"
Cain ruffled his hair in embarrassment,
"Sorry. My mistake... This here is Jenny. She's..."
Once the introduction was finished, the old man sat straight,
"Lord Richard Eins Crimson. As you might know, he is certainly not a small character. He is the proclaimed strongest human in the realm."
Cain's brows furrowed. What did this mean for them? He had engaged with this monster of a man, and he knew for a fact that even when holding back, he was still a bit too much for him to deal with.
"Fret not. You aren't going to be alone. Remember I told you we have reached an agreement with the Devils...".
Cain's tense expression eased up,
"You mean..."
The old man nodded, "Not just that. I and a couple of my friends will also be assisting you. We can't just watch you and your friends sacrifice your lives for our sake and not do a thing, right?"
'So gates how it is...' Cain's understanding of the situation became much more solid.
It wasn't that these Revolutionists were lacking in manpower. They even had the support of the hardy Devil race. What they needed, was their ability to infiltrate the temples. The Devils and Revolutionists couldn't do this. This was why they needed them so badly.
The entire plan revolved around this. They couldn't afford to fail...
Cain sighed, "What about the ordinary citizens?"
The old man frowned, "What about them?"
Cain's expression was a bit dark, "I'm all for a bit of rebellion, but dragging innocents down with you is a bit too much. I need your guarantee that you won't drag the normal citizens into this mess with you."
The old man sighed, "Cain, my friend... This is war. In war, there will be casualties. We can try our best to eliminate these casualties, but they will exist nonetheless."
Cain's expression softened, "In that case, there isn't much left to be said."
The old man shook his head, "You asked me about Lord Crimson, right? Wouldn't you like to hear about his abilities?"
Cain was intrigued, "Spill it."
The old man chuckled, "I can only tell you what I know... The first thing you need to be wary of is that suit of armor. It dispels almost all physical and magical damage dealt to him. He possesses strength and speed at the pinnacle of human existence as well. The armor boosts all that. This is what makes him almost a superhuman."
"He has a plethora of skills, but the ones you should look out for are his, {Danger Sense}, {Absolute Flame}, and {Heart Judgment}."
"{Danger Sense}, as you can tell, is a precognitive soil that allows him to locate attackers or incoming attacks based on the bloodlust they emit, or the danger they pose to him."
"{Absolute Flame} is a skill that allows him to summon incredibly hot flames that can burn through a steel mountain. He can also use it to boost the attack power of his weapons."
"Finally, {Heart Judgment} has to be one of the most dangerous skills I have ever seen. It ignores all forms of physical defenses and about ninety percent of magical defenses. It doesn't matter the strength of your shield, the bulk of your armor, or the thickness of your skin. If he manages to land a good hit, you'll be as good as dead, six feet deep in the ground before you know it."
Hearing this, Cain fell into a contemplative silence...