Chương 51: The King's Decree

Arthur's body scraped against the stone floor, leaving behind a trail of blood. Seeing such a cruel scene play out, the group of people instinctively stood up, fear creeping into their hearts. Are we going to be beaten like this before this place kills us? Such a thought appeared in everyone's minds. Once Van arrived, he let go of Arthur's hand. Following which, he sent another heavy stomp towards Arthur's head. Thud!

The surrounding people involuntarily turned their heads away as Arthur's head was wedged between the stone floor and the man's foot. It was an absolutely brutal stomp. As an Awakener who possessed No Core Layer, Arthur's brain suffered severe damage from the stomp, blood flowing out from his nose and eyes.

"Wake him up," Victor said in an amused tone. Hearing the order, Van nudged Arthur's body with his foot to wake him from his unconscious state. Seeing that Arthur did not wake up, the irritated Van stomped on his stomach once more. He continued his assault for a short while, but Arthur simply could not wake up.

"That is enough," Victor stopped Van, whose face currently revealed deep irritation.

"Lift him." He signaled towards Joanna. She took out her guitar, her fingers bracing its strings. Suddenly, a wisp of energy shot out from it like a thread, directly coiling around Arthur's neck and lifting him up into the air. Arthur's body was lifted high into the air, his feet finally leaving the stone floor. He hung limply for a few moments before slowly recovering from his unconscious state, violently struggling to breathe.

His hands clawed desperately at his neck, trying to remove the energy string that was strangling him. However, all of his efforts were futile; he simply could not do anything.

"What are you doing?!" Suddenly, an enraged cry sounded from the side. In the very next second, a fiery ball of flames was hurled towards the woman named Joanna, who was currently utilizing her ability to strangle Arthur. The attacker was none other than Susanne, who had used her Affinity to take action against the woman. However, before the fireball could even reach Joanna, one of Victor's subordinates abruptly stepped forward. Without hesitation, he created an energy shield to block the incoming attack.

The fireball crashed heavily into the shield, yet it did not create the slightest bit of impact. Instead, it was easily diffused. It must be known that Susanne herself did not possess any Core Layer. Hence, her Fire Affinity simply was not strong enough to inflict any damage. Susanne and the hunting team had just returned from the location where they stashed the meat. When they saw someone floating in midair, they were shocked. However, when they realized it was Arthur, their world turned upside down.

Seeing her attack being stopped so effortlessly, Susanne's face instantly darkened. Without giving it a second thought, she madly charged towards Victor and his group.

"You bastards, what do you think you are doing?! Let him go!" Charlton drew his sword, closely following behind Susanne. Meanwhile, Arthur's vision turned completely white. His hands, which were desperately clawing at his neck, finally gave up their struggle. Following which, his head and body hung entirely lifeless. Desperate to save Arthur, Susanne and Charlton charged forward. However, before they could launch another attack, two of Victor's subordinates jumped in front of them, easily subduing the two.

Susanne struggled to free herself. However, a fat man carrying a shield on his back firmly held the back of her neck, refusing to let her go. Meanwhile, Charlton did not fare well. A man wearing gauntlets sent a heavy punch towards his stomach. All the air in Charlton's lungs instantly vanished as he collapsed, dropping his sword to the ground. Arthur's body hung limply for a moment. Suddenly, Victor gestured for the woman to stop and drop him to the ground. Following which, he signaled to another young woman.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. In the next second, she stepped forward and extended her hand. A green energy completely engulfed Arthur's body, healing him. Very quickly, Arthur's body started returning to normal; his purple face and skin reverted to their original state. Seeing this scene, everyone let loose a breath of relief. The group had originally thought Arthur had died. Now that they saw this change, their expressions also returned to normal.

Arthur's consciousness slowly returned. His fingers and eyes started to move. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes as his breathing stabilized. Every injury on his body had completely healed.

"Call everyone," Victor said. Hearing the command, one of his subordinates immediately ran towards the other sections of the underground, calling for everyone to assemble in the main hall. Soon after, everyone walked into the main hall, confusion clearly plastered on their faces. Nickolas also walked out from the inner chambers. When he saw his friends' situation, he was greatly confused as to what had happened again. He quickly walked towards the center of the commotion.

"What is going on here? Why are you holding her? Let her go!" While he was walking, he noticed Charlton laying on the ground, and finally, Arthur, who currently sat silently on the ground in front of Victor.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Nickolas roared when he realized the situation. Similar to Nickolas, everyone who had arrived from the other parts of the underground wondered the exact same thing. Casey, Carroll, and everyone else finally arrived. They stood with confusion on their faces as they stared at Arthur, who sat silently.

"It seems everyone is present," Victor finally spoke.

"Now, I want everyone to listen carefully. I will not repeat myself," he announced in a booming tone.

"In this place, all of you should listen and act according to what I say. You do not have the luxury to ask questions," he said as he looked at the faces of the people.

"If I say run, you must run. If I say jump, you jump. Your mind should not ask questions as to why you need to run. All of you should train your minds to obey my commands without a single second of delay. Do you all understand?" Victor ordered.

"I want your verbal confirmation. Now, say 'I understand, and I will obey your orders,'" Victor demanded, sweeping a glance across the people. Hearing his words, everyone involuntarily replied in unison, "I understand, and I will obey your orders."

"Very good." Victor's face lit up with a satisfied smile. Following which, he turned his head towards Arthur, who sat silently looking at the ground. Victor took a few steps forward, standing just a foot before him.

"Kneel," he commanded. Arthur, who was staring blankly at the ground, moved his body and knelt.

"Cuff your hands behind your back," he ordered. Arthur did as he was ordered.

"Look at me," Victor said once more. Arthur, who was still staring at the floor, slowly lifted his head until his eyes met with Victor's. While Arthur wondered what order he would receive next, his eyes suddenly traced something moving towards him from his side. Instinctively, his eyes shifted from Victor's face towards the incoming object. Slash! However, before his eyes could even track what it was, the object passed right through his neck. At first, he felt absolutely nothing. However, in the very next second...

Squirt! Blood splashed out of his neck. In the next moment, Arthur clutched his neck as he fell to his side. Blood poured from his neck, and he started to choke on his own blood. Everyone present did not even react to Victor's sudden action. They were shell-shocked, taking a few seconds to react. Similar to the others, Susanne and Nickolas were unable to react. They felt as if they were dreaming and would wake up at any moment.

"You bastard. What have you done?!" Nickolas took a few seconds to understand the situation as he cried out, charging towards Victor. Susanne, who was still in the hold of the fat man, could do nothing but cry. The charging Nickolas was subdued without any effort by Victor's subordinates. With a lack of strength, he could do nothing but stare blankly at Arthur's unmoving body and the pool of blood.

"This will be your end if you ever fail to obey my order. Here, I will be the king; what I say will be the rule," Victor roared towards the shell-shocked people. Everyone's face turned pale, and their minds went blank. Even Casey, who used to question Victor earlier, did not have the courage to speak. They simply stood there like dead trunks. However, before Victor could make any more of his King's speech, a flash of light suddenly appeared not far from where the people stood.

Out of the flash of light, four figures exited. More people? Everyone stared at the new arrivals of the Trail's participants.

"Grandfather, Uncle, you have finally arrived." While the people were wondering who these individuals were, a voice suddenly echoed out. It was Victor. Among the four figures, the one walking in the forefront was an elderly man with silver hair. His piercing eyes scanned his surroundings, landing on Victor and the figure on the floor.

"What are you doing, Victor?" a middle-aged man walking by the right side of the old man asked.

"Well, I am teaching these fools who is in charge of this place. I believe it was a success," Victor said gleefully, looking around at the pale faces of the people.

"Dispose of the body. Clean the mess." The old man gave the command as he walked forward, shaking his head at his grandson's antics.

"Now, did you not listen to my grandfather?" Victor asked with a displeased expression after seeing that not a single person moved to follow the order. Hearing this, everyone immediately scrambled towards the spot, quickly cleaning it up before their own throats were cut. Susanne, Nickolas, and Charlton stopped crying, finally recovering from their shock. Even though they had only met Arthur yesterday, they felt as if they were close friends.

When they thought about how easily their friend was killed right before their eyes, and how they could do nothing but sob, they deeply hated themselves for their inability to do anything.