Chương 95: The Power Struggle

Silence lingered over the crater for a moment. When Arthur's answer arrived, it was immediately discerned as the truth by Sabin, who possessed a special Ability capable of perfectly detecting whether a person was telling the truth or lying. Consequently, when Arthur declared he was resurrected by God, the confirmation of this statement shocked everyone to the core. This was especially true for Stacy and her group.

They knew most of the established facts regarding the Trial, yet absolutely nothing related to God or the miracle of resurrection had ever been mentioned. Now, witnessing this new phenomenon firsthand, their fundamental understanding of the Trial and the Awakened world changed in an instant. Did God really exist? This was a single question that every person born into this world desired to ask and know the answer to.

Whenever individuals of high status discussed the New Era, the topic inevitably shifted to the Entity that had brought this Awakening upon the world, bestowing magic and otherworldly powers upon humanity. Could that Entity be considered a God? If so, what kind of God was it, and what was the purpose of this new Miracle imposed upon them? Although a few centuries had passed since the Era of Awakening descended, these profound questions remained completely unanswered and undiscovered by anyone.

Yet now, upon hearing that a young man, someone highly insignificant in this grand world, had been resurrected by God, any sane person would be left shell-shocked. This went without saying for the members of the Union Government, who tended to maintain peace across the world.

"Hahaha, come on guys, did you believe what I said about God?" Arthur laughed casually upon seeing the situation growing dense.

"I just said that so I could hide my innate Ability." Seeing that casually mentioning the term God made the issue much more severe, Arthur quickly stated it was his ability that brought him back from death. Arthur was not that naive regarding what was happening here. These people were in shock and possessed a lot of questions about his presence. After all, who in their right mind would not have questions when a killed person was alive again?

His casual remark about God turning out to be true directly placed his mind upon that Notebook. If what he said was true, then wouldn't the Notebook be considered a God? It was what gave him another life, even though it was more like a death contract between them. Realizing the issue was directly pointing toward his secret and the Notebook, Arthur quickly tried to divert the issue, mentioning that he held some kind of ability that helped him come back alive.

However, upon seeing these people, Arthur did not think this cover-up worked. Sabin whispered something again to Dejan, and he whispered something back to his sons. In the next second, Reginald disappeared from where he stood.

"Geoff!" Stacy called out the chubby guy. Once the people of the Obispo heard what Dejan muttered, they took action. Arthur did not know what these people were whispering to each other. Suddenly, someone appeared directly before him. It was Toni. His small fist made an action as it moved forward, aiming at an empty spot. But Arthur remained unaware that an attack was already aimed at him.

"Boom!" As the small fist struck the empty space, it met another fist. In the next second, Reginald materialized before him. The two fists collided, and a shockwave erupted from the sheer impact. Immediately, Arthur was hurled backward. He crashed into a protruding rock with a loud impact, causing the stone to cave in. The collision was severe enough to shatter the rock entirely, but surprisingly, Arthur remained in one piece. Furthermore, he experienced absolutely no physical pain or mental fatigue.

He felt as normal as ever. His gaze quickly shifted to his hands, noticing a Purple energy shimmering across his skin. Turning his head to the left, Arthur noticed someone hovering close by. It was Repp. The skeleton casually stood beside him. Looking upward, Arthur discovered a figure stood directly above him in the sky. Both of the man's hands were extended forward, palms facing the ground. It was Geoff from the research team. However, his current actions told Arthur that this man was no simple plant researcher.

Proving his instincts true, Arthur watched as objects descended from above, enveloping their entire spatial area. They were broadswords attached to golden chains. Shrink! A sword pierced the ground every few meters. It formed a circular perimeter. The chain hung from the sky. The moment the final sword struck the earth, an energy shield manifested! It linked every single blade together into a dome. Now, everyone was trapped inside. No one could leave, nor could anyone enter!

Arthur's eyes searched for the petty man from the Outer Sector, fully expecting him to have been blown away by the impact in a similar manner to himself. However, after looking around, he could no longer see the man. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Was his body destroyed by the sheer velocity of the shockwave? A sudden thought arose in Arthur's heart. He slowly stood up.

As he observed his surroundings, he noticed multiple battles taking place inside the dome. The chubby researcher still maintained his position high in the sky. Thus, there were three people present. With Toni supposedly killed, the researcher's side should have lacked one person, yet Arthur clearly saw three distinct battles currently underway. The researcher whose eyes glowed red fought against the old man, while the female plant ecologist battled the man who had whispered earlier.

However, there was another man inside the dome, fighting the other Pleasence member who had attacked him first. Where did he come from? Seeing someone currently battling Reginald, Arthur could not understand who this man was or where he had originated from. He stood at least six feet tall, and every attack he landed upon Reginald generated a terrifying shockwave. Currently, his upper body was bare, his muscles moving like machinery with every punch.

Arthur did not know who this man was, but at the very least, he was fighting on his side. If that punch were to hit Arthur, he would be dead from the first attack. With battles now occurring all around, Arthur simply stood in place, not knowing what to do. Should he escape this place? Looking around at the energy shield created by the chain-linked swords, he did not think he could escape. He quickly moved, searching for a perfect hiding spot.

He would conceal himself somewhere until the fight ended or the countdown hit zero. Repp closely followed him, drifting smoothly through the air. The Great Grandmaster Skeleton was capable of flying! In an ordinary situation, this would have been great news to celebrate, but currently, he could not care less. His life was on the line. However, one thing Arthur had not realized was just how calm his mind and heart were.

If the Repp's barrier was not protecting him, the terrifying battle would have definitely crippled him and left him crawling on the ground. Soon, Arthur found a cave-like hole, and he decided to hide inside it until everything settled.

After being yelled at by her grandmother, Susanne ran from the Main Chamber. Though she didn't know what she could do in this situation, she ultimately had to find Arthur and confirm whether he was alive or not. She ascended the steps quickly and exited the entrance of the Safe Spot. Soon, she heard more footsteps. Turning back, she noticed Nickolas and the others running toward her. Ignoring them, she turned to the wilderness. She wondered which direction she should go.

Whether to run toward the empty grave where Arthur was buried, or run toward the crater? Turning around to see the direction of the crater, she suddenly noticed something far away. Her eyes locked onto it. When Nickolas and the others caught up, they automatically noticed Susanne's reaction. As their eyes gazed toward the crater, they found a strange dome made of gray energy.

"What is that?" Charlton instinctively asked. But no answers came for that question. After staring at it for a moment, Susanne suddenly bolted toward this phenomenon. Her instincts told her that Arthur must be there, and that the war had already started. Looking at the countdown in the sky, exactly thirty minutes remained. Her only hope was that she could reach the crater before something happened to Arthur again. Seeing Susanne suddenly start to run towards the dome, the others also followed her toward the crater.

Main Chamber, Safe Spot. While the main topic currently being discussed in the Main Chamber was whether to kill Arthur or keep him alive to obtain the fortune he would bring, aside from this main discussion, another secondary meeting was going on separately in the very same chamber. Members of two families were having a serious discussion. If anyone asked how one could easily say it was only two families not mix of families, it was because of their distinct hair.

Standing on one side with red hair were the people who belonged to the Persoff family. The Persoffs were one of the oldest families living in Faith City. Some rumors said that even before the era of Awakening, the Persoff family ruled Faith City. So, one could just imagine how deeply rooted the Persoff family line was on the Faith City. On the other hand, the Winters family, with obsidian black hair, stood opposite the Persoff family.

The Winters family were considered ambitious people, though they didn't have a rich heritage like the Persoffs in the Faith city since they had migrated from a different place four generations before. Though they held power in their hands, they were always considered outsiders. The original families of Faith City never let them rise above them. They were kept constantly under their thumb; however, now it was their time to crush the others and rule the city. In the middle of this group stood an old man.

His back was bent forward, leaning heavily against his staff, and he was short in stature. He looked like he would die tomorrow. It literally looked like this old man didn't belong in this Trial, but he was the Patriarch of the Persoff Family. Though the Persoff family once ruled over Faith City, along the way, the families who competed with them started to dominate them to a level they couldn't compete with.

So, with time and power moving fast, their family gradually started to lay low, doing what was necessary for their family. However, now they had an opportunity they planned not to miss. Opposite the old man stood a middle-aged man who might be in his mid-thirties. He looked very sophisticated, wearing a long coat with intriguing designs engraved into it. He also wore eyeglasses, often pushing them up his nose. Behind him stood people with the same hair.

With two different backgrounds but the same ambitions, these two families decided to work together on this new development in the Trial. They already knew what had transpired before they came to this place specifically, about the reward. While these two were having a silent discussion, someone ran towards them and stood a meter away from the old man. It was Carroll Persoff, whom Victor had appointed to do the cleaning work in the Safe Spot.

Carroll was the great-grandson of the old man, and he had been sent off to the Trial early to monitor the situation. By doing so, they gained a huge advantage by collecting every piece of intel on what had happened inside the Safe Spot. Now, the unfortunate thing that happened to somebody else created a chance for them to achieve exactly what they wanted. Once Carroll steadied himself, he secretly passed something to the old man. It was shaped like a glass vial, the kind where potions were filled.

However, currently, it wasn't holding any kind of potion, but some red liquid. It almost looked like blood. Which was true, it was the blood Carroll had collected when he cleaned the Chamber after Arthur was killed. The old man took the vial, his old eyes piercing it. His old, wrinkled cheeks slowly lifted up as a smile appeared on his face.