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nLucas looked at the figure wearing a demonic mask warily. He didn’t have to observe the person using his Mystic State as he could already tell he was dangerous.

nThe mask he was using seemed to be a high-grade Noble Rank item, as he couldn’t

nHe tried to recall which Order or Organization likes to wear this type of mask, but he couldn’t think of it at the moment.

n“Who are you?! Why are you doing this to us?!” Lucas asked, but at the same time, he used his telepathy to order his Formation Experts to lock the surrounding area.

nThey can’t let this man escape no matter what!

nUnfortunately, the culprit has no plans to speak!

nHe just pointed his hands at the group of Formation Experts in the Mercenary Group…

nThere were no signs of ritual, activation of Spells, or usage of Mystical Artifacts.

nHowever, the clouds in the sky started to gather once again as everyone realized what was about to come!

n“Retreat!” Lucas shouted as he looked at his Formation Experts.

nAs a matter of fact, he didn’t have to warn them as they already felt that something was off. They immediately canceled their ritual as they scattered away.

nBoom!

nAnother Lightning Strike devastated the area that the masked man had just pointed!

nSix of the Formation Experts were charred to death, while the others were blasted away from the point of impact.

nThey may not have died, but they were seriously injured.

nIn addition to that, the area where the lightning struck was filled with static electricity that could kill anyone who walked there.

nLucas and Helen realized that they were most likely fighting against a Master Arcanist! There was no way a First-Class Practitioner was capable of doing this!

nEven if he had done this using a Mystical Item, there was no way a First-Class Practitioner could control this level item so effortlessly and repeatedly! Even Royal-Rank Items already have challenging backlash in every usage.

nHowever, this person had used the Lightning Strike twice!

nLucas could only imagine what kind of side-effect this man had endured for using such a forbidden-like Spell.

nBang! Bang! Bang!

nA series of gunshots was suddenly heard as the Baron’s men attacked the masked man. They didn’t care about the injured mercenaries, as they were here to secure the merchandise in the factory’s basement.

nThud. Thud. Thud.

n“Whoa!”

n“W-what’s going on?!”

n“Magic!”

n“Come here, Father! Look outside!”

n“There are people fighting! Look!”

nThe ordinary citizens who came out of their houses to see what was happening witnessed a strange scene.

nUnder the illumination of the moonlight, they saw the police officers shoot at the Masked Man, but the bullets had strangely stopped in front of him as if there was an invisible wall.

nAdding the rubble and fires everywhere, the children who had woken up and looked outside their windows couldn’t help but feel it was so magical.

nHowever, for the Arcanists in the surroundings, they could see one huge and ghastly hand stopping the bullets from hitting him.

n‘What is that thing?’ Lucas clenched his fist as he felt something ominous about that devil-like hand.

nIt was the same for the others as they shuddered at the sight of it.

nThose bullets just now weren’t ordinary bullets used by regular policemen. They were products of Runecasters, and these bullets can penetrate even a 12-inch thick metal door!

nSeeing how the ghastly hand could stop these bullets, they could only think that this summoned hand was at the peak of the Advanced Realm or even the legendary Perfect Realm!

nAt this time, the Masked Man seemed to have enough of the show as he waved his hand…

nIt was already quite dark, but the man seemed to have briefly taken all the light with him, scaring all the people within 500 meters!

nThat’s right!

nThe man appears to have full control of the light and darkness within 500 meters as he disappears the moment the darkness shrouds everyone. 𝒃𝒆.𝒎

n“Isn’t that the Light Absorption Spell of the Dark Arts Faction?” Helen muttered as she confirmed that the masked man had disappeared.

nLucas nodded at her words, but he was also thinking of something else.

n“Helen… Isn’t his actions a bit too weird?” He said while looking at the previous spot where the Masked Man was standing.

nHelen looked at the Commander as she also nodded.

n“Yes, it was as if he was trying to send a message. A warning, perhaps…”

n“Mhmm… It seemed that he was working alone. He could always escape whenever he wanted. However, he deliberately showed his powers to us.”

n“You’re right… However, let’s not overthink. Perhaps, the message wasn’t for us.” Helen said as she commanded the others who weren’t injured to remove the rubbles so they could investigate.

nRight now, she had no time to think about this secret message as the Orders of each Faction had also arrived to investigate. She would have to answer so many questions from them and keep the secret of their merchandise at all costs.

n***

nIn the meantime, Vale silently appeared in front of his hotel room. A few people were outside, and they didn’t seem to mind his presence.

nVale was no longer wearing his black trench coat and mask this time as he wore a fitted suit instead.

nAnyway, he was still using his Shapeshift Spell to ensure that Vale Chambers’ face would never be seen in this city.

nHe entered the building and saw a group of people who were talking about the lightning and the destruction of the cotton mill. They seemed to have just woken up, so his entrance wasn’t suspicious.

nAfter getting in his room, he felt tired and wanted to sleep quickly, so he ordered Yvaine to guard him.

nAs he lay on his bed, he started thinking about what he just did in front of many people.

n‘If the Secret Organization was the one helping the Snake Brotherhood in Melthorn City… The appearance of the Divine Lightning and Demonic Mask should alert them of my presence here.’

nVale then closed his eyes as he touched the golden pocketwatch hidden in his chest pocket.

n𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮

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