Chapter 1239: Two Options

The port was only around 15 kilometers from the apartment. To avoid unwelcome attention, all the witches dispersed and headed in different directions.

Roland was the last to set off. He drove his shabby mini van out of the residential area, with Phyllis and Faldi sitting at the rear.

He had upgraded their equipment after the joint mission organized by the Martial Artist a.s.sociation. Although the equipment was not as advanced as that distributed by the a.s.sociation, the appliances he had bought from the market were also quite a good alternative.

The walkie-talkies he had bought from the website were equipped with bluetooth microphones, which enabled the witches to communicate with each other within five kilometers. In reality, however, due to the interference of surrounding buildings and the complicated electromagnetic field, the communication was only effective when the witches were no more than two kilometers from each other. Since the speakers were less than 200 Yuan, and he could receive a discount if he placed a bulk order, Roland decided to equip each of the ancient witches with a walkie-talkie.

At least, the walkie-talkie was more convenient than a cell phone, and it attracted less attention of pa.s.sers-by.

Roland often saw in a movie where an unexpected call jeopardized the whole mission. He felt it not only stupid but also unrealistic. He definitely did not want to make the same mistake.

Faldi, who had the ability to track people down, naturally became the key liaison person.

"Your Majesty, Betty's team has reached the port and met up with Ling."

"Ask them to hide themselves first until the rest of the team arrive," Roland said without looking backward.

"OK. Dawnen's team is still on the way and they'll be there in five minutes, but she doesn't have much money."

"Um... ask them who has extra to give to Dawnen."

"Hold on. Dawnen says that the driver has overheard their conversation and agreed to give them a ride for free."

"Alright then..." Roland said as he rolled his eyes. Why did n.o.body give him a free ride?

Five seconds after Faldi hung up, Roland's phone rang again. "Your Majesty, Twinkle says she has to take a detour. It looks like that she's not going to the port."

Roland frowned and asked, "Where is she?"

Before he finished, the phone was hung up abruptly, and Roland heard a loud bang on the other end of the line.

Then there was a series of noises.

Everything fell silent afterwards.

Roland ma.s.saged his temple and said, "Well... ask her to take another taxi. Remember to avoid the surveillance camera."

"Got it, Your Majesty," Faldi promised.

Around an hour later, all the witches reached the port.

The team that arrived first had already started to eat sunflower seeds.

Fortunately, the Fallen Evils had used the port as their temporary headquarters and did not notice the presence of the witches. They would have probably fled had this been a running fight. Roland suddenly had an urge to purchase more mini vans to avoid such embarra.s.sment.

He cleared his throat and asked Ling, "What are the Fallen Evils doing?"

"Your Majesty, the Fallen Evils are all in the loading area. There are more than 30 of them. Some of their scouts are on the iron boxes outside. We could easily pa.s.s them unnoticed under Dawnen's Veil of Invisibility. The lighting condition is pretty good in the area close to the inner river. I didn't want to get too close to it, so I just took a look at the distance. Most of the Fallen Evils are there, but they could go anywhere. If we fight, I can't guarantee that we could capture every one of them."

Ling's ability was to be fused with shadows, and she could hide herself perfectly at night just like Nightingale. In other words, she was the best scout.

Roland said thoughtfully, "Well, in that case, let's lure them out and kill them. Entice them away from the river bank so that they can't flee by water, and then we can surround them."

"It seems feasible in theory, but how to lure them away?" Phyllis asked.

Roland smiled and pointed at himself. "I've heard that the Fallen Evils are attacking martial artists. They have no reason to let me go."

After all the witches disappeared in the darkness, Roland revealed himself and strolled to the dump site, as though he was simply a resident who happened to be having a walk here.

The dump site was dead quiet. The pattering of his footsteps and the humming of insects with which the silence teemed, became extremely audible. Piles of boxes loomed against the soft glow of yellow lights. It appeared that n.o.body would come to this deep, desolate labyrinth of boxes at this hour.

Dawnen reminded the rest of the team over the cheap walk-talkie that there were a few Fallen Evils lurking at the port.

Apparently, the scouts of the Fallen Evils noticed Roland's Force of Nature and notified their peers. To Roland's surprise, the Fallen Evils did not attack him immediatley but watched him amble around the port for a few minutes.

Then, suddenly, the whole port area was as bright as day when the lights at the dump site were turned on!

In the blinding light, Roland saw a dozen people slowly reveal themselves from the shadow. After his eyes were adapted to the dazzling light, he found himself surrounded by the Fallen Evils.

The man, who appeared to be the leader, was wearing a mask with strange patterns on it. He stood out from all the other Fallen Evils. Roland noticed that his mask looked like a gate that was about to burst open.

There were also two men standing next to the leader, who did not look like ordinary Fallen Evils, for their eyes had yet slid out of focus, and they were wearing the clothes distributed by the Martial Artist a.s.sociation.

"Good evening, poor man," the leader said in a surprisingly polite tone. "I don't know what brought you here, but you should know that you have no chance to escape. Rather than waste your time and energy, I would recommend you to first listen to me."

Roland looked around and saw that there were Fallen Evils in all directions.

"Don't be afraid. I don't want to kill you. On the contrary, this may be a very rare opportunity. I just came to this world and I need your help," the man said as he extended out his hands. "Don't refuse it right away. Please let me introduce myself. I'm the amba.s.sador of G.o.d, Alpha, from what you call the 'Erosion'."

Roland should have pretended to be frightened so that they would put their guard down. However, for some reason, Roland had an urge to punch the man in his face and shatter his triumphant, courteous smile.

"So, you're the monster that invaded the Prism City?"

"Invasion isn't the exact word, because this place belongs to G.o.d," Alpha said placidly. "Now it's time to return it. Look, lost man, the so-called martial artists will eventually be defeated and return to nothingness. It's more advisable to pledge fealty to G.o.d."

"I know it's hard for you to understand now. We have plenty of time to discuss the true nature of this world. I can show you the benefit you could possibly gain from this deal, apart from those empty promises. I can show you power," the man said while sticking out one finger. Soon, a flicker of red light ignited his fingertip, and Roland sensed a great fluctuation of magic power. "I can give this power to you, and you'll become much more powerful."

"Mr. Apostle isn't lying," two men beside the leader rejoined. "We were just awakened, and now we feel that we have tons of energy!"

"And you won't lose your mind either like those Fallen Evils."

"What if I decline?"

"Then I'll have to turn you into one of those monsters. Although they're relatively weak, they obey me," Alpha threatened while shrugging. "You can choose between the truth and power and being reduced to an unconscious monster that has an insatiable desire for the Force of Nature. You know which one is a better choice."

"Your Majesty, everyone is ready," Faldi whispered over the walkie-talkie.

Roland twitched his lips and said, "Then let me tell you what the true nature of this world is. I create this world, and I won't give it to anyone. So, you have two options. One is that you give me your cores and die here. The other is that I kill you, and it'll take me some extra time to collect your cores. Which one do you choose?"

"Stupid man!" the martial artists who had betrayed the a.s.sociation hollered. "You can kill us just by yourself?"

"No, haven't you noticed that you've been surrounded?" Roland said and snapped his fingers. "Kill them."