The Deceitful One

On the outskirts of Damascus, outside the abandoned coal mine, a brutal melee was currently taking place.

The members of the Strike Team fought the Holy Blood Sect's members while being outnumbered. Meanwhile, Alfredo simply stood by the side as he looked at the ongoing fight with amusement.

However, this was merely a facade. He was just doing this to give the Strike Team members some semblance of hope. In but a few minutes, he would trample all over them. Moreover, he also needed some sacrifices for his Master's plan.

His attention was only on Bryan. He coldly looked at him with a predatory gaze as he thought, 'You mangled Anthony's head. I'll do the same to you, boy. No, I'll do something much worse.'

Alfredo's lips couldn't help but curl up into a cold smile as he thought of the ways he would inflict pain upon Bryan. He would make sure to torture him before killing him. It would be a mercy to kill him straight away.

On the battlefield, Ron was fighting against two opponents simultaneously. To say he was having a hard time would be an understatement.

Moreover, he was fighting Blood Path Transcendents who were said to have one of the most potent attacks among all other Paths of the same rank!

Ron ducked as he dodged a swing of the Blood Claw by one of his opponents. This was the enhanced version of the Rank 0 Spell and was much more lethal.

However, right before he could counterattack, he was kicked right in the face by his other opponent. Ron's feet were swept off the ground as he tumbled face-first a few feet away.

The person who had swung his Blood Claw earlier was already waiting at the position Ron landed in. The former then brought down his bloody palm ferociously as he aimed to smash Ron's head and kill him.

But right at that moment, a figure emerged from this person's shadow and slowly turned corporeal. Without making his presence known, this figure then swung both his black-colored daggers at the person's neck, instantly decapitating him!

The Blood Path Transcendent's head separated from his body as blood began to gush from his neck like a fountain.

Ron was dumbfounded as his spiritual sense hadn't even warned him that there was another person near him. When the decapitated person fell to the ground, Ron was finally able to see who it was.

His eyes widened in surprise, "Bryan!"

Bryan nodded at him and helped him up to his feet. He then spoke solemnly, "My innate ability allows me to slip into the shadows. It's perfect for providing support and instantaneous kills on the battlefield."

He then looked at the other Blood Path transcendent that was fighting Ron and was now running towards them, "I'll leave him to you. Help the others once you're done with him."

Without waiting for a reply, Bryan melded back into the shadows. Ron, once again, wasn't able to locate him with his spiritual sense. He then turned his attention to the enemy who was approaching him and chanted in Ancient Hymmnos, "Aqua Whip!"

Numerous droplets of water gathered around Ron as they formed two long and thick whips. He grabbed the ends of both these whips and instantly attacked his opponent.

This was a Rank 1 Spell of the Water Path!

Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Emma was fighting one on one with a Blood Path Transcendent as dozens of balls of fire and blood continue to collide against each other. They were currently at a stalemate!

Emma looked at the lady in front of her who also had red hair and couldn't help but curse, "Fuck!"

She was not so good at close-quarter combat. What she excelled the most at were long-range attacks.

Her abilities would truly shine if she paired up with a Transcendent who was good at close quarters. Hence, she was trying her best to keep her opponent at a distance.

However, after the passing of each of their attacks, her opponent was gaining ground. Emma took a quick glance around and saw that her teammates were busy fighting with their lives on the line.

She couldn't ask for assistance because they were outnumbered, to begin with. However, the next moment, her eyes widened in surprise. Following that, her expression instantly returned to normal, but now there was a trace of a confident smile adorning her lips.

"Look here, bitch!" She yelled at her opponent. "Match my next attack, if you dare."

She brought her hands together as a loud clap resounded around her. When Emma separated her hands again, a thick pillar of fire was formed in between them.

The pillar of fire soon grew larger and took the shape of a spear as Emma grabbed its fiery handle.

Her opponent didn't know where Emma was getting such confidence from. But knowing that she had a Rank 2 Transcendent backing them, along with her team members outnumbering the other party, she decided to indulge Emma.

A blood-red spear soon formed in her hands as well. She then readied herself and threw the spear at Emma. And a second after that, Emma also threw her fire spear, however, her spear wasn't aiming at the blood spear but her opponent!

Her opponent scoffed looking at the fire spear heading her way, "What's the point? Are you so stupid that you don't even realize that both of us can dodge each other's sp-"

However, before she could finish her sentence, her mouth was suddenly gagged by a shadowy black tendril! Following that, her hands, feet, as well as her stomach were firmly bound by more shadowy tendrils.

She was now completely rooted on the spot as she looked at the incoming fire spear in sheer horror. Her eyes widened as she realized that the spear was aiming at her heart!

And the speed at which the spear was flying towards her, it would surely leave a gaping hole in her chest region. Although she could recover from an injury sustained to her heart. But if the entire heart was annihilated, what would she even regenerate?

As expected, the fire spear flew right through her chest area, leaving a large gaping hole in its wake. The female Blood Path Transcendent couldn't even move a muscle to evade this attack. The light in her eyes slowly dimmed.

She had died just like that. The shadowy black tendrils finally unbound her and dissipated into shadows. Her body fell limply on the ground, a trace of regret and unwillingness still lingering in her dead eyes.

Meanwhile, Emma had easily dodged the blood spear earlier. Then, she heard a voice echo in her mind again, "Go support Andrew and Elijah. I'll go help out Henry."

Emma nodded as she looked around. However, she still couldn't find a trace of Bryan in the vicinity. She couldn't help but marvel inwardly, 'I can't believe he's just a newly advanced Transcendent!'

Earlier, it was Bryan who had told her to goad her opponent into casting a single attack. She still found it hard to believe how easily Bryan had incapacitated her opponent and how easily she had killed her.

She ran towards Andrew and Elijah who were fighting together against three Blood Path Transcendents. She then looked at Alfredo who was still spectating the entire battle with his hands behind his back.

Emma couldn't help but wonder with hopeful eyes, 'If all of us can defeat the Rank 1s without many casualties. There's a chance that we can take on the Rank 2 fucker in a six-on-one battle.'

Bryan continued to navigate in the shadows, completely out of bounds from the spiritual sense perception of all the people present—except Alfredo, of course.

He was using his innate abilities in the battle for the first time and couldn't help but admire the raw potency of it. He even had a feeling that his shadow-related abilities were even greater than those from the Shadow Path itself!

Bryan utilized all the shadows he could find. Whether it was from a tree, a person, or even something as small as a pebble. If there was a shadow, he could slip into it!

He soon approached the spot where Henry was fighting against two Blood Path Transcendents all by himself as he swung his broad sword ferociously.

Compared to others, Henry was having an easier time. There was only one simple reason for this. It was because he was a Transcendent of the Strength Path!

This Path boasted not just high attack potency but also high defensive power. Bryan had sparred with Henry more times than he could count. Hence, he knew just how hard it was to bypass his defenses.

To put things into perspective, the Rank 1 Spell: Blood Claw would only leave a slight scratch on Henry's skin. Even if it did manage to pierce his flesh, the poison wouldn't cause any harm to Henry either.

Because one of the innate abilities of a Rank 1 Strength Path Transcendent was Regeneration. And it was on par with or perhaps even greater than that of a Blood Path Transcendent's innate Regeneration!