Chapter 459: Clear Requirements
[Clear Requirements]
>[... their conspirators]
OR
>[Maintain Top Score]
OR
>[Kill the leaders of all involved parties]
The last one, that was surely there for the sake of the "conspirators," or in other words, Sylas and Nosphaleen.
However, what did it mean by all leaders?
'One should obviously be City Lord Orciulius. But the fact they're multiple should mean...'
He looked toward the portal. There had to be another power on that side.
'Since it's a portal to Earth, it's most likely either a particular government or Legacy. But there's no way to confirm unless I actually go there. That said...'
Sylas looked off into the distance, and City Lord Orcilius was rushing over. It wasn't just that, but he had a great number of elites with him, ten Generals, a hundred Colonels, and much of the city's army converged.
They organized almost cartoonishly fast, but Sylas also had to realize that much of the army were humans spawned for this purpose and this purpose alone. They were disciplined to a fault, and finding a gap in their rigor would be nigh impossible.
That was when Sylas saw that there was a beacon above City Lord Orcilius' head. By extension, whoever the other leaders were, they should have beacons above their heads as well.
This gave Sylas a huge advantage. He was in the dark while all of them were exposed. It was the complete reverse of the Arctic Emperor Cobra situation.
However, this didn't put him at ease. If anything, it made him frown. Even if the system showed favoritism, it definitely wouldn't be to this extent. There had to be a catch somewhere.
He realized what the catch was not even a moment later.
City Lord Orcelius didn't even make a move, just standing there while he scanned the region with sharp eyes. Sylas wasn't the only noble watching from on high, and because he was somewhat hidden, the City Lord didn't notice his presence immediately. And even if he did, there was nothing he could do about it. Unless he had probable cause, he couldn't just attack a sitting Noble like that. The Dukes would revolt against him and he would be usurped, making Sylas' task all the easier.
However, that wasn't the important part. What stuck out to Sylas was the fact that although the City Lord didn't make a single move...
His points began to skyrocket.
That was when Sylas understood what was happening.
First, the easiest way to gather points was by killing beasts. He assumed that another method would be killing the members under the other "leader" as well, but he had yet to confirm that.
And second...
The leaders he was meant to target gained points not just for personal kills, but also for kills their subordinates made.
That meant one thing...
There was absolutely no way Sylas could win through the second condition. How could he alone outscore thousands?
That was just the most obvious problem too.
If he started killing beasts and his name popped up on the leaderboard, he would be exposing himself as the hidden third party that everyone had to focus on killing.
That meant that he had to somehow find a way to kill the opposing leaders while they were being protected by thousands, but he also had to maneuver around this battlefield without getting any confirmed kills himself.
The more Sylas analyzed his situation, the more he realized that things were veering well off the course he wanted them to follow.
It seemed that while the system might show some slight favoritism, it would never be the point of blatant nepotism.
However, by the same token, if he could pull it off...
Sylas' gaze turned cold. After he finished analyzing the situation, he realized what he had to do, and the embryo of a plan began stirring in his mind.
If he was going to succeed, he had to do this. Otherwise, he would have no chance at all.
[Rolland Orciulius (???)]
[Level: 38]
The System City army began to set up a perimeter. However, at that moment.
ROAR!
A massive beast appeared and its roar shook their hearts as a violent swirl of ice and poison shook the air.
The beast must have been at least 20 meters from head to tail, its scales reflecting a gorgeous pearly white etched with complex runes of blue.
[One Kind For Me]
[Level: 8]
[Experience: 0/12800]
[Path Talent: Beast Totem Lv8; Insight Lv8]
-
[Beast Totem (Path Talent)]
[>Suppress <F-rank> Serpentes Beasts by <85%>]
[>Forms Hibernation Realm where recovery increases by <12800%>]
[>Increase Fusion speed by <800%>]
[>Buff Contracts by <160%>]
-
[Insight (Path Talent)]
[>Observe Gene Sequence of Contract]
[>Sense Evolution Triggers]
[>Comprehend Contract]
[Arctic Emperor Cobra (FFF+)]
[Level: 19]
-
[Physical: 2449]
>[Strength: 2795]
>[Constitution: 2660]
>[Dexterity: 2054]
>[Speed: 2135]
[Mental: 2425]
>[Intelligence: 3960]
>[Wisdom: 2161]
>[Charisma: 1417]
[Will: 2590]
A Beast Totem loomed over Sylas' head from the shadows, his eyes flickering with a dense light. He didn't hesitate to pour 6400 of his remaining 10,000 Experience into One Kind For Me, increasing the Arctic Emperor Cobra's buff from 140% to 160%.
Then, using his visualization range, he summoned it just outside the portal, making it look as though it had just walked right out of it.
The appearance of such a powerful beast made even the City Lord's pupils constrict. And as expected, he had no idea that this was Sylas' contracted beast.
It was for this very reason that Sylas had been cautious with how he used the Arctic Emperor
Cobra.
However, this was just the first step.
Commands flew through his intention, bearing down on the Arctic Emperor Cobra's psyche.
The Insight Path was the vaguest of his Path Talents, but also, arguably, the most useful. Not only did it allow him the ability to understand how to help his Contract evolve, but it also helped him understand it in an almost spiritual sense. Meaning... he knew exactly how to "speak" to it so that it would understand, especially after his Dual Class Constitution made his feel for his Profession even stronger.
Still, somehow he was going to have to win while keeping two things in mind.
First... he had to find a way to lure the City Lord out of the city no matter what. Within these
limits, even the Arctic Emperor Cobra was no match for him.
And second...
He somehow had to do it without killing because any points the Arctic Emperor Cobra gained
would count for him.