Chapter 197: Den of The Falcon
"I trust your judgment, Liam. If you believe that Jason Marc will be a more beneficial ally than Katarina, then you have my blessing to go in and apprehend her."
Once that person agreed, the other members of the executives also began to reluctantly agree. They couldn’t go against the words of the former governor, so they had no choice! Liam felt relief fill his heart when he saw that he had finally won the group over, and he thanked them all gladly before leaving quickly to go and mobilize the Enforcers.
——
[With Jason and Riyala]
"Do you have everything you’ll need?"
Jason asked Riyala this question as they stood side by side outside the bustling city of New York. Right now, Jason and Riyala were standing out of sight in an alleyway, and Jason was looking at Riyala curiously while waiting for her to check and make sure she had everything. Riyala was wearing the [Veil of the Hollow Star], a cloak-type artefact that Jason had given her, with her hood pulled up, and she also had the [Radagan Sundrop] necklace that gave Riyala a hundred percent boost to all fire-based attacks. Meanwhile, Jason was only wearing the [Elemental Shield] cloak-type artefact that covered half of his face from view.
Riyala nodded with a serious expression on her face, and Jason couldn’t help but crack a small smile when he saw how tense she was at that moment. It was obvious that she was nervous, but she was trying her best to put on a brave face. Unlike Jason, Riyala had never willingly walked into a battlefield before, so this would be the first time for her.
Jason reached into his Alternate Dimension and brought out a necklace that he handed over to Riyala.
——
Ashen Embercore [Rank B – Pendant]
Durability: 90%
Description: Reduces the mana cost of fire spells by 20% and causes them to burn twice as long.
——
The necklace was another fire-boosting artefact, so now Riyala had a primary stack of 120% in her fire-based abilities, and the flames would also burn for twice as long as before, so the damage would also last longer! Jason wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her all the time inside the Gate, so he needed her to at least have enough firepower to protect herself until he came around to help her.
Riyala’s flames were around the same level as a mid-level B Rank superhuman without any boosts, but now that she had the necklaces, she would be somewhere in the low A Ranks. And since she also had the coat that provided her with some more protection, Jason was sure that she would be fine.
Riyala reached for the necklace and struggled to put it on, but it was difficult since her hands were shaking from nervousness. Jason finally decided to help her out and told her to turn around as he easily clicked the necklace into place. Once he was done, he asked Riyala if the necklaces were uncomfortable, and she shook her head with a small blush on her cheeks. Riyala knew that Jason didn’t put any meaning behind the things he did for her, but she couldn’t stop her heart from beating strongly whenever she was close to him.
Whenever Jason touched her, it was like her skin was burning under his touch, and she cursed herself for feeling like this! The laws in Radagan were very different from Earth, so Riyala didn’t see anything wrong with a man practicing polygamy, but Riyala could tell that Jason wasn’t trying to make a move on her, so she refused to make a move on Jason while he was in such a vulnerable state. Jason’s mind was not in the right place since he was focused on saving Gina, so she would be a fool to try and draw his interest now!
’I just wish I could stop feeling like this whenever we’re alone.’
Riyala put a hand over her heart while looking down in guilt.
[The user has arrived at the Orange Gate.]
This message suddenly appeared in Jason’s system, and he held his hand out as an orange key appeared in his palm. Jason told Riyala to stick close to him before he walked forward to where the system directed him and placed his hand against the wall of the alleyway. The wall rippled like water under his palm, and he sent one last glance to the side before he and Riyala walked through the dimensional tear.
——
A harsh wind blew across Jason’s face, and Jason immediately squinted in irritation as he felt intense sunrays attempting to blind him! It was so fucking bright!
[The user has successfully crossed into the Orange Gate [Den of the Iron Blade Falcon]. Kill the Falcon Boss and clear the Gate in order to complete the mission.]
"Wow, we’re so high up!"
Riyala exclaimed in awe as she looked around at the clear skies surrounding them! Jason and Riyala had appeared on a high platform that floated amongst the clouds. The sky above was blue and brightly lit, and there were many other stone platforms that were littered around the area like floating pencils made of rock.
Jason pulled up the collar of his cloak with a scowl as another harsh wind blew across the region and made his cloak flutter. Riyala was enjoying herself and looking around happily, but Jason could only frown as he looked around critically and tried to find any signs of life. This was an Orange Gate, so Jason knew that the monsters here wouldn’t pose much of a threat to him. The Boss subordinates would only be on the same level as his Pawn Rank II subordinate, while the Gate Boss might be on the same level as a Rook Rank I subordinate. At least that was what Jason was able to predict based off what he had seen in his previous Orange Gate.
’It’s a sky-based landscape, and the monster was called the Iron Blade Falcon, so I’ll be at a disadvantage if I use land-based monsters to fight. I’ll have to start off with the Adamantine Ant Scouts and Soldiers, then I’ll use Raya and Ragnar to take down as many as possible. As I kill and resurrect more of the monsters, I’ll be able to gain the advantage.’
Jason started to come up with a plan while glancing around to make sure that they were not caught off guard by a surprise attack. Jason knew that there were monsters out there that could sense you the moment you entered their domain, so it was possible that the Iron Blade Falcon already knew that Jason was here and they were just waiting for the right moment to attack.
Jason immediately activated his [Predator’s Gaze] as well as [Mana Sense], and Riyala turned to him in surprise when she felt his mana spread out across the landscape like a sonic ripple. Jason was silent for a few seconds as he tried to see if there were any monsters around, and he suddenly turned towards the west when he sensed five creatures coming in their direction!
"Ragnar! Raya!"
Jason called out immediately, and the two Rook Rank II monsters appeared from Jason’s Alternate Dimension in all their glory! Ragnar released a loud roar into the air as he spread his wings wide, and Raya screeched as she snapped her mandibles and stretched in preparation for battle! Jason moved towards Ragnar and told him to lower his neck, and Jason got on first before he called out to Riyala.
"What are you staring at? Come on!"
Riyala had been staring at the giant dragon in surprise! This was the first time that she would be seeing Ragnar, and she couldn’t believe that Jason had a monster like this! Did he get it from the Dragonrider who tried to kill her earlier? Riyala didn’t know how to feel about Jason killing dragons since she saw them as sacred creatures in her world, but Riyala couldn’t feel too bad since she knew that the dragon had tried to kill her! If Jason hadn’t killed it, then she wouldn’t be standing here right now.