One day later
[You can attack now, Master]
They received the message through the message rune. This rune could send voice messages once a day, at a distance of 10 kilometers maximum. It was another rare rune they received from the elves, with the promise of giving a piece of the pie to them.
There was no doubt that those snobbish elves wanted to study and dismantle the runes in this place. Baldov just hoped they'd have the ability to restore it, otherwise, it would be a pity.
As they approached, they saw dozens of people heading out to the road. It had been more than a day since the Lozer and the others began the plans, so this must have been one of the latter batches to leave.
When they arrived, the place really did feel isolated and there were very few people around. These few were camping, some were sleeping, while some were heading towards the buildings. From a distance, it was clear that most of them were at the awakened or toughened level, which was fine. They didn't mind facing weaklings.
And so, Baldov and his hundred or so companions—mostly toughened and with dozens of fortified-level—entered the barrier.
They were fearless because they knew they could still attack. They just had to be fast enough before the weird creature and the other mechanisms responded.
"Come out, come out, you damned INNKEEPER!" he bellowed, his deep voice echoing tens of meters away with the gravitas of a peak predator.
He was surrounded by powerful henchmen, ready to happily take over the new place, creating an intimidating sight.
Finn headed out, along with his staff members and Syl, looking at him with a frown. "What do you want?" he asked, making sure he was at least tens of meters away from them. "If you're not checking in, don't bother us. We're too busy."
Baldov narrowed his eyes at him, thinking he was busy with the problem they created at first.
It wasn't until more people emerged from the inn that he realized something was odd. It was only now, when he was already within the barrier, did he feel a lot of energy around.
Baldov soon saw the two other Apex-level elders, one was Thussalem, and the other was Ren's grandfather, Rassi, a top mercenary based deeper in the safe zone.
Thussalem had been staying there, while Rassi was called in. Thanks to the [Communication Center], he was quickly informed and he went straight to the inn.
Apex-level people had superhuman physiques. They could run quickly and one day was enough for him to reach the danger zone.
"So it was a trap," Baldov said, teeth out as he grinned maliciously. "I should have known!"
Great aura emanated around him, causing the leaves the bristle wildly and the people below toughened struggled to stand up, and might even be blown by the wind. He was not a mage but the sheer power of an apex level person could mimic a similar effect.
Because it was allowed to activate skills in the barrier (otherwise they wouldn't be able to attack monsters from within), the bastard could indeed cause damage.
However, that was provided the rules did not change. People had been going in and out of the inn for so long and the rules remained the same. They simply took it for granted.
They did not know that Finn, especially after the latest upgrade, had the power to manipulate the rules. He could even change it as he wanted, he just needed to pay hearth points, though it increased by folds every time he changed anything.
Fortunately, he did not lack hearth points now.
[Rule Activated! No Magic use! -5000 hearth points]
[Rule Activated! No Fighting! -5000 hearth points]
As soon as he confirmed that everyone of the enemies had entered the barrier, he activated the [no magic] and [no fighting] rules. This would apply to everyone, but all they had to do was use their superior numbers to contain the enemies.
"AHH!"
"What?"
Baldov's eyes sharpened, acytivating his skills. There was a flicker on the barrier, which made Finn's heart skip a beat, but it fortunately held on.
The punishment for breaking rules was now the application pressure, like weight was added over them. This time, it was not the automatic kick out as Finn didn't want them to just use their power as shortcut to the outside.
The pressure on others was much more obvious, with toughened level people directly falling to their knees as soon as they attempted to attack.
Baldov was smart and saw that they were at a disadvantage. "Get out of the barrier! GET OUT NOW!"
The group dashed out, though many from Finn's side also jumped forward to stop them. Those who were not left their comrades without hesitation.
Seeing the dozen or so fools who were left behind, Baldov felt annoyed.
Finn once again deactivated the rules. Since they had attacked people, they were already blacklisted, so they would not be able to enter and take advantage of the no-fighting rule again.
Finn smiled. Attack them!!
"AHHH!"
"GAH!"
The enemies were showered by projectiles from the archers and magic attacks from the mages.
Finn and several others headed out when the enemies realized that they just had to put distance between them and the barrier to avoid the attacks from there.
However, how could anyone let them out?
He was just targeted by the projectiles even more!
…
"You didn't think I came here without extra preparation, don't you?!" he yelled, raising his arms and showing off a ring—one even bigger than what Frago had!
"I took a bit from the barriers again, a bit more this time," he smirked. "I think the Aphelion Month will start soon."
Finn's jaw clenched, seeing the various [-1 Defense Points] flowing through his side screen. There were minimal beasts around the inn, so this meant the extension was now being barraged.
This bastard! If he couldn't have something, he decided to just destroy everything!?