Chapter 75: Well, This is Troublesome [Bonus]

A smile made its way into Fredrick's face when he saw the Admiral approaching.

But then he noticed something strange.

'He's moving slowly'

Which meant...

'He's being cautious' Fredrick thought, before examining his surroundings, from the damaged Missionary to the dozens of adventures lying unconscious in front of him.

It was no wonder the admiral exercised caution, but that was something that could drastically lower the plan's success rate.

So now, Fredrick found himself in a dilemma.

'How do I get him to let his guard down?' he thought as he once again surveyed his surroundings, when the realization hit him.

That moment, Fredrick took up his monologue once more.

"No, no, no, do you still not acknowledge the might of a liberator?! Sigh, then it seems I'll have to teach you once more. Sigh, the work of a liberator is never done!"

"Now, feast your eyes on my awesomeness, for I shall make you acknowledge me!"

Even Fredrick cringed at such sentences. Nevertheless, he continued on with his role.

Like before, his aura suddenly shot up to extreme heights. This time, it was even more than the last. It caused even Rowan to pause and think things over.

"Do you see my might, do you see-"

Fredrick continued on with his self-praise, but he suddenly began coughing.

Rowan, along with the other adventurers, had their eyes raised in surprise.

This was because Fredrick...was coughing blood, and quite a lot of it too.

Rowan suddenly had a realization at such a sight.

'Of course! How could I be so dumb? He is normally as strong as an Intermediate Knight, but his strength shoots up to the level of an Expert once that aura shows up?'

This could only mean...

'He's using an artifact'

Rowan nodded in affirmation as this was most likely the case.

'It's most likely a forbidden one, especially considering that he's already suffering from the side effects. It must mean his body can't handle it much longer! Maybe two- no, maybe four or at most five times till he dies of its side effects'

Rowan's eyes sparkled at this thought. To think he, a great son of Everdust, would be afraid of a soon to be cripple. What a joke?

But then again...

'Now all I need to do is exhaust him to death before taking such an artifact for myself'

The light of greed shone within his eyes as he thought of getting his hands on such a powerful treasure.

An artifact capable of shooting someone up by two ranks, even if temporary, would go for an astronomical price.

The money he would earn from selling such an artifact would be more than enough to cover the damages done to the Missionary, the outpost, everything and more!

Rowan suddenly thought today might not be such a bad day after all.

But then he suddenly jerked his head to the side as his face crumpled into an ugly scowl.

'These bastard actually dare'

The reason for such a reaction was evident. The adventurers were also looking at the man with gazes of fervor.

More than one of them had arrived at the same conclusion as Rowan, but-

'I guess there not completely stupid'

-each one was eyeing the others as everyone waited for someone to make the first move.

The bodies of those that attacked the man first were still lying on the ground unconscious, with some already dead from snake bites, others were dying, and those that got up were too disoriented to even remember waking those beside them.

All of this while fending off the snakes, whose numbers had begun to swell ever since Rowan stopped holding the fort.

They had deemed the acquisition of the artifact far more profitable than defending the outpost.

The problem now was how they would get away unscathed, or at least alive, after stealing the artifact. So everyone was tense as they glanced at who they deemed to be competition.

Rowan shook his head and clicked his tongue as he gazed across each adventurer with unhidden disdain.

None of them believed in their strength enough to attack, so they were waiting for another to make the first move before stealing it from that person.

But Rowan wasn't having any of it.

In the next moment-

"He's mine"

-he pointed his greatsword towards Fredrick and staked his claim.

His words were simple, but the underlying meaning was not.

He was out rightly telling them to take their eyes off his prey, else they would incur his wrath.

Obviously, such words hurt the pride of the adventurers as they clench their fists and grind their teeth.

But...that was it.

Unless they were willing to throw their lives away, which they weren't, the image of Rowan culling droves of snakes like pancakes was still fresh in their minds.

Add this to the fact that Rowan was also an Admiral, and the result of going against him was all too clear.

'Sh#t'

'@sshole'

'Noble b*stard'

The adventurers could only curse inwardly as they stared at Rowan, who didn't even glance in their direction ever since he made his proclamation and was now nearing Fredrick's location.

Fredrick, who stayed silent as he watched the proceedings of Rowan laying claim, had a glimmer in his eyes as soon as Rowan got within twenty feet of him.

The next moment, he regained his persona and began speaking.

"So you are the one who has come to seek acknowledgement. I must say, you aren't too shabby. This liberator would've loved to play with you-"

He paused and looked straight at Rowan before spitting blood on the ground and continuing...

"-unfortunately, I'll have to grant you acknowledgement at a later time"

"Goodbye" Fredrick stated as he took to his heels, running past the adventurers towards the forest.

But of course, it wasn't like Rowan would willingly let him do so. In the next moment...

"Who said you could leave?" Rowan appeared beside Fredrick, immediately slashing horizontally with his greatsword as he spoke with a tone full of arrogance.

Fredrick dodged easily and said...

"It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson"

*Boom*

Fredrick's aura rapidly shot up as he landed a heavy punch right into Rowan's gut, blasting him twenty feet away and continuing on his way without looking at the aftermath.

Rowan was briefly disoriented from such a punch, but regained his bearing as he looked at his armor that had caved in from the punch.

'Was he still hiding his strength?'

Rowan began wondering if chasing him would be a good idea, because for him, surviving mattered the most. There was nothing to be gained from dying a dog's death.

Fredrick, who was running in front, couldn't help but click his tongue when he noticed Rowan wasn't chasing after him.

Now he was sure that Rowan was the kind of noble who determined their survival over arrogance, pride or honor.

'Hmm, this is troublesome' Fredrick couldn't help but say, before sighing.

To bait a coward like Rowan, he would need to do some things.

And so he did, because-

*Stumble*Cough*cough*cough*

-immediately after, Fredrick, who was running away perfectly fine, suddenly fell and tumbled, before quickly getting up as he once again spewed blood, far more blood than the first time.

Rowan's eyes, along with those of all the present adventurers, shone with a dangerous light.

Fredrick could already guess what they were thinking, but to seal the deal, he spoke loudly-

"Ah! Damn it, not now! I have to get out of here"

-before bolting into the forest.

Most of the adventurers reacted too late to Fredrick's escape. Less than thirty were able to immediately follow him.

This was mostly because a lot of them were hesitating. After all, they had no guarantee that they could survive against the man.

Rowan paid attention to none of this as he ran after Fredrick with renowned vigor. His face was holding a wicked smile as the thought of obtaining a forbidden treasure.

"Missionaries, protect the Missionary at any cost. I'll be back in thirty minutes"

He didn't forget to leave an order for the troops under him, actively preventing them from following him, to reduce the number of variables.

'I can't believe I almost let such a treasure pass me by. It was just as I thought, the side effects of such a treasure won't stop as light injuries. His internals are most likely damaged from mana overload, overdrive or both. Now all I have to do is wait for him to exhaust himself'

Rowan's eyes glimmered as he observed the current situation.

'As for these guys-'

Rowan thought as he looked at the adventurers running beside him with disdain.

'-I'll get rid of them once I get the artifact'

He didn't even see them as competition, but he decided not to attack while they were still running to avoid losing Fredrick, as that was much more important.

Like so, Rowan and twenty four adventurers sped through the forest at fast speeds as they chased Fredrick down.

Unknown to them, if one were to look at Windless Peaks from the sky, one would see that Fredrick's path would ultimately converge with that of Cabrera.

It seemed both these boys weren't done just yet.