Knowing Arthur was lying unconscious on the ground and would not disturb him, Snake started walking towards Kai while still wearing that evil, arrogant smile on his face. Standing in front of Kai, Snake continued his laughter.
"Heheheh...." His expression showed how happy he was after tricking Kai and freezing him with his skill.
Snake knew how strong Kai was and how dangerous Kai's invisible skill was, but compared to Kai, Arthur was nothing. Even without knowing how powerful Arthur actually was, Snake thought that once he froze Kai, Arthur would not be much of a challenge. And after assuming Arthur was weak, Snake became even happier and more confident, thinking he had already defeated his opponents and that no one posed a threat to him now.
"Hehehehe…." Snake continued his laughter, standing in front of Kai.
"Ha..haha…hhaha…" Arthur started laughing while lying on the ground, trying to stand up, covered in blood.
Hearing Arthur's laughter, Snake's eyes widened in shock. When he attacked Arthur, he had used only a limited amount of power, believing it was enough to make Arthur unconscious. Snake's plan was to kill Kai first, as he was the real threat, and Arthur was not. But seeing Arthur still able to stand and conscious, Snake was confused, realizing that Arthur was more powerful than he had thought.
Hearing Arthur's voice and his laughter, Kai was shocked. "Has he lost his mind?" Kai thought, tilting his head.
"Haha..ha…" Arthur continued his laughter while standing on his feet. His half-face was covered in blood, and with heavy breathing, Arthur was gazing at Snake with wide eyes and a dead smile on his face.
Looking at Arthur, Snake's smile vanished. His expression changed into seriousness, as if Arthur had just made a big mistake by disturbing him in the middle of something important.
"….Slash…." With a quick dash towards Arthur, Snake slashed Arthur's right arm in half while passing by him, standing behind Arthur in an instant. Swiftly, Arthur's half-arm fell to the ground. Before Arthur could react, Snake hit Arthur's back with his tail, sending him flying towards Kai. Arthur fell in front of Kai, half-dead, his half-cut arm lying on the ground. Kai's expression remained unchanged due to Snake's freezing skill, but a shock hit his spirit as he looked at Arthur in this condition. Kai could indeed feel something.
Arthur was half-dead, his eyes barely open. Blood was still pouring out from Snake's earlier attack, and now, even more blood flowed from his half-cut arm, showing how close he was to dying.
"Heheh," Snake laughed again while walking towards Kai and Arthur, who lay in front of Kai. But this time, his smile was not natural; he was forcing himself to smile because Arthur had just ruined the most precious moment of his life.
After a bit of fake smiling, Snake stood in front of Kai and Arthur, gazing at Arthur, who was barely conscious, lying on the ground.
Kai saw Arthur, filled with many severe injuries, dying, but there was no emotion on Arthur's face. "Do it, Kata," Kai said, ordering in his mind.
"Thada…splash….." In an instant, Snake's body was crushed between two invisible forces from above and below, killing him instantly. His body was splattered between those forces, and blood spread across them.
Slowly, the invisible forces that held Snake's ripped body from top and bottom vanished, resulting in the splattered dead body falling to the ground.
As Snake died, Kai suddenly felt movement in his body, knowing that Snake's skill effect had disappeared. Without wasting any time, Kai raised his hand toward Arthur, using healing magic to heal him.
"Help me, Kata," Kai said again, ordering someone.
Hearing Kai's voice, suddenly, a man appeared in front of Kai. He looked to be in his sixties, an old man with a beard around his face, wearing stylish black clothes.
"Yes, my lord," the man who had just appeared replied. His name was Kata. Raising both of his hands towards Arthur, a green light started appearing from Kata's hands, showing that Kata was also using healing magic on Arthur.
As both Kai and Kata started using their healing magic, sensing something in his body, Arthur's eyes slowly moved towards the source. He saw Kai healing him. Looking at Kai, Arthur smiled a bit, then his eyes and body finally gave up, losing consciousness... Arthur closed his eyes.
In Ruen Kingdom
Rue, the capital of Ruen.
Near the Ruen Palace in the east, a beautiful small garden spread across the palace. A straight path connected to a structure with a rounded circular roof, big enough for hundreds of people to stand beneath it. The circular roof was supported by twelve tall pillars, making it as high as a three-floor building.
Beneath the roof, at the center, there was a round table. On that table, a map of the world could be seen.
The map showed the Kingdom of Raksa, situated near a mountain named Tabo, at a long distance from the Raksa Kingdom. Beyond a large forest, deep within the mountains, half-covered in red, was a large cave-like entrance. The half-red mountain was named the Red Dungeon. From the Red Dungeon to the Raksa Kingdom, many forests, rivers, and mountains lay in between, showing how vast the distance was. Near the Raksa Kingdom, some kingdoms were marked in red, some in green, and some in white, indicating hostile, friendly, and neutral kingdoms.
"Another foolish request from your king, huh, Aaron?" a man spoke, looking at Aaron, who was wearing golden armor just like before.
The man who had just spoken had the body of an animal. He looked to be in his thirties, his head resembling that of a lizard, and his entire body followed the same traits in human form.
"Don't disrespect my king, Chul," Aaron replied in a heavy voice, gazing at the lizard-headed man named Chul.
"Chul, bad manners. Don't say 'foolish request.' At least say 'foolish king,'" another man said.
The man who spoke was human, wearing neither stylish nor plain clothes. His body was slim, of average height. His face made him look like a smart person but also someone who overthinks compared to others. He appeared to be in his thirties as well.
Hearing the direct insult about his king, Aaron became silent. He slightly looked towards the man who had just insulted his king.
"Can we start our meeting now?" Aaron spoke.
"Yaya yaya," the same man replied, who had insulted Aaron's king.
As Aaron prepared to make his announcement, everyone around the table, along with those sitting on chairs and some who were just hanging around the garden, turned their attention to Aaron, indicating that they were listening.
"Our objective is to annihilate every creature and monster inside the Red Dungeon, making sure not even one life comes out of it alive," Aaron announced, stating the goal of the alliance meeting.