System vs Rebirth

Chapter 1362: Mysterious People

”Whatʼs going on?” Layla asked, not knowing why Noel was rushing all of a sudden.

”Itʼs a trap.”

”A trap?”

”Yes. A trap to kill you. I donʼt fully understand, but if I were the enemy, killing you here would be a good idea.

”I was originally supposed to leave you behind in that village, as I had to rush to that city. As a result, you would be exposed to danger and the enemy would come and kill you, resulting in a major backlash.

”They probably didnʼt expect me to bring you to that city, but leaving you there while returning to the village myself might not be as safe.

”The safest place right now is with me right now. I donʼt know why they chose this specific time and what their grand plan is after killing you. Thatʼs why Iʼm still unsure about everything. Thereʼs a chance that everything is just a coincidence, but I donʼt want to take the chance.”

Layla couldnʼt help but furrow her eyebrows. ”It looks dangerous, huh?”

”Yeah. Sorry.”

”Itʼs fine. Iʼm already aware of the risk. Itʼs just… theyʼre pretty bold for aiming at me. Do they know that the Moon Temple will fight them? Besides, other kingdoms are still supporting me.”

”I donʼt think they care anymore. I think you know the reason.” Noel shook his head.

”!!!” Layla looked like she had realized their main goal. The only reason they couldnʼt care less about the retaliation of those kingdoms was none other than the divine artifact. They wouldnʼt have cared about fighting other kingdoms as long as they could secure the artifact. Even if they didnʼt kill her, they could still seize the artifact. ”I see. Thatʼs rather annoying.”

”For now, we have to focus on stopping them. Incetta. Depending on the situation, I might ask you to return to the city. Thereʼs a hidden ʼweaponʼ that can help me there.”

”I understand.” Incetta nodded.

Of course, it wasnʼt a weapon. Noel was simply talking about Rui and Melissa.

One of them had to remain behind to guard another divine artifact, but the other could go and help him.

Though, he had to mention ʼweaponʼ so as to avoid revealing the Ardagan familyʼs secret.

Layla only glanced at him, wondering what kind of weapon the Ardagan family had, without saying anything.

”Itʼs there! The village!” Layla pointed forward.

Noel squinted his eyes, checking their condition.

To his surprise, the village looked fine. He couldnʼt help but stop. ”Huh? Nothing is happening. Is it only me being too paranoid?”

”No. Your case is justified. I am the current weak link, so it canʼt be helped. However, if their aim is me, they should have waited until you left my side,” explained Layla.

”My lord. What are we going to do now? Are we going back to that hunting ground to check whether this is a coincidence or not? Iʼm afraid Iʼm the one mistaking the sign as manmade when it was actually not.” Incetta felt bad. Her mistake had made her lord look bad in front of the saintess.

”No. There—” Noel wanted to stop Incetta from being down, but all of a sudden, he could feel an extremely powerful presence coming from the side. ”!!!”

He gritted his teeth while tilting his body to that side. Because his hands were holding Layla and Incetta respectively, he formed a rune instead while kicking that shadow with his black flame.

”Wha—!” Both of them looked shocked before a clicking sound echoed in the air.

They all suddenly saw the mysterious figure that suddenly reached them. This figure looked like a human, but its body was covered entirely by a robe and its face had a mask.

A voice that they had never heard before suddenly rang in their ears.

”17 minutes, huh? A good reaction time.” The voice sounded young but old at the same time, confusing Noel.

However, Noel was even more shocked because of what he saw with the Appraisal Medal and Affection Medal.

Name: ???

Affection: ???

ʼWhat is going on? Ardagan canʼt find out his information? Who is he?ʼ

”Youʼre distracted.” The person shifted his stance and kicked Noel to the ground.

Bam!

”Kh.” Noel gritted his teeth. He let go of the two women at the last moment so that they could land smoothly.

Layla raised her hands and prepared for her barrier while Incetta pointed her spear.

Noel pulled out his sword while glaring at this mysterious person. ”Who are you?”

[Master. You probably want to watch out. This guy is stronger than you.]

”!!!” Noel was dumbstruck. He was a spirit transcendence and his spiritual energy was already enough to become a spirit king. While he hadnʼt found his king path, he should have been the strongest spirit transcendence even among the four kingdoms. Yet Ardagan actually said this person was stronger than him.

What kind of monster was he facing right now?

”Layla. Use your barrier and protect yourself! Incetta. Ru—!” Before he could order Incetta to run to the main city, he suddenly noticed another presence coming from another direction.

He struck that person as the latter blocked him with his big hand. Just like that mysterious person, he couldnʼt actually see this personʼs information.

However, unlike him, he felt a sense of familiarity with this guy.

[Retrieving record of spiritual energy. Master. This person is—]

Before Ardagan could finish, the mysterious person had landed on the ground and struck Noel with his own sword, forcing Noel to put his hand on its trajectory while using everything he had to block it.

The flame clashed with the personʼs energy, but the blade was extremely deadly and strong. It slashed through his flame and cut his palm, including the joint between his two fingers.

Noel used his flame to create an explosion to launch himself away before his hand got cut completely.

At the last moment, he formed a rope with his ice element to grab both Layla and Incetta and take them away with him.

”My lord…”

”Noel. You…”

The two girls were in disbelief, staring at Noelʼs hand. They simply couldnʼt believe that Noel would actually be hurt by these two people.