Chapter 197: Change of Plans

On the other hand, Bella stared at his sides in confusion, took a few steps backward, and stood next to the wooden door.

'He can even make a spell disappear?... Is it Invisibility?' She was stunned inside.

On the other hand, Charles furrowed his brows and released his wisdom power in all directions.

'They should have entered the city.' He thought to himself.

A second later, he turned his head towards the eastern city wall, which appeared close to the auction hall, and narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, he sensed twenty masked figures appeared on the city wall and seemed to be jumped down towards the city.

They were currently moving towards the Nobles' District.

'They are also targeting Rhea?' His brows drew together.

He also noticed many people suddenly appeared inside the city and started causing chaos everywhere. Although most of them were only Rank-1 and Rank-2, Charles knew that they could indeed distract all the city guards and mages for some time.

'It's like the enemy made an urgent plan... As long as one or two Rank-4 Mages intervene, I can win this battle.' He thought inwardly.

At that exact moment, he felt multiple wisdom powers scanned him from Iron Tower and Nobles' District!

'Hmm? The Rank-4 Mages and other Mystics want to watch the battle instead of protecting the citizens? So, they also knew about this trap?' A grim look appeared on his wrinkled face.

'Who is the real manipulator? Is it Divine? Or another party? If so, where are they hiding now?... No, wait... The Inborn Midday Potion appeared in the auction only after I made a prophecy about it... Bella Collins is the one who changed the date...'

He abruptly froze for a second and asked with a frown.

"Why did you change the auction schedule?"

Upon hearing his words, Bella got startled for a moment and responded without putting much thought into it.

"Early morning, Potion Master Stephen contacted me and urged me to put the potion in morning auction. It seems he urgently needs some money and asked me personally. If it were others, I wouldn't have agreed to that request, My Lord. But he is the only potion master in this city and also a Rank-4 [Mystic Brewer]. So, I have no choice but to agree to his request while only informing a few important customers."

As Charles heard her words, the frown on his face deepened.

'Potion Master Stephen... But why did Samson come to the auction... Not only that, but he also laid his eyes on the potion, fought for it, and even won the auction. No one should have known that I'm in dire need of that 'Midday' potion except for the 'Divine'... But he seemed to have aware of it... He also acted like a reckless fool and showed full killing intent...'

'What's more interesting is Samson's background. He is a grandson of Duke Foster and also a close relative of Felicity Boneflare... Why would this family send him to attend the auction on this exact date? Do they have some link with the 'Divine'? It might be possible... Then, there is also Bella's appearance in this auction house... Coincidences...What if these are the schemes of Rodia's Gem? Or, is the stalking 'Divine' currently in possession of the 'Rodia's Gem'? Why did Goddess Rodia ask me to find it sooner?' Countless questions whirled in his mind.

But he didn't have enough time to think further as he saw three figures walked out from the nearby alley.

'They are here.' He took out a long sword from his space ring and asked in his mind.

'Mr. Runeth, can you cast the [Erase Existence] spell once?'

'Impossible. My dark star hasn't recovered from the previous backlash. If you give me some precious materials, I might restore them shortly.' The Holem's Crown responded in an instant.

On the other hand, Charles zeroed his gaze on the three figures and nodded his head.

One was a black-robed man with a red-lined white mask on his face.

The next one was a silver-haired woman in a red frock coat and appeared around 30 to 35 years.

She had a square face, sky-blue eyes, and a bulging chest.

The last one was a white-haired old man in his late eighties.

His face was filled with wrinkles, and he had pupil-less white eyes, a pale face, and wore a plain white robe.

They were the same people from his earlier Vision!

'Black-robed man is a Rank-4 [Phantom Devil] and a normal one... The silver-haired woman is a Rank-4 [Curse Mage], and she is at her peak level... Then, the white-haired old man is a Rank-4 [Mad Man] and a Rank-3 [Whisperer of the Sea]... A Dual Class Mystic. I'm no match against three people!' While analyzing them, Charles also cast [Vision] skill and soon turned serious.

He first zeroed his gaze on the black-robed man and cast [Knowledge Absorber] spell.

'They are from Divine Orders and came here to kill me under the order of their 'Lord.' They even prepared a curse spell... Change of plans.'

He hurriedly cast [Fallen Angel's Wings] on himself and flapped his reddish-black wings twice.

The next instant, he flew up towards the sky, turned his gaze towards a particular street road, and saw twenty masked men in black dresses sprinting towards the Nobles' District.

'I need to take care of them first.'

He then turned his gaze towards another direction and saw Jessie was running towards the Nobles' District from Merchants Street's main road.

She was currently entering a small alley and seemed to be talking a short-cut route!

'Mr. Runeth, tell her to follow the survival plan.' He spoke in his mind before flapping his wings forcefully and shot towards the white-masked figures.

Meanwhile, the black-robed man, the silver-haired woman, and the white-haired old man become utterly stunned for a moment and soon widened their eyes.

"Why is he running away?" The silver-haired woman in a red suit spoke in a dazed tone.

That was not supposed to happen! From the information they got from their 'Lord,' they would have an easy time killing the target!

"He is not running away, Vivian. He seemed to be going after our lackeys." The white-haired old man spoke.

"What should we do now? Shall we go after the kids, Mr. Eric?" The black-robed man asked in a cold voice.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that he had forgotten their original task!

"No. Our job is to let Vivian put the curse on him and kill him quickly. As long as we complete this mission, our Lord will be pleased." This time, it was the white-haired old man named Eric who spoke those words.

"Yeah," The black-robed man widened his yellowish eyes and soon nodded his head in understanding.

In the meantime, Vivian clapped her hands together and said a few words in weird slang.

A moment later, crystal-like wings appeared behind all three of them and flapped on their own.

In a second, they also flew up in the sky and soon moved towards the direction where Charles had gone.

...

On the other hand, Jessie ran towards Nobles' District through a short-cut alley road and soon froze.

'Follow the survival plan.' An old man's voice echoed in her head.

But she felt that the voice appeared so familiar but unfamiliar.

'Who is it?' She wore a startled look and asked in her mind.

She also didn't remember any survival plan and got puzzled by the old man's voice.

But before she could ask further, a black-dressed figure in a white mask jumped down from the nearby building rooftop and blocked her path.

The path was only two meters wide, which gave no room for her even to escape!

The opponent appeared to be around 180 cm tall, with a muscular body, and held a long sword in his hand.

'Oh, Lord of the Moon!' She prayed silently and gripped the dagger in her right hand.

At the same time, she stealthily took out a small purple vial from her void pouch, opened the tap, closed the vial's tip using her finger, and asked.

"Who are you?" Her eyes showed a hint of fear and anxiety.

Even her legs started to tremble on their own!