CHAPTER 175: A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS
Emperor Razor bore through the pain he felt. No matter how great or powerful Scarlett and Rebecca were, he didn't believe they would kill him on the spot just like that.
At the very least, they would need a sound reason and concrete evidence to back up their claim. Truth be told, he was the weakest among the five present, Evangeline included. After all, he was still relatively young compared to the others, with Evangeline only able to compare. But that didn't change the fact that he was the leader of an entire race.
Sure enough, after a short while, Scarlett stayed her hand, "How are you going to compensate for this?"
Emperor Razor heard a loud ringing, and his head buzzed incessantly. Still, he bore through the pain, and spoke through gritted teeth, "...a thousand liters of royal beast blood, and a hundred thousand liters of normal beast blood. I will also offer two thousand magical beasts as slaves to the werewolves and five hundred spiritual beasts as mounts to both races."
A look of surprise flashed within Scarlett's eyes and even the angry look on Rebecca's face gave way to shock. The sound of gasps resounded within the area. They couldn't believe Emperor Razor would be so generous to offer up so many members of his race.
Now, even Scarlett and Rebecca couldn't chew him over the issue any longer, since he claimed he wasn't aware of Rook and his team's actions, and they had no evidence to prove otherwise, so they could only relent on the matter.
The compensation was also more than enough. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was overboard, after all, their race who lost their lives within the secret realm had no important status.
Emperor Razor sighed in relief when he felt the situation diffused. He didn't care about the magical beasts and only hoped his secret identity would not be revealed. To do that, he had to claim Rook and his cousin's corpses and not allow the existence of the blood pearl to be exposed.
With that thought in mind, he struggled to his feet, and quickly took Rook and the other two bodies into his spatial ring. Since they were already dead, he had no problem collecting their corpses. Only then did his taut nerves relax.
Scarlett and the others merely watched his actions coldly, their thoughts unknown.
With his greatest problem now resolved, Emperor Razor circulated the mana within his body to speed up the natural regeneration of his body.
However, who would have known that something unexpected would happen because of this little action of his, to which he hadn't put much thought?
Arlo gasped loudly, his expression distorted in horror.
Looking at Arlo's glowing reptilian-like blue eyes, Emperor Razor suddenly had a bad feeling.
"What is it, Arlo?" Scarlett questioned with furrowed brows.
Even Evangeline looked at him with questioning eyes. They knew how rare it was for him to lose his cool like that, which deeply surprised them.
Arlo didn't respond, and instead looked intently at Emperor Razor's body, causing the latter to feel as if his secrets were laid bare.
While what he felt was far from the truth, it was indeed true that something about him had been unknowingly revealed to Arlo.
And what was revealed was just too shocking!
Ever since gaining his dragon eyes, Arlo had been able to see the flow of mana and Ki when actively circulated within a body, despite not being able to see their raw form in the atmosphere.
That was the main reason why he was able to overcome the lightning tribulation. He could see the flow of mana within its attack and thereby target its weak point, successfully nullifying it.
That was exactly the same thing happening before his eyes. However, there was a slight difference.
Unlike the greenish essence a royal Basilik should possess, Arlo could see a dark force roaming around Emperor Razor's body. But that wouldn't have been a cause for alarm under normal circumstances, as several laws had a dark essence. The law of darkness and shadow laws were just a few of this list.
But Arlo could feel the evil aura hidden within this dark Force. It made him feel sick, and his skin crawled. He was sure he had seen this essence before and he wouldn't mistake it for something else, after all, he had first-hand experience of just how horrifying it was.
Emperor Razor clenched his fist tightly when he saw Arlo raise a trembling finger and point at him, "He is a demon!"
The entire place suddenly became pin-drop silent. Only Arlo's words kept reverberating within their minds.
It took a few seconds before everybody reacted. The kid's expression changed greatly while the adults had serious looks on their faces.
King Jake stared at Arlo with a deep frown, and even though he knew he was close to Scarlett and Rebecca for reasons unknown, he couldn't stop himself from speaking in a deep voice:
"Boy, do you know the implications of what you just said?"
Arlo didn't reply and instead looked at Scarlett, however, the latter ignored him, her eyes narrowed on Emperor Razor.
Despite trusting in Arlo, Scarlett found it hard to believe his words, but she didn't wave it off either. The few weeks she had come to know Arlo made her fully aware of how calm and responsible he was despite his age.
Seeing Emperor Razor not deny the accusations laid at him, Scarlett started growing suspicious.
"Emperor Razor, why haven't you said a word?"
Despite the calm look on his face, Emperor Razor's back was already soaked in secret. He was shell-shocked at how Arlo was able to find out the secret he had successfully hidden from even great figures such as Scarlett and Rebecca, with but a mere glance, but he was able to not make it show on his face. He knew Scarlett was studying his heartbeat, and once she noticed any fluctuation, she might kill him there and then.
Inwardly taking a deep breath, Emperor Razor steadied his heart and chuckled lightly, "Who is this little kid that is spouting rubbish? Surely, you all don't believe him, do you?"
He just finished his words when Arlo spoke up once again, this time his voice sounding more confident:
"You are a demon!"
Emperor Razor's heart skipped a beat, 'Don't tell me he has a way to prove it?'
He couldn't dwell on that thought for long, as his expression changed greatly when he realized he had made a mistake.
A palm abruptly fell from the sky, carrying with it a crushing pressure. Emperor Razor had no choice but to raise his arms to defend himself.
*Bang!*
Even though he blocked the attack, the crushing force still forced him to his knee, the ground below him already crushed into fine particles.
Darkness erupted from the pale hand as it tried to encroach his body. Left with no choice, Emperor Razor released his law, and a greenish essence erupted from his body, barely stopping the invading darkness.
Scarlett's brows furrowed tightly when she saw this. King Jake shook his head, a look of disapproval on his face. Even though he wasn't on the receiving end, he still felt displeased that a random kid could accuse someone of their status and even get attacked because of it.
Scarlett turned to Arlo, and even without speaking, her intention was passed across.
What is going on!?
A serious look appeared on Arlo's face. 'Did I make a mistake?'
Just when Arlo's thoughts started getting chaotic...
A soft yet firm hand suddenly fell on his shoulder. Looking to his side, he saw Evangeline flash him a comforting smile, "I believe in you."
Arlo's slowly tensing nerves finally relaxed.
'That is right.' He shifted his gaze back on the still kneeling Emperor, 'My eyes wouldn't deceive me!'
Squinting, Arlo could see the dark but evil energy flowing within Emperor Razor's body, yet when they left his body, they immediately turned green.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
'He may be able to mask his law energy with some unknown technique, but can he hide its essence?'
Looking at Scarlett, Arlo spoke, "I don't know how he is doing it, but I don't believe he can completely hide his law essence. All you need to do is allow it to invade your body. Then I am sure the truth would come to light!"
Another round of gasps resounded within the area. Asking Scarlett to willingly allow the greenish essence to invade her body was the same as asking her to get poisoned.
Yet again, who would have thought that Scarlett would flash Arlo a bewitching smile at that moment, "There is no need. I got all the confirmation I need." She could clearly hear the erratic beating of Emperor Razor's heart.
Now that he was put in a difficult position, the always-calm emperor didn't know what to do. All that he planned and worked for was ruined in but a single moment. He felt so stifled that he couldn't control his emotions. Of course, he also knew he didn't have time as Scarlett may act any moment.
"I will kill you!" Emperor Razor suddenly roared, startling the others who were still looking at the scene with wide eyes. He glared at Arlo with a glint of vicious insidiousness flashing within his eyes. Before Scarlett could react, the green essence around him gave way to a burst of thick and potent evil energy that covered the entire area, enveloping all the figures present within.
A formation disc appeared in Emperor Razor's hand which he quickly activated. However, a pale hand streaked through the cloud of evil energy, as it tried to rip his heart out from its resting place. Emperor Razor instinctively shifted at that moment, successfully evading the fatal attack. But still, with a light tug, his entire left arm from his shoulder down was pulled off, causing a fountain of blood to spurt uncontrollably in all directions.
"AH!" Emperor Razor's painful cry pierced through the cloud of evil energy before spreading far and across, but soon after, it was cut abruptly, as the formation disc released a silver light that enveloped him and teleported him away.