MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1195  Removing a Thorn

Algerie Kingdom, in an alleyway near the Imperial Production Guild.

"Are you really threatening me right now?" Glaring at the group that appeared in front of him, Braum had a slight frown on his face as he radiated a bit of killing intent.

"You do know the consequences of doing something like this, right?"

"I wouldn't have done it if I didn't," replied the man at the front, briefly letting out a cackle as he looked at Braum with malicious intent. "I know you know why we've come here, Braum."

"After all, you wouldn't have left the guild if you didn't."

"…Tsk." Clicking his tongue in response to the man's words, Braum's frown deepened as he radiated a far stronger killing intent than before.

As someone who led one of the Imperial Production Guild's reconnaissance teams, aside from needing to have the superb ability to obtain and process information from anything and everything, he also needed to have the strength befitting of a leader.

With that, it was no surprise that the people behind the man antagonizing him began to pale in fear, feeling as if they'd be swallowed whole if they were to take even a step forward.

"Hmph." However, unlike those that accompanied him, the man at the front acted as if Braum's killing intent wasn't there, looking at him in slight disdain. "Did you really think that would do something?"

Bang!

Without hesitation, the man directly threw a punch towards Braum's abdomen, infusing it with the entirety of his strength in the process.

Thinking that his strength was on par with the man, Braum decided to take the attack head-on, throwing out a punch of his own in response.

However…

Crash!

Surprisingly, the man's punch contained far more strength than Braum initially thought, causing his body to crumple up as he was sent flying for a couple of meters.

"Eugh…" Forcing himself to stand up as waves of pain continued to radiate throughout his body, Braum gritted his teeth as he watched the group in front of him moved closer, their expressions now all containing malicious intent.

"So… are you going to tell us his whereabouts?" Finally deciding to radiate a killing intent of his own, the man looked at Braum with greater disdain as the question left his mouth.

"Or… do we have to force your hand first before doing so?"

"…" Though he knew it wouldn't be the best idea to acquiesce to the man's requests, Braum knew very well that the man in front of him had both the intention and the means to follow through on his words.

With that, he became silent, the thoughts in his mind a whir as he tried to piece a solution that would allow the side he supported to still have the advantage.

'…I'm going to have to trust what the arbiter said on this one.' However, in the end, the solution he came up with threw caution to the wind, relying on information he couldn't verify.

Then again, as those words came from Scho'doxa himself… was there even a need to verify such words?

"You'll regret doing this, Andersen," said Braum to the man in front of him with hateful eyes. "You don't know what you're messing with."

"You don't have to worry about that," replied Andersen back, his only working eye looking at Braum as if he were gloating. "All you need to do is just give us the information we need."

 In response, Braum remained silent, inwardly letting out a sigh as he sent the man a series of messages containing information on Ylvar's current whereabouts.

Wanting to make sure that he wasn't being tricked, Andersen soon shared the information with the others, telling them to cross-reference the information he received with information they had.

After obtaining confirmation that Braum's information was correct, it was only then did Andersen look back at Braum. "I guess you aren't unfilial, after all."

"You've saved your family from the Zeihardt's wrath with this one."

"…Have those at the north defensive line apprehend Ylvar as soon as possible." Turning around after that, Andersen began to discuss their next course of action as they left Braum on his own.

Staring at the back of the man whose left eye was scarred beyond comprehension, Braum felt rage bubble up within him, being reminded that he still had a long way to go if he wanted to stand tall amongst those at the pinnacle of strength.

'…I'm really sorry, Valyr.' Feeling tears brim around his eyes as the group finally left his field of vision, Braum took in a deep breath as he began to send a series of messages as fast as he could.

'Although you told me you were going to confront them sooner rather than later…'

'It seems you're going to have to face them sooner than I thought.'

…

Watching a large group of people begin to surround him and Jekyll all of a sudden, Valyr began to look at the people surrounding them with a frown, especially after seeing them brandish their weapons at them.

Though, after listening to the words that came from someone within the group, it did not take long for the frown on his face to be replaced with that of shock, prompting him to look at Jekyll in slight disbelief.

Unsurprisingly, Jekyll looked at Valyr in slight disbelief as well. However, the reasons behind his shock were different from what Valyr felt.

"You… were you protecting him?" As the group surrounding them continued their weapons at the two, Jekyll moved a bit closer to the young man as he asked in a whisper.

"Well…" Feeling as if there wasn't really any point in hiding his identity any further, Valyr decided to inform the man of the connection between Valyr and Ylvar.

However, before he could even open his mouth to explain…

Ding! Ding! Ding!

All of a sudden, a series of notification sounds went off in his mind, causing Valyr to blank out for a bit as he decided to check on what notifications he received.

Seeing that all of them were messages from Braum, a look of curiosity and confusion briefly appeared on his face.

After all, it was a weird time for the man to send him a message. Plus, it was usually him who took the initiative to send the message than the other way around.

Fortunately, as he began to read through the messages he'd gotten, the young man quickly understood what was going on.

'The rebel faction of the Zeihardt clan decided to make the first move, huh.' Sporting a slightly grim expression the moment he was done reading through Braum's messages, Valyr released a hint of his aura, causing those that surrounded him to take a couple steps back.

After that, he looked at Jekyll, who nodded back at him after understanding the meaning behind his gaze.

Nodding back at the man in response, Valyr took in a deep breath as he sent a couple of replies to Braum's messages.

"Thanks for the heads-up. Let's meet up after I settle things on my end."

"Also, if you could arrange a meeting between me and the leader of the supportive faction, that would be great."

Whoosh!

Closing the screen he brought up in his mind after that, the young man went ahead and activated his usual set of stat-boosting skills before staring at the ones surrounding them once more.

"I'm guessing you guys have enough proof to back up your claims?" asked Valyr to the group as he conjured a barrier of Prime Azure Energy around Jekyll.

 "There is no need for such things!" Unexpectedly, the response he got from the group in return was aggressive, all of them seemingly baring their fangs at him. "By asking for confirmation, you're telling us that you're guilty of your actions!"

"Come with us, Ylvar. Or else… prepare for the consequences!"

"Consequences, eh?" Hearing those words, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a chuckle. "What kind of consequences would there even be?"

"Don't test us!" replied the group, now radiating a hint of killing intent towards the young man. "You better come with us peacefully, or else we won't go easy on you!"

"Honestly, I'm just waiting for you guys to make a move," said Valyr in response, extending his arms outward to show that he had no intentions of defending himself from attacks whatsoever.

"However…" Then again… there wasn't really a need for him to defend against their attacks.

"Did you really think the opposite wouldn't apply?"

Whoosh!

Casting a barrier around himself, Valyr went ahead and grabbed his magic staff from his spatial bracelet before sending out a quick energy bolt towards one of the group.

Bang!

With him aiming for the man's head, it was no surprise that the man he targeted was rendered dead before the man could even realize what was going on, forcing the others from the large group to finally make their move.

"Attack!"

Initially expecting the entire situation to end in a peaceful manner, the group was left with no choice but to retaliate after Valyr struck first, sending out a myriad of skills that struck Valyr's barrier as if it were a bombardment.

Unfortunately for them, the young man's barrier remained standing even after all that, causing everyone to shudder in fear as Valyr prepared a counterattack of his own.

"[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."

"[Azure Phoenix's Lament]."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Keeping in mind that he was not in the battlefield at the moment, Valyr reduced the scale of the attack where it would only affect the group that decided to antagonize him all of a sudden.

However, that did not mean that the strength behind it had gotten weaker in comparison.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Showing the same level of lethality as it did in any of the other fights he used the skill in, the azure phoenixes wreaked havoc and terror amongst the group, forcing many of them to flee for their lives as their comrades showed the aftereffects of the attack's might.

Sadly, with Valyr now knowing their intentions for apprehending them, it went without saying that he left no stone unturned, even expending a bit more energy just to make sure none from the group escaped his wrath.

And thus, as quickly as it all began, the fight swiftly ended in a matter of minutes, causing the crowd watching it unfold from afar to turn silent from the carnage.

As for the young man, he stared at the aftermath of his attack in silence as Braum's messages continued to linger in his mind.

With the situation he just went through being a grim reminder of his current position, the young man knew that he'd have to make a move as soon as possible, especially if he didn't want a repeat of what happened just now.

After all, compared to the massive rose that was the Zeihardt clan…

All he did was just remove one of its thorns.