Ryn
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Chapter 207
🕑 Added 2024-11-18 19:00:09 +0000 UTCAuthor Note: I wanted to sincerely thank every single one of you guys who sent me or wrote a nice message!
After that whole debacle, I decided to take a couple of days away from everything to reset. I was very touched by the overwhelming support I got from so many of you!
I got so many kind messages that I don't think I can personally respond to everyone, which is why I wanted to express my gratitude here.
Thank you all for being amazing and kind people, I hope I don't let you down!
Cheers!
***
Once he figured they were far enough away and there was nobody nearby, he struck.
He blitzed in as fast as he could, while simultaneously activating his new technique with as much vigor as he could manage. He didn’t want to take the chance that she had a stronger will and allow her an opportunity to do something. He had learned his lesson since the last time he almost died.
Luckily, it seemed it was unneeded, her will was crushed under his will with such force, that he felt her aura let out a screech of pain.
It was actually pretty likely that she was already done for, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
By the time he appeared in front of her with a [Flash Step], he was already preparing an armored fist loaded with kinetic energy. Without hesitating, he blasted the woman right in the nose, crunching her face in.
She fell like a puppet with her strings cut and as he stood over her unconscious body, he had to keep his thoughts from straying.
Although he had told himself to treat her like he would a man in her position, he might have hit her a bit too hard. Unlike with the guards, he didn’t want to risk her waking up too early, so he made sure he hit her enough to keep her out for a while.
She was a Tier 3 and if he didn’t, it was likely that her heightened regeneration would heal her before Julius was done freeing Reinera so he wanted to be sure. You know what they said, better safe than sorry.
He checked her vitals and was glad that she was still breathing, but she breathing weirdly.
It was like the sound a clogged vacuum would make when there was too much hair stuck in the container. It was probably the blood seeping into her nose.
Still, he did his best to ignore her plight. He had a job he needed to do and a princess to save. So with one hand he flipped her around and tried to search her pockets for the item he sensed her using to leave the barrier.
There wasn’t much in her pockets, but he eventually came up with a small orb.
Up close, he was able to feel the passive hum of mana it released, and it was identical to the one he felt being used to access the barrier.
Feeling confident he had what he needed, he stood up and stashed the orb in his pocket.
He also took the woman’s mask for good measure. While it was just a plain black mask, it would still help him blend in better if he ran across anyone.
He put it on after he gave it a quick rinse and dry, subtly noting how itchy it was.
After he finished fiddling with it, he looked down at the woman one last time before he left and winced. He had frozen her with kinetic energy as he blasted her with the full brunt of his willpower.
While the fist to the face hadn’t helped matters, he was actually less concerned about her caved-in face, and more worried about her soul.
He felt something integral to her being cracked by that attack.
Giving her one last glance, he started to head back toward the abandoned warehouse with a determined step.
***
Reinera POV
The man had returned. Unlike last time, he didn’t seem to be as willing to let her silence go without punishment.
It wasn’t like he was torturing her, but he pressed his considerable aura down onto her.
Still, using a Tier 4’s aura to press down on her was like a Tier 2 putting their feet down on a puppy’s chest. There was nothing she could do but hold her breath.
“Who are you? And who are your parents?” He asked again, still talking in the same gentle tone.
She just gave him an indifferent glare once more.
He turned up his aura a little bit more. And this time, her brows furrowed from the sheer pressure. “The sooner you tell me, the sooner I can help you reunite with your family,” he promised in a silky voice. One that had her wanting to believe him.
Still, she kept her tongue quiet.
“Okay. If that’s how it's going to be, then I will give you two choices. Choice number one is that you remain silent. However, since we won’t be able to figure out which family to contact in order to get your ransom, we will have to do something else with you,” he said ominously. “Or the second choice, which is by far the better of the two choices, is to tell us who your family is and we contact them. After some exchange of funds, we hand you over to them with no harm to you.”
She remained silent for a long while.
In the end, he didn’t lash out or hit her, he just nodded and made his way to leave. “I will give you the night to think about it. Let me know what you choose tomorrow morning, okay?” He said politely.
Even though he was the one holding her hostage, the fact that he hadn’t made any moves to harm her so far was better than most criminals would have been.
It made her believe that this man wasn’t just your normal citizen who turned into a criminal. This man was calm and competent. His aura and the fact that he was able to reach Tier 4 displayed more than enough for Reinera. She had seen some powerful auras from many of her family's retainers, and this man was no worse than any of them.
She had difficulty believing a man like this was working for a criminal organization that kidnaps noble born. Sure, the money must have been good, but she doubted he would find it difficult for some noble family, sect, or some other established power to take him in if he wanted to.
There had to be a reason why he was here. Maybe if she figured out why, she would be able to convince him to let her go.
***
Julius POV
His worries about the access orb only working for the woman were unfounded. He was able to easily slip past the barrier without anyone noticing him.
As he was stealthily moving down one of the hallways, he reached out with his perception skill.
Now that he was inside of the barrier, it didn’t seem to restrict [Spatial Perception], so that was a stroke of good luck. It made avoiding the people much easier.
There were many rooms in this warehouse. Most of them he realized were for storage. There were things from furniture to food, to other random crap shoved in wooden boxes. He ignored these rooms for now and made his way deeper into the warehouse.
However, the deeper he got, the more people he began sensing. There was a small group in one room, almost all of them seemed pretty sloshed.
They didn’t even have their masks on anymore, they were just swinging a bottle of liquor in one hand as they sang drunkenly. It would have been a heartwarming sight if not for them being kidnappers.
Still, he had not sensed Reinera yet. So he continued his way onward, passing by rooms occupied by sleeping figures, some of whom weren’t exactly sleeping yet as they were doing other things.
Eventually, he came across a door that led downstairs.
Well, if this doesn’t look like a place to hide a prisoner, then I don’t know what to say.
He carefully climbed downstairs and as he reached out with his skill, he was able to pick up several people all within a room of their own. The rooms were completely made out of some sort of stone and had a huge bar that locked them inside.
It appears that Reinera isn’t the only one who is being kidnapped.
After some closer examination, he was able to figure out which room held her. There were no enchantments to prevent him from sensing through it.
At the back of the cellar, there was a lone room where he sensed her lying down on a bed.
Now the problem is how I am going to get her out of here.
He extended his mana senses beforehand, he didn’t want to accidentally activate some sort of alarm.
And he was glad that he did, the moment he touched the stone with his mana senses, he was able to see that there were subtle enchantments on the door. He didn’t know what they did, but he could tell they weren’t there to help him.
Also, since they were so discreet, it was likely that they weren’t there just to strengthen the stone. There was probably a whole lot of stuff that would activate if he tried to break open the door.
Realizing that he couldn’t just blast it open, he stepped back and began to think.
However, as he did, he felt someone appear in his senses. The thick stone of the cellar made it hard for him to get an accurate picture of what was happening above, but he was able to detect someone walking down the stairs.
He quickly looked around for someplace to hide and spotted a pile of crates in the corner. He quietly moved behind them and waited for the person to come down.
The first thing he noticed though was the man’s aura. It wasn’t completely suppressed, but it was handled with a firm grasp of control. Furthermore, this man was at least Tier 4, there was no doubt.
He tried not to feel too nervous, though it was hard not to.
He had not been expecting a person this powerful to be around here. Elder Han said that the people of importance should be staying at the lord’s manor, but it was obvious he was wrong. This man wasn’t some random bum watching the prisoners.
He held his breath as the man headed toward his direction.
However, just when he thought the man wouldn’t notice him, the man spoke.
“There’s no need to hide,” he said in a very soothing voice. It was the type of voice that would lull one to sleep.
Unfortunately, in Julius’s case, he wasn’t trying to fall asleep, he was trying to hide. Something he was apparently massively failing at.
“I know you’re behind those crates,” the man said after a brief pause.
Who knows, he might be talking about some other person hiding behind the crates, he thought to himself optimistically.
“I’m not talking about another person.”
What is he? A mind reader?
“You could have been,” Julius called out from behind the crates. There was no reason to keep on hiding, the man had obviously seen through it. He stood up and finally got a look at the man who had caught him.
He surprisingly, wasn’t wearing a mask. However, his features didn’t match his voice at all. While his voice was smooth, this guy looked more rugged. He was still very handsome, as Julius realized came from being a higher-tiered individual, but he had more of a good-looking fireman type of vibe.
“Why are you here?” The man asked him.
Julius shrugged his shoulders. “You took my friend.”
“The brown-haired one?”
He nodded. “You think you could allow me to just take her and we can forget about all of this?”
He saw the man hesitate at that, a look of uncertainty washed over the man’s face.
“I can’t do that,” he finally said with a hint of regret.
He was at least hesitant about it, Julius noted to himself.
“Why not? You don’t seem like a guy who wants to kidnap little girls,” Julius told him.
“I don’t like this any more than you do, but I can’t. I owe someone a favor and no matter how disgusting I may find it, I won’t just break my promise,” the man said sternly.
Julius looked over at the cell that was holding Reinera and back to the man. “Well, I can’t say that I agree with your morals, but I am going to get my friend out of here no matter what I have to do,” he warned the man. Which he bet the man was thinking was pretty funny.
A Tier 2 like Julius didn’t just go around threatening Tier 4s. Julius suspected the only reason the man gave him the courtesy to give himself up was that he was Tier 2.
Although he might come to regret that decision. No matter how polite this man was to him, he wasn’t going to let him keep his food bestie in that cell.
Comments
PikaAndrew
Tftc
Read Isekai
It's not really that dark if he doesn't die, he already cut off piles of his own limbs testing out his own healing skill in the past. He even let a couple mimics eat his arms in front of the princess Most likely because they are friends, and the T4 doesn't particularly want to be involved he'll probably throw him in with her after sealing his magic. The princess doesn't appear to have had her mana sealed, most likely because they don't consider her a threat, but julius is likely to be about to show off enough power that they will be wary of him. So she can probably use some kind of light skill to cut his head off
L Pedersen
Feels closer to a year but time is hard to parse in stories like this. It's easy for chapters to run away without much time passing in-continuity. I doubt it's Edwin but if it is, he'll know for certain when they start fighting, regardless of disguises.
L Pedersen
And here I thought he was being stupidly merciful to a bandit. He was worried about her waking up too soon and raising the alarm. Dead people don't tell no tales I say.
L Pedersen
jesus that's dark. I don't think we're going there. Also, how would the princess manage the beheading? And why would they be in a cell together, all the other prisoners are in their own cells. I find it far more likely that Julius will prevail somehow. Or if he loses I think Elder Han may intervene somehow.
Read Isekai
My theory is Julius will loose the first round of this fight getting imprisoned with the princess, and probably have some form of slave/sealing collar put on his neck. He will then subsequently advance to T3, have the princess cut his head off to remove the collar after which she'll put his head back on and he'll heal himself. Finally he will then proceed to win round 2 of the fight
Pawaidan
Well I would assume there are alot of people that love what you are doing, as most people don't comment. Great book by the way.
Mitchell Prevost
Cliffhanger noooooo, TFTC!!! Update soon pls 🙂
Usernames_are_annoying
First. I wonder how Julius is going to get out of this one. Is he strong enough to take down a tier 4 now? I don’t know given that I don’t think he has a solution to deal with authority. Maybe his concepts will help with that?
ThoMiCroN
Reinera: A little short for a Stormtrooper, aren’t you?
ReadingObsessed
He said turned over so I assume he put her on her side? Could help
George McKibbin
Play evil games, get evil prizes
Hamfist
T4 Authority vs Jule's willpower. Should be a fun chapter.
Hamfist
It's only been ~6 months since the he last saw his tutor. There's no way they wouldn't recognize each other.
Connor Hinrichs
I'm pretty sure it's not, Julius would have immediately recognised him if it was Edwin
Connor Hinrichs
Tier 4s have access to an ability called Authority, which with context clues in the story so far, seems to be linked to concepts and soul strength/aura. I'm not sure how successful Julius will be at combating this guy's Authority
Sean
You're most likely right now that I've given it a reread. I thought he didn't see his face initially, but he did. I doubt he has an artifact that changes his appearance in the same way Reinera does.
Connor Hinrichs
I don't think advancement is something that can be done mid fight. The Tier 1 and 2 advancements required staying still and focus. I doubt it'll be different for T3
Thaabit Rivertree
I doubt it. Julius would have recognized him for sure, plus too little to connect them. He strikes me as someone whose story we'll get to see, maybe Julius will use or take over the org in the future.
Thaabit Rivertree
I feel kind of bad for the woman he attacked earlier. Sounds like she's going to drown in her own blood or have severe soul damage unexpectedly. Thats a nasty way to go, especially since he didnt intend to kill her.
Sean
Wait a god damn second, is this his tutor from when he was a kid?!?! You're talking him up like he's important and not just a random tier 4. God I wish I was better at remembering names. Edward? Victor? Something with a D? Edit: Edwin! This is Edwin!
Aureus
that depends on how close you are to your patreon resub day
Carl Skinnars
He has skipped two tiers before and came out on topp and this tier 4 seams to be mentally focused. I give high odds that this opponent won’t have a good time.
PatronTurtle
I give like 55% chance
PatronTurtle
Seems more blackmailed than evil tbh
Jachin Nelson
Ok. Chances of Julius advancing to tier 3 during the fight
Justin Drake
TYFTC Food Bestie lol
Zack
We have, but not in awhile. The combat instructor Julius sparred with early on is tier 4, but he wasn't going all out and Julius is much stronger now than then.
Darune Albane
Evil cliffy
Raymond Mouton
Thanks for the chapter. I am almost itching in anticipation for the next chapter, that fight is going to be so good…
Zach
TFTC!
Zach
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Read Isekai
The princess is going to owe julius a trip that that fancy restaurant back in Heston after all of this
RedLeaf
Aaannnd in the red corner! or should that be "Are you ready to ruuuuumble?!?!"
L Pedersen
I am confused and intrigued. I didn't think the stealthy infiltration would result in a fight with a t4. I would feel better about his chances if Reinera hadn't already confirmed that he wasn't a weak t4. Man I need a time machine
Mitchell Calhoun
Oh man I cannot wait for the next chapter!
Kevin McKinney
Thanks for the chapter. Curious about the back story of the kidnapper. Should be a good fight.
Dylan Sutton
Aw shit big fight coming up. Have we seen a tier four fight yet? What’s the difference between 3 and 4?
Quentin Cozzi
Always here to respect and appreciate your hard work!
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
