Child of Destiny

Chapter 1998: Obstructed

…

A few moments before Grandmaster Benn barged into the lockdown, the Technology Faction, Shin, was meditating on the ruined underground temple.

He was trying to be in his best form, preparing himself for the escape later. He knew that Grandmaster Benn and the others had arranged everything, but he still could not shake off this feeling that something unexpected would happen.

He was not sure what it was, but his instincts were repeatedly telling him to prepare for what was about to come.

He fully trusted his instincts in these kinds of situations, especially when they never disappointed him in such cases.

Not long after, he finally sensed something.

Bang!

A loud shattering sound could be heard coming from the outside, which was clearly the signal that he was waiting for.

The members of the Technology Faction of the Sun-Moon Government had already established the initial net and barricade within the whole region, making it impossible to escape from it without notice.

Once he used his teleportation talisman to escape from this place, the other party would most likely notice his movements and realize that he was trying to run away.

With this strong entrance, which destroyed most of this lockdown formation, Shin knew that his mentalism teacher had already dealt with this problem.

“It’s now!” he mumbled while opening his eyes.

Swoosh!

He then took a talisman from his spatial bag and used it within an instant, activating the teleportation spell engraved on it.

Whoosh!

A blinding light swiftly enveloped him, which quickly disappeared alongside his body.

…

Swoosh!

Immediately after, he suddenly appeared right on a cliff at the far end of the Sun-Moon Continent.

This place was the opposite of the location where he came from, which was also the farthest point from that direction.

He was not sure if it was just a coincidence or whether David had arranged it that way. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to dwell on that topic. He had to hurry and move before his teacher left that place.

Swoosh!

Jumping off the cliff, Shin flew straight to the yacht docked right under it.

He then swiftly moved to the control cabin and maneuvered the yacht, steering it away from the cliffs at full speed. He then put it on autopilot before taking out the advanced mentalism talisman and channeled his mental energy into it.

Boom!

While he was doing that, he could sense a massive explosion of energy coming from the Sun-Moon Continent behind him, which indicated that Grandmaster Benn had already executed the plan.

This was also the exact cue that Shin was waiting for, fully activating the talisman in his hand.

Boom!

A similarly strong burst of energy suddenly erupted within the area surrounding the yacht. It even formed a mini-storm that stirred the surrounding water, forming a whirlpool.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Shin could already sense a bunch of people heading toward him at extreme speed. Fortunately, they were somewhat delayed due to the earlier appearance of an energy storm coming from the opposite direction.

They were a bit too late to catch up to him.

Whoosh!

When the storm of energy disappeared, Shin, along with the yacht, disappeared as well.

…

In the distance, a person, who was wearing a full set of military uniform and armor, was watching the entire scene with eyes filled with interest.

“It is a simple yet effective plan,” he mumbled before revealing a mocking grin. “Unfortunately, I can’t just let you get away that easily after confirming that you are their child.”

Snap!

When the spatial storm was about to disappear, he suddenly made a snap, which sent an invisible ripple in the atmosphere and somewhat disrupted the teleportation process.

“I may not be able to directly interfere with these matters, but that does not mean that I can’t cause you some trouble.”

“Since that woman already finished making her move, then I allow me to take the next one,” he mumbled while watching the spatial storm grow smaller along with the yacht.

***

Swoosh!

Boom!

Shin braced himself upon the impact, knowing that the yacht would fall into the body of water right after the teleportation process.

Based on the coordinates that he had set with the teleportation talisman, he was supposed to land on the lake in the middle of the Springfield Family’s area of jurisdiction.

He was supposed to appear in the Taal Lake, which was one of the most famous spots within the Springfield Household.

However, his expression immediately turned sharp right after realizing that the place that he had landed on was different from the coordinates set as the teleportation point.

“This-…” Shin wore a solemn expression as he walked to the deck of the yacht, observing the place he was on.

Given his familiarity with the Springfield Household, he naturally realized that this place was far from being the place that he was expecting.

Fortunately, Shin could also tell that this place was still within the Soaring Continent. It was just a bit too far from the Eastern Sea Region or the Central Region.

“Based on this weather and the woody and grassy energy filling the air, this place is most likely the coast of the Western Plain Region,” he mumbled after observing the surroundings.

Each region of the Soaring Continent had a distinct weather pattern, which also somewhat affected the flow of energy that was filling the air. This was how most of the citizens of the continent distinguished the borders of each region.

They would instantly realize that they had crossed the boundaries of every region once the weather took a sudden change, particularly the energies filling the air.

Regardless, Shin could not lower his guard, knowing that something indeed happened during the teleportation process. He was not sure how it was done, but he could tell that someone must have interrupted the process of his transport, which led to the current situation.

This was further proven when Uno’s voice suddenly warned him.

[You’d better be careful. Quite a few acquaintances are waiting to greet you in the shadows. They seem to be eager to welcome you with open arms.]

Shin could tell that the strength of the other party was not that strong, given the sarcastic remark that Uno had made.

However, they would most likely give him enough trouble, given that Uno had warned him about it.

Squinting his eyes, he gathered his mental energy toward his eyes, activating his True Sight.

There was a strange itch coming from his right eye when he activated this technique for the first time since the incident within the ruined underground Buddhist Temple.

He wanted to investigate where this uncomfortable feeling was coming from, but it immediately disappeared before he could even get the opportunity to do so.

Moreover, he could already see the people hiding under the shades of the trees in the distance, which were the ones that Uno was talking about.

“A dozen or so, huh? This is indeed a bit tricky to deal with,” he mumbled before casting his gaze at the same.

He then saw a transparent dome covering quite a huge area, locking him and the others inside and preventing him from contacting anyone from the outside.

“It looks like they are long prepared for this welcome,” he mumbled before turning his gaze to the opposing group.

“Since you have mentioned that they are some acquaintance, I wonder which organization they belonged to,” he said, seemingly asking Uno to give him some hints.

But he did not see those hints since he could already see something that answered his question. He could see a familiar tattoo on different parts of the opposing side’s body.

It was the familiar black dagger with a huge and hideous serpent coiling around it.

“Black Serpent Mafia? These guys sure are everywhere,” he mumbled after seeing these marks.

These marks were not ordinary tattoos either, since they were releasing a constant pulse of energy that he was very familiar with. These were enchantment tattoos that could greatly enhance the overall abilities of the wielder.

“These guys are all young executioners who have graduated from the program,” he commented, realizing why Uno had warned him.

Swoosh!

Realizing that he would not be able to leave this place unless he dealt with this bunch, Shin took the initiative to ’greet’ them and teleported right on the coast, where the opposing side was waiting for him.

“There is no need to hide. Let’s get this over with,” he said right after his feet touched the wet boulder that the waves keep on hitting.

Bang!

Right at the same time, a huge wave also slammed into the boulder he was standing on, sending a wide splash of water that made his entrance a bit more dramatic.

There was no immediate response coming from the opposing side when he made his entrance, but that did not last for long since the person, who seemed to be leading the group, revealed himself.

“It seems like our data is still a bit behind. You are much stronger than what we know,” said this person as he walked forward.

Shin could not help but squint his eyes when he saw the other party more clearly.

Earlier, when he used his True Sight, there was a vague miasma blocking his line of sight and preventing him from having a clearer look at the other party.

But now that they had revealed themselves right before him, he could finally see their overall appearance and realized that they were indeed an acquaintance.

’Most of them are students from the academy. No wonder we have been infiltrated during the last incident. These guys have penetrated our ranks quite deeply,’ he thought after sweeping his gaze at the members of the opposing side one after another.

As for the others, they seemed to be from the other schools, which were less famous than the Magic Ace Academy and Top Military School, but still had a decent fame themselves.

Given their age, which was around his peers, and their strength, who were either at the Ethereal Opening Stage Martial Artists and Assassins, just like him, or Sword Experts in the path of Swordsmanship, which was also on the same realm.

But they were not that threatening, given Shin’s current state. Their numbers might give him some trouble, but that was not enough to put him in much danger.

What truly made him feel threatened were the two people leading the group.

The first one was the guy who was standing at the forefront of the opposing group, who was an assassin at the peak of the Ethereal Opening Stage, while the other was the Sword Expert that he had never seen before.

The Assassin was a classmate from the Special Program of the Magic Ace Academy.

“What’s your name again? You are pretty low-key, so I have never noticed you before. But it seems like you are planning to go all-out this time around,” said Shin before squinting his eyes. “I wonder why you are trying to blow out the cover that you have painstakingly tried to hide.”

“You should have figured it out already. It is the orders from above, so we must obey,” said this assassin before finally introducing himself. “In the academy, they call me Andras. But within our circle, you can call me Executioner No. 5.”

He then paused and pointed his thumb behind him, where the dangerous Sword Expert was standing. “As for this buddy, he said that you are quite familiar with one another.”

Shin did not know how to exactly respond to the latter part of Andras’ words. He just started at the Sword Expert, trying to recall if they were indeed familiar with each other.

It was at that moment that Uno’s voice rang in his ears.

[He is one of the greatest executioners that the camp had created from the second island. He is from that ’examination’ ground where we first met the sword idiot classmate of yours.]

“Sword idiot? Are you talking about Dylan?” mumbled Shin, seemingly realizing something. “You must be the only one to have the audacity to call a Sword Genius a sword idiot.”

“Since that is the case, then this person is much more dangerous than Andras,” he mumbled, directing his gaze at the Sword Expert in full seriousness.

…