Chapter 929: Deception
Present day.
Adam stood in his backyard, wine cup in hand, gazing at the rooftop of a distant building with a faint smirk on his lips.
Although he put up a brave and carefree front, inwardly, he was extrely tense.
Because while he may be looking in the direction the Master was in, he was in fact… looking at nothing!
Despite having his Sphere of Resonance operating at maximum capacity, he was only able to faintly notice the presence of another person.
The feeling was fleeting—very fleeting—but it was undoubtedly there.
This could only an one of two things…
Either this person was an expert at the Mana Core Rank, or he possessed a Grade 4 artifact capable of concealing himself even from Adam’s enhanced senses.
Or both!
His heart churned with tumultuous waves when he ca to that conclusion. Regardless of his speculations, he was certain that the person was a very powerful Mana Core Magus.
But still, for him to be able to pull off his bluff, he had to display an utterly confident front.
He raised his hand and took a sip from the flat cup, showing a contented expression on his face.
His movents were laidback, hinting that he wasn’t bothered about a single thing going on at the mont, and that everything was in the palm of his hand.
But secretly… his back had already been drenched in a layer of cold sweat.
On the other side, standing on the rooftop, the Master had a slight frown on his face. Of course, his facial expressions were hidden in the shadows of the hood.
More importantly, he had taken yet another precaution to conceal his face, fully aware of just how sharp Adam’s observational capabilities were.
And judging by how the youth had managed to pinpoint his location, his caution had been well justified.
As I thought… this was indeed a trap, he mused.
Sending Anna away so conspicuously, despite knowing how turbulent the waters were, ant one of two things: Adam was a fool, or he was boldly luring the Cult into a trap.
This was precisely why the Master had dispatched only two Mana Vortex Magi to intercept Anna and her entourage.
His next move would hinge entirely on the outco of the battle happening outside Ravefell.
What have you done, Adam?
What have you… planned?
Thought the Master, his eyes narrowing.
He knew well enough that this was all a trap. But there was one question that kept gnawing at his mind:
Just how many enemies were lying in ambush?
According to the Master, this was an open sche orchestrated by the Twilight Brotherhood to lure the mbers of the Cult outside the city and eliminate as many of them as possible.
If my suspicions are correct, then their true aim is to eliminate as many of our Mana Vortex Magi as possible, the Master thought grimly.
A battle between Mana Core Magi is highly unlikely. It would cause too much of a disturbance and alert our enemies within the city.
The master’s frown deepened as he watched how calm and laid-back Adam appeared at the mont. The youth kept pouring wine into his flat cup, sipping it leisurely, as if nothing in the world could go wrong.
The more he observed Adam’s deanour, the darker his expression grew.
With each passing mont, his conviction solidified: this was no ordinary plan. It was a carefully orchestrated trap laid out by the Twilight Brotherhood!
Hmph! How foolish!
The Master sneered inwardly.
However, little did he know… the Twilight Brotherhood had no involvent in this whatsoever. If the Master had enough ti to gather proper intelligence, he would have realized this was not an open trap at all.
It was all a bluff.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And because of his overly cautious nature, he had walked straight into Adam’s snare.
The Master was no fool. In fact, it was his brilliance that made him the Cult Leader’s right-hand man. He was cold, calculating, and impossibly precise.
Every move he made was deliberate, every risk weighed, every outco projected.
And yet… he fell for sothing as simple as a bluff.
Why?
Because Adam’s plan was deceptively simple.
It played on perception, on his reputation, on the very image Adam had cultivated through the years.
The Cult of Bones knew him as a treacherous and cunning man who was able to best opponents stronger than him. The kind of enemy who would sooner fake defeat than fight head-on.
A scher who was seemingly always two steps ahead.
So when the Master saw Anna’s conspicuous departure and the lack of subtlety surrounding it, he didn’t dismiss it as carelessness.
No, he saw layers of deception when there were none… because he expected layers.
He expected Adam to be hiding sothing behind sothing else, and so he conjured complications when there were only straight lines.
That was the cruel genius of Adam’s strategy. It relied not on fooling the foolish, but on making the wise second-guess themselves.
Of course, the reason why the Dark King had been so confident about going forward with such a risky plan was that he had luck on his side.
In the end, the Master didn’t fall because he lacked intelligence.
He fell because of it!
Suddenly, the Master felt a slight disturbance. Lowering his gaze, he saw a skeletal worm erging from the sleeves of his robe, slowly crawling towards his shoulder.
It was a ssenger commonly used amongst the mbers of the Cult.
The worm reached his ear and whispered a ssage that caused the Master’s expression to darken.
Zashi is dead…
The Master shifted his gaze towards Adam once again. This ti, he didn’t bother to hide the hostility in them.
I knew it, he thought grimly.
Looks like you people from the Brotherhood are really out there lying in ambush!
A few monts later, he felt another disturbance. This ti, a letter suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed in his palms.
This was sent by his spy in the Ballard Estate.
Seeing the contents of the letter, the Master’s eyes narrowed. He burned the letter into ashes, then turned towards Adam with a cold look in his eyes.
Hayes is dead, too…
Suddenly, noticing the gaze on him turn hostile and ominous, Adam figured out what might have happened.
Doing his best to maintain a cool and confident deanor, he extended his free hand and beckoned the Master to co at him!
At the sa ti, he flashed a ridiculously taunting grin that practically scread:
I’m right here. What are you going to do about it?
Veins bulged on the Master’s forehead as he glared at the Dark King. That infuriating grin on the youth’s face caused him to feel enraged.
But just a mont later, he forced himself to calm down. He knew exactly what the boy was trying to do. He would be a fool to fall for it.
His expression returned to its usual stillness, though a cold light flickered in his eyes.
The Brotherhood will respond no matter how many I send, he mused.
And who knows… maybe there’s even a Mana Core Magi lying in wait.
He cast one final, lingering glance at the Dark King, who was still mockingly taunting him, then turned around and silently left.
I will patiently bide my ti, and when the mont is right… I will take everything from you, Dark King!
But little did he know…
If he had sent just one more Mana Vortex Magi, he would have won.
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