BXBX NOVEL Chapter 342 - Ring of Illusion
Angor pulled his hat lower and stayed at the side of the road as he watched two eye-patched men dragged Dodoro to the carriage.
“Boss? I think this one has some problems in his brain.”
It was so obvious. Dodoro’s eyes remained clear and innocent like a toddler, and he never showed any fear. He only fixed his gaze in Angor’s direction.
“Is he faking it?” The bandit leader walked over and grabbed Dodoro’s collar. Then he threw Dodoro aside.
Dodoro tumbled to the ground and quickly climbed back up with a sad look. Then he walked toward Angor again.
The others couldn’t see Angor. To them, Dodoro “willingly” ran back to their boss after being bullied. And this guy was still looking at their boss as if he wanted to cry.
This funny guy was an idiot no matter how they looked at him.
“Um? For real?” The scarred leader scoffed as he inspected Dodoro up and down. “He looks pretty good. Maybe we can...”
A bandit suddenly spoke up, “Boss, I heard that Lady Mary loves to torture silly and innocent boys. We can sell this guy to her for a big price!”
Dodoro still carried that pure look even when people talked about selling him off right in front of him. He kept looking toward Angor’s direction like an obedient puppy, fearing that he would lose Angor if he allowed his attention to stray.
“Har har! You’re damn right. The poor bastard’s gonna have a bad time with Mary’s whips.”
An idiot would never tell anyone about the robbery. The bandit leader felt a lot happier since they just found some extra cash. “Good hunting, my men! You, keep an eye on him. I’m going to check out our appetizer!”
He asked the bandit who made the suggestion to guard Dodoro. He then walked to the black carriage and slashed at it using the giant machete he had been carrying on his back.
Thick veins emerged on the man’s arms when he wielded the weapon. It only took one try for him to completely split the carriage in half.
Angor noticed that when the scarred bandit used that blade, the man released a certain aura from his body which traveled onto the veins on his arm, giving him unnatural strength.
And Angor knew about it. The power of faith used by knights.
Knights all believed in knighthood spirit instead of gods or kings. By forcing themselves to obey certain doctrines, they strengthened their inner organs and gained power.
Angor learned about such a thing before going into the wizarding world. After he started to study wizardry, Angor learned that the so-called “power of faith” was actually a basic method used by Bloodline Wizards to train their physical forms.
Every creature possessed a bloodline. Knights simply knew how to display the power of the bloodline. And such basic method was applicable to anyone. There was no requirement for spiritual power or wizardry potential, which was the reason why wizards didn’t claim “copyright” for it and allowed it to be used among mortals.
Also, Angor was planning to become a knight too, if he didn’t meet his particular destiny.
...
Following a loud horse neigh, a woman with a pinkish-white bubble skirt stumbled down from the broken carriage. She had been trembling all along. And when she finally looked at the violent bandits directly, she quickly lost it and began to scream.
The noises caused by a horse and a woman quickly brought the scene into chaos.
The scarred bandit rubbed his ear and walked to the panicked horse. With a swift slash, the horse became two halves.
Blood and guts covered the dirt.
All the brotherhood bandits yelled hysterically upon the smell of blood and the scream of Margot. Even the old driver closed his eyes in despair.
Dodoro and Angor were the only ones who didn’t react at all at the violent display. Dodoro had been bathing in blood for too long to get troubled by it, while Angor couldn’t smell it at all when his Purification Field was working. Besides, Angor wouldn’t mind even if he did—wizards all tended to be cold-natured.
The ruckus drew the attention of a farmer, who immediately ran away upon seeing the bandits.
The bandit leader ordered a man to chase after the farmer while he took out a ring, which shone with dark glimmer, from his pocket.
“Witness, huh?” He walked in front of the old driver and kicked the helpless old man onto the ground. “You see, everything we did today will remain a secret, and Leonrick can kiss goodbye to his good days. The entire Water Grasse will succumb to Lord Magician’s nightmares. Gah har har har!”
He flipped the green gem on the shining ring, which released several ripples into the air and covered everyone.
The old driver helped Margot up. “What have you done?! What is this? How did you find such power?”
“Do you know what this is?” The scarred man looked proud. “A treasure we obtained from Lord Magician. It’s the Ring of Illusion. See what’s happening now? Hah! Let me tell you, as long as we’re inside this power, no one will see what’s happening here! Outsiders will see nothing. No horse sh*t, no carriage, no Margot, or you, old bastard.
“This is a supernatural power! Something mortals can never hope to wield! Leonrick, huh? He’ll get killed by Lord Magician’s might sooner or later!”
To prove his words, the lackey he sent out to catch the farmer had returned. However, this guy was wandering around the carriage aimlessly without looking at them.
The other bandits all laughed at their silly brother, and their leader ordered another man to drag the wanderer into the illusion.
The old driver slumped down upon witnessing the amazing power. Their last bit of hope had just escaped.
“See that? Water Grasse—no. The entire Zeal Dominion shall heed to the wills of Lord Magician!” The fat bandit laughed maniacally and raised his machete at the old driver. “I don’t have time for you now. We’re taking Margot away, while you should meet your doom right here!”
...
Angor’s eyes gleamed.
He tended to avoid trouble or become the center of attention. The Lone-Eye Brotherhood seemed to be a bunch of common villains, but no one knew if something complicated would show up.
He came here because he sensed the power of illusions. It wasn’t strong, but it suggested the presence of a supernatural.
Compared to mortals, whoever that owned the “Ring of Illusion” might provide him with more useful information to help him find the southern wizarding world.
As for the driver in danger...
That old man did try to warn Dodoro. Might as well save him.
...
The driver covered his head and shivered, while Margot was captured by the two other bandits nearby, still screaming and crying.
The old man already began to see his past life flashing in from of his eyes. He waited for the final strike to come, which never did.
Did the bandit change his mind? With uncertainty, he slowly looked up again.
Bright flash quickly blinded his aged eyes.
The bandit leader did not show mercy. It was a crystal-clear ice wall, which suddenly appeared between them. The sharp machete was stuck inside the ice, while its owner was trying to pull it out.
“What—how... Ice?! What just happened?” The other bandits pointed to the wall in shock.
The bandit leader was only surprised for a brief moment. He then regained his composure.
“Lord Magician, sir?”
No response.
He slowly looked around. There were his men, all shock or terrified. The old driver looked happy for surviving that attack, while Margot desperately called for help under the restraint of her captors.
“Not them...”
He looked at Dodoro in the end. This guy was the only one who “didn’t belong”. The idiot wasn’t terrified of blood or violence at all. That smile never vanished.
Maybe the man is a big deal who’s pretending to be weak?
When thinking about this, the bandit leader felt a chill crawling down his spine. He just slammed that man like he was bullying a chicken!
He quickly asked his man to let go of Dodoro.
“Please forgive my offense, good sir.” While speaking, he slapped his own face so hard that a tooth was knocked off.
He knew the terrible powers of the supernaturals. Even if it were only a small possibility, he would act extremely careful.
He made several more slaps without getting any response.
Dodoro was still in that same silly manner. Actually, Dodoro never lifted an eye at him.
“Did I get it wrong?” He searched around again.
His lackeys, as well as the driver and Margot, were all giving him strange stares for his self-imposed slaps. He didn’t mind it though—if a supernatural were really here, he would willingly lose an arm or leg in exchange for his own life without any hesitation.
The search yielded him nothing.
He looked at Dodoro again. This man was the only one who looked “strange”, even if it was in an idiotic way.
He tried to observe Dodoro’s expression, but he was confused by it. He might look rough and uncultured, but as someone who controlled the largest underground organization in Water Grasse—the Lone-Eye Brotherhood—he knew how to size up people and the small details about them.
And he just noticed that Dodoro had been looking toward one direction, in a joyful mood.
Someone’s over there?
He followed Dodoro’s gaze and... didn’t see anything for a moment.
But soon enough, his brain sent him a warning.
There!
A male wearing a black-and-white checkered overcoat and a hat with a smiling picture on it slowly materialized.
And the fat bandit was sure there was nothing just a second ago.
Under everyone’s awestruck gaze, the intruder slowly took off his top hat and held it in front of his chest.
“Good day, gentlemen.”