Once Human, Now a Parasite 157 Chapter 154 : Sect Meeting

It may be a mechanism laid by the monster in case it died. In normal cases, such attack wouldn't hurt him too much but in his current state, it would've been deadly, especially with his stats lowered.

Still panting heavily with his katana supporting him, Arthur looked up to Anastassia, who was in a black outfit that covered her whole appearance, seemingly like a ninja.

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"No need to thank me, more importantly, what happened here?"

Surveying the surroundings and witnessing the bloody ground and the destroyed land, Anastassia was truly shocked. She came here for an investigation yet stumbled upon a wounded Arthur and a mass of bodies.

Before he could start explaining what happened, a massive wave of pain and shock overwhelmed Arthur, it crashed into him at the same time, making him unable to see properly, blackening his vision and making him lose consciousness.

After all the effort and strength he exerted, it's to be expected, especially the burden from activating all the passives. The wolf's body may be the perfect one for having them all activated but it's only the perfect one amongst the one he possesses in his storage. There must be a more suitable body out there, he just needs to find it.

...

The passing of time went unnoticed for one unconscious. When Arthur finally opened his eyes, he found himself laid on a comfortable bed inside a wide room. No one but him was present there and by the look of it, his body seems to have recovered fully, even the stat loss disappeared which is a good thing.

What's left to find out is how long was he unconscious? He hated being so defenseless and helpless, anyone would be able to kill him with the proper weapon if he's unconscious. It can be considered fortunate that it was Anastassia who saved him and not some crazy or weird stranger.

As Arthur's Sense spread, he was able to find out that he was currently located inside of his sect's area. Ma Clan disciples trained or spared outside, with some old tribe members trying to learn the use of Qi or challenging disciples.

There was no shortage of people, but the defense was tight with three bone dragons permanently guarding. There was also two death knights around.

One was located a couple of hundreds of meters away from him and it seemed to be the one who was guarding Taliya. As for the remaining knight, it just entered the room he was in along with Lissandra, who Arthur almost forgot about.

So many things happened, from hunting a black mage to the phases of the ARK and last but not least is facing that hideous looking monster.

Unconsciously, Arthur opened his status window but was sad when he saw his Realm drop by 6 whopping Grades. His stats also dropped but compared to his Grades, it was nothing.

The cost of preserving his life was indeed high. If he didn't use those forbidden skills, he wouldn't have survived or even resisted that shocking pushing force, neither the countless Spatial Tears.

..

Lissandra entered the room with a rather serious yet calm face, she was not as fearful as was last time. From the look of it, she either gave up on escaping or accepted her fate as Mortal, there was also the small possibility of her plotting to cheat him or someone close to him.

Still ignoring her, Arthur spread his Sense further yet found nothing weird that is worth paying attention too. When he ascertained that there was no danger around, he turned his head and looked back at Lissandra, who stared at him silently, as if she was the same rank as him or was never his enemy, to begin with.

Time slowly passed with no one of them uttering a single word, this silence was broken at last when Lissandra spoke with a straight face and a resolute tone.

"I know it's not my place to say this but I have come to make a request."

"Denied. No requests, no trades, no offers, nothing. I'm not going to negotiate with a double-faced person."

Seemingly unaffected by the instant answer and the rejection, Lissandra didn't leave and kept staring back at him with serious eyes, she remained silent for a moment before adding

"W-what if I told you I have a way to send you wherever you want?"

It was an alluring proposal, Arthur is impatient and wants to go to Earth and check if Lucy is really there or not but he's not that idiotic to believe whatever she says. Furthermore, let's just say she's speaking the truth, there must be some catch, she won't give precious information for free.

"Still a no. It doesn't matter what you can provide, I'm not negotiating or trading with you, go back."

This time, Lissandra became a bit annoyed, it's indeed true that he has countless reasons not to trust her but he isn't even willing to listen to her, which made her unable to voice out her thoughts.

"At least listen to what I'm going to say! It's really ser-"

Before she could finish talking, she was interrupted by the Death Knight beside her which raised its axe, showing that it'll strike her if she spoke an extra work.

Begrudgingly, Lissandra left the room after throwing one last glare at Arthur, he didn't allow her to speak so she could only go back the way she came from.

As for Arthur, he ignored her and closed his eyes and entered the ARK, he had something he wanted to try and hoped it would work.

---

After softly saying the required word, Arthur surroundings blurred and he found himself standing in the familiar endless white space.

Every time he entered the ARK, he felt like he was in some kind of prison. if you look at this incredibly big space, by no means would you think it's a prison but maybe the thought of him being alone in such a huge place made him feel sadder and lonelier.

Without wasting much time contemplating the white surroundings, Arthur browsed through the available options and proceeded in entering the 'Beginner Phase' again. He wasn't sure but there's the possibility of obtaining the rewards again if so then he can spam it until his stats reach a limit and if he doesn't receive anything then he'll just rely on possessing until he goes to another world and cultivates.

The process and opponents were exactly the same, the only difference was that his lame copy didn't appear this time, he only heard the robotic voice of the ARK telling him to choose a weapon and so on.

Since he knew the attack patterns of the opponents, especially the hard ones like whitey, it wasn't that hard to defeat them for the second time and at the end of the third phase, he was given a score just the last time but you could see some improvements.

*Congratulations! You passed the third phase.*

*Congratulations! You finished the Beginner's Phase.*

*Performance:

Physical Score: 97/100

Skills Score: 77/100

Magic Score: 73/100

Battle Score: 80/100

Weapon Score: 6.75/10

Time Spent: 111 minutes and 7 seconds. 'Average'

Overall score: 79/100 'Great Job' *

Rewards: +4 Grades, +40% to Health/Stamina/Energy Regen. +29M to all stats. +0 Creation.*

'It's working!'

Feeling overjoyed, Arthur opened his status window and felt happier upon noticing his Grade increasing. If he repeats the Beginner Phase again then he would come back to being a peak Grade Immortal.

Without much hesitation, Arthur signed for another challenge and immediately began the first Phase. The third time passed as smoothly as the second one. The score was only 77 but Arthur didn't pay much attention to it.

His eyes were waiting for the rewards to pop up but his excitement lessened when all he saw as a reward was two grades and no advancement in stats, which was such a pity but at least he received something.

*You cannot do the Beginner Phase until the loading time ends. (9 Years, 11 months, 29 days, 23 Hours and 58 seconds).*

'10 years!'

Arthur had eyes full of disbelief when he saw that. Even though the time outside passes at a much faster pace than inside the ARK, as an inhabitant of this weird ARK, he had to go through ten literal years and wait patiently, and that is something he wouldn't do.

Heck! Even if it was a year, he would still not do it as it would worsen his mood, and make him go mad. Before leaving the ARK, Arthur decided to try a few things with the Plant Magic and his other attributes, trying to fuse them and he was met with a bit of success.

It was not overwhelming but it'll surely help in the upcoming fights.

'Dra'lim'

TITLE: MEAT GRINDER / SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE / ONE WITH THE SWORD / ARK HOLDER

Level: ???

Class: Dark ARK Parasite

Realm: Immortal 9th Grade

Strength: 172.4M

Intelligence:189.9M

Agility: 155.6M

Wisdom: 146.2M

Vitality: 137M

Dexterity: 137.4M

*******

Health:140M // Health Regen: 73718/s

Nether Energy: 145.6M // Nether Energy Regen: 90500/s

Mana: 220M // Mana Regen: 132378/s

Stamina: Infinite /Stamina Regen: ???

Creation : 125

Attack: 264.1M

Defense:187.7MM

Magic defense : 48.1M

Enigma abilities : Telekinesis / Ancient Threads / Sixth sense / ARK(Activated)

Mental Power : 1999

Elemental Resistances:

Fire: 100%

Darkness: 100%

Wind: 35%

Water: 75%

Earth: 75%

Light/holy: 5%

Shadow: 30%

Lightning: 100%

Ice: 30%

----

Death Count: 1 (2 more to obtain 'Unbound')

In his current state, Arthur was the strongest he has ever been, if not for his long cooldown cheat skills that cannot be used currently, he would be in a much safer position. However, relying on Makaze whilst deploying then ancient flame or Dark Magic is more than enough to overwhelm a Divine Realm.

Even against a God, Arthur was sure that he wouldn't be pushed back and he would have a good advantage, especially with such high stats.

He had a guess that every God had at least 100M in all stats which is a boost if they breakthrough godhood, but that was just an assumption, but if it's true, then he would be much stronger than a normal God.

In prowess, if he were to face Meyzu or the Lich King right now, Arthur had a lot more confidence, and if Lucy joined him, getting rid of them wouldn't be much of a problem, even if they use the strange illusory phantoms behind them.

One Heavenly Arrow is all it took to scare them and if he learns to use Rizaki properly, there's no end to what he could achieve and truthfully, he doesn't seek fame, power or riches. He just wants more strength to protect Lucy and Saly, to have them live a peaceful and easy-going life.

Earth would be a perfect choice but he would rather live on Astria as he considered this world a home more than Earth ever was.

...

"Jackob! What did you think you're doing by bringing the head maid of the Demon Lord to our base?"

With a cold tone and an expressionless face, Anastassia reprimanded Jackob whilst glaring at Taliya, who was silently standing not far away.

"Well... hahah you know, she had a Death Knight besides her so she can't possibly be an enemy, right?"

Scratching his head embarrassingly, Jackob tried to find a suitable excuse.

He would take the risk of bringing a powerful enemy to their base rather than killing one of Arthur's friends because that's an irreversible thing which will make him receive the full wrath of Arthur, who would most likely not let him live.

Shaking her head helplessly, Anastassia could only sigh at Jackob's behavior and actions. Ever since they met, he would always do things the wrong way or screw the plans, nevertheless, he at least knew how to correct his mistakes. Compared to when they just met, he is way stronger and smarter, or so she thought.

She could remember having a headache anytime she argued with him. He was not that powerful, to begin with, however, Arthur had a good impression of this young man, who in the course of eighteen months or so, managed to grow way taller and become a lot stronger.

If she could name one of the good things about Jackob, it had to be his hard-working attitude, the man never slacks off and he's battling comrades and enemies every day, whether it's for training or to eliminate a threat.

"Didn't the thought of her being the one who summoned that knight ever cross your head? She's a Demon, she can't be trusted!"

Anastassia was fully capable of dealing of the Death Knight standing next to Taliya but she didn't, for the same reason as Jackob's.

The knight looked exactly similar to the one accompanying Lissandra, so Anastassia was hesitating a bit, moreover, it can't be just coincidence to be where Arthur was, especially when she knew what the identity of Taliya was.

Before everything else, Anastassia was Human, so like any other of her Race, she held a negative impression of the Demons albeit not interacting with them that much. It's like an inborn disgust or loathes, can't be explained properly and it's something you develop naturally when you grow in an environment where every Human talk bad or hates Demons.

As they were both arguings, Taliya remained silent and tried to grasp a good opportunity to sneak up and retreat. With the Death Knight protecting her back, there is a high chance of escaping despite all the defenses and strong figures here. After all, she saw how powerful the Death Knight was, monstrous strength and swift despite its size, one swing of its axe can easily crush her.

Taliya was no fool, she knew that Jackob or Anastassia could easily apprehend her so she patiently waited for the black-haired woman to drop her guard or look away, only she needed is for the enemy to be distracted for a second and that was more than enough.

She can't escape far after witnessing the three bones dragons and a terrifyingly big minotaur guarding the gates of the sect but with her being the head maid of the Demon Lord, she got a few items that may be helpful in such desperate situations.

Unfortunately for her, the Death Knight didn't take her orders and seemed to follow only one straight order and that is to protect her from any danger.

With the long sleeves of the maid dress covering part of her hands, Taliya sneakily shook her arms, making the hidden sharp blades slowly descend and when they were just about to be exposed, she stopped shaking her hands and surveyed Anastassia and Jackob, who were still talking without minding her.

'So arrogant to the point of not letting me unguarded and not sealing my powers. Humans never change'

Taliya they were the leaders of the most powerful sect in the western continent, and that the black-haired woman it that sect master, who is much stronger than her sister, the Demon Lord.

But no matter how strong you were, you must never underestimate an enemy and let him be unguarded, that is an iron rule Taliya followed since childhood.

Seconds passed and the moment she was waiting for never came, despite that, Taliya didn't give up, she waited a bit more before launching her offensive.

She unsheathed her short blades with lightning speed when a black shadow appeared before her and pinned her body against the wall. It was Anastassia, who never dropped her guard for even a split second, it's true that she was talking to Jackob but her attention was focused on the enemy, who shouldn't be here, listening to their conversation.

Having expected something like this, Taliya dropped a black object that soon emitted a smelly yellow fog that obscured the view.

The Death Knight also reacted and stretched its hands to grab Anastassia, who swiftly dodged the hand and kicked the Knight, sending it crashing into a wall a few meters behind it.

Anastassia's right hand, which was supposed to be pinning Taliya down, was now feeling the empty air. Cautious and startled at the same time, Anastassia crouched her body for a few centimeters before disappearing into a black shadow and chasing after Taliya, who was just about to leave the room.

The Death Knight quickly recovered by Jackob's large flaming axe came crashing down, pushing the knight and leaving it stumbling for a few steps before it stabilized its body, by the look of it, Jackob's attack was not strong enough to damage it.

As for Taliya, she couldn't step pas the doorstep before a cold chill ran down her spines and a dark and red dagger appeared a few inches away from her neck.

Anastassia was standing behind Taliya, with her dagger at the enemy's throat, ready to finish her but only stopped when she sensed an additional presence in the room, clearly stopping her from slicing the maid's throat.

"It's useless to fight any longer, she's not an enemy, for now at least."

Arthur appeared in the center of the room, wearing the usual black clothes with his grey hair which grew a bit and two cold eyes, one blood red and the other having the same color yet pulsating with grey light every few seconds.

----

"She's a demon, I cannot let her be unguarded anymore. We should at least seal her powers to eliminate any further danger."

Still not convinced about Taliya's true intention and doubtful towards her, Anastassia insisted that the appropriate measures should be taken and the Demon to be apprehended and sealed.

Unlike Arthur, who had a broader view and an open-minded opinion about the Demon Race and all other Races in general, she didn't like this silver-haired one bit.

Moreover, to add oil to the already burning fire, this maid was the head maid of the Demon Lord himself, the archenemy of every Human.

As for Arthur, after experiencing so much and living on Earth, where wars and racism are not that spread as they are here, he didn't have any negative effect towards Demon. Honestly, he hated Humans much more than Demons, considering that his wife is half-demon, he leans more towards them, and that is one of the reasons he wanted Taliya as his temporary follower.

"She is a demon I brought, there is no need to be so cautious. If she tries anything, then I'll be the one to act but I'm sure she wouldn't try anything, right?"

As he finished his sentence, Arthur glanced at Taliya, who was looking at him with a reproaching expression and blaming eyes.

What happened just now was witnessed by Arthur and fortunately for the maid, he teleported in time or else Anastassia would have seriously killed the Demon as she is not someone who jokes around.

Not minding the looks of bewilderment from Jackob, confusing from Anastassia, Arthur picked an empty seat and laid on it comfortably then he gestured for them to sit too while folding his arms and patiently waiting. The thought of explaining his sudden appearance here never crossed his mind, anyone who knows him would know that he always appears out of nowhere.

Jackob didn't linger there dazing, he sat there with a smile hanging on his face. He matured from the first time he and Arthur met, he became a trusted leader and a strong warrior.

'My past choices were not for naught after all.'

As he glanced at the tall Jackob, Arthur nodded his head and shifted his attention to Anastassia, who was still hellbent on not leaving Taliya unguarded.

As he let a sigh of helplessness, Arthur couldn't help but be forced to use Telekinesis to move the unwilling Taliya to an empty seat and making her slowly sit on it. It was a difficult feat as he is not used to making people sit, just making objects or living being float at best.

He tried countless times going a bit deeper, like cutting off air from the opponents, shaking organs or reversing blood flow but that is not possible, for now at least, maybe if he ascends to the God Realm, it'll be possible but even at such stage, his gut told him that it'll not be that easy.

With a cold and angry look, embarrassed and enraged due to what has been to her, Taliya could only glare at Arthur with piercing eyes, seemingly going to jump and slice his throat at any second but she didn't even when the powerful pressure was lifted from her.

Anastassia reluctantly gave up after seeing that but she still sat next to the maid. She hid her daggers again and glanced at the Death Knight who was standing at a corner of the room, silent and motionless.

"It's not the time to bother with that."

Arthur waved his hand, sending the Death Knight back from where it came from and forcing Anastassia to finally focus on him.

'She's really hard to deal with.'

Sighing yet again, Arthur resumed talking once all of them were listening attentively and not trying to act or do something in secret.

"First thing I want to ask. What were you doing near the Emperor's mansion? No matter how fast you were, it's not possible to come that fast."

Logically, if Anastassia learned of what happened and the mansion explosion, it would need sometime before she managed to personally come, but he didn't stay inside that hellish world that much, two or three hours at best.

"We were investigating something. Following the disappearance of Mary, my sister also disappeared when she was sent on a mission, it has been a few days since I heard from her and apparently, she was last spotted near the Emperor's mansion. I along with Jackob decided to pay a visit to the Emperor and personally ask him."

"Disappeared you said?"

Anastassia's eyes softened a bit as she remembered her sister, who volunteered to do a simple mission but went missing.

"Yes, her party was killed and only she was missing. We searched the whole perimeter but found nothing. On my way, I heard a loud explosion and after fighting countless crazy soldiers, I stumbled upon you and that monster."

Remembering the four-armed monster, Anastassia felt a chill down her spines, it was imprinted in her mind and couldn't be forgotten, just its aura was terrifying yet Arthur was able to kill it. She also had the usual expressionless face but in all honesty, she admired and trusted Arthur, despite the first meeting which went horribly wrong and the conflict, they managed to become friends and she wouldn't think twice before risking her life to help him or Lucy. There was also little Saly, who Anastassia considered as her non-related little sister.

"When did Marry disappear exactly?"

Curious and worried about the female beastmen, Arthur asked again.

"Eight months ago. Miss Sonia pleaded countless times to send search parties so we sent six of them in five weeks but nothing was found, not even a single trace."

We assumed she died or kidnapped by scheming enemies. Jackob, who was the one who just answered, glanced at Taliya on his right as he uttered the last sentence.

"Don't compare us to you lowly humans! We would not resort to such trickeries to win against you!"

Snorting, Taliya didn't even spare a glance to Jackob as she retorted with an angry tone.

With a hand stroking his chin and a pondering expression, Arthur remained silent as he tried to piece things together and make some guesses but he couldn't find any good leads, the Demons are not the ones who kidnapped Mary as there was no need to, as for the other clans, it was rather unlikely too. If they needed to exchange hostages for a treasure or power, they would have done so ages ago yet nothing happened, which led him to think of that hellish world.

Just like there was a teleportation leading to that world, there must be others leading elsewhere too, just like that hideous creature which was talking to the black mage.

Thinking back to the black mage, Arthur decided to head out to that cave to check things when he has enough time. The Death Golem didn't notify him of anything or he would have felt it but it's still better to see what's going on with his own eyes.

....

As silence ruled and no one talked, the atmosphere became a bit awkward. Arthur was trying to remember something, maybe he missed a clue or something, as for Anastassia, she kept glancing at Taliya every now and then, assuring that nothing gets out of hand.

And last but not least was Jackob, who was smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head, trying to talk or lighten up the mood. After an unknown amount of time passed, this unusual atmosphere was at last broken when Taliya spoke

"Alina, did you find her?"

Obviously, her question was directed at Arthur, who was brought back to reality as he heard the maid talk.

As he shook his head helplessly, Arthur replied to Taliya, however, unfortunately for the desperate maid, he didn't speak words she wanted to hear and didn't reply with the answer she yearned for.

"No signs of her, not even someone who has an appearance that matches the picture you showed me. That world.... it was not a place for Demons or Humans to live."

Trying to keep a straight face, Taliya expressionlessly looked at Arthur and added

"That means you didn't finish your part of the deal."

"Deal?"

Hearing that word, Anastassia shifted her attention to Arthur and stared at him with piercing eyes, questioning the meaning of that word and demanding an immediate answer.

"It's just a deal, no need to give me that look."

A bit amused yet also fearful, Arthur waved his hands in innocence, he found that looks of hers similar to the one Lucy would throw at him when he talks to a woman, not even flirting or staring at a woman, if he talks to another woman who she doesn't know, he would be ditched by her and he is completely helpless, unable to defend himself or explain the matter.

"Y-you made a deal with the Demons?"

"That is right, I made a deal with her. Now would you get off my case? I'm not Human so I do not share your hatred for the Demons nor do I want to share it."

Albeit a bit angry at his choices, Anastassia didn't pursue the matter further, he was her friend and he wouldn't do anything to harm her or the sect.

"You are the sect master, you are free to do anything you like, hahahahaha now now Anastassia, stop being so stubborn and let's change this topic."

Still scratching the back of his head embarrassingly, Jackob joined the conversation and tried to smoothen things up but all he did was make Taliya flabbergasted.

She had wild guesses and most of them were that Arthur had a connection with the MoonStar Sect as they witnessed the sect master help him but now that she heard the vice-sect master said that Arthur is the sect master, all things were pieced together and things became much more understandable.

Still in disbelief to this sudden truth, Taliya looked at Arthur with a mix of surprise and anger. He never told her or the Demon Lord about his identity, maybe it was on purpose but if he did say it, they would have been a bit friendlier.

The relationship between the seclusive sects, clans and the demons was a bit weird and complicated, there were a few Human Clans that are cooperating with Demons and although the MoonStar sect is the dominant one in this continent and is not from the ones helping the Demons, it is not hated by Taliya or the Demon Lord herself!

Since Arthur's sect never attacked the Demons or their continent, they regarded it as a silent peace treaty and the Demon Lord was even willing to send a messenger to negotiate.

But what's strange is that albeit hating Demons, Anastassia didn't launch an attack at them but maybe it was due to not having enough confidence or boldness to do that. After all, it was not her sect, it was Arthur's and Lucy's, she was like a vice-sect master. Her Clan merged with the sect and she had a lot of authority but the couple is the original masters.

Anastassia harrumphed as she glared at Jackob, reproaching him for saying unnecessary things but she didn't speak further, she merely crossed her arms and remained silent.

As for Jackob, despite receiving angry glares from Arthur and Anastassia, he just awkwardly laughed it off as if nothing happened.

"Speaking of the deal, it is temporarily halted until further investigation."

Another bomb fell on Taliya, who still didn't completely give up on her nephew.

"Halted? W-what do you mean by halted?"

"I have more important matters. It's just a deal for me and nothing more, I need to prepare things and recuperate. Moreover, the search of my friend is more important than a stranger."

With a cold tone, Arthur voiced his thoughts, making Taliya feel even more depressed.

"Y,You!!"

"Resent me if you want but just like you care for that girl, I have people I care for too."

Shrugging his shoulders, Arthur ignored the angry stares of Taliya and added

"For the Human Emperor matter, don't let it spread. Just send someone to talk to the Holy Church and tell them to control things before it gets out of hand, as for the disappearances.... I'll investigate that personally."

Arthur was just about to conclude the short meeting when Taliya spoke after some hesitation

"Actually, there were a lot of disappearances from our side too. The locations are random but we never found a trace."

This was a secret information that should not be known but Taliya was forced to say it to convince Arthur not to abandon the deal right now. Technically, he was not abandoning it but halted is like abandoned for Taliya, who wanted to get her nephew back as soon as possible.

"I'll tell you more if you agree to continue the deal immediately."

As she said that, Taliya stared at Arthur, expecting a positive answer but he just smirked and said

"We'll see about that later. We have some friendly visitors at our gates."

"Visitors?"

Whilst frowning, Anastassia looked at Arthur with confusion. Since they established the sect and spread all over the continent, there were no forces pressuring them, not with the three dragons, the death knights and her in the lead.

....

The authority of the sect stretched all over the continent and a bit on the three others too but its main headquarters is not that big. With a radius of few miles and countless building and a tall wall around it. As the disciples of the Ma Clan were used to their style, some tall Pagodas and similar buildings were built for their sake. As for the main tower, where Arthur was talking with the others, it was located in the center of the territory, standing high and proud with three dragons circling around it every now and then.

----

It didn't take long for the four of them to leave the tower and head outside to welcome the visitors, who Anastassia and Jackob were curious about. On the way down, Arthur ordered the Death Knight accompanying Lissandra to act and to bring her to them immediately.

Anastassia had long since broken through the Spirit Realm so flying wasn't undoable, as for Jackob, he relied on his 'friendly' attitude to build a good relationship with one of the bone dragons on the course of the last year and whenever he needed a quick lift, he'll ask that dragon.

Being one of many which were summoned by Arthur, the dragons obviously would only obey their master but when time passes, they would become sentient yet not to the point of defying the original order that was given to them, hence the bone dragons became a bit more intelligent, obeying Anastassia and Jackob as they were the leaders and doing their job of protecting the sect's territory.

Arthur rode on his Dark Cloud along with the silent Taliya and Lissandra, who just joined them. Because Arthur forbade her from uttering any extra word earlier, she didn't try to talk and just kept an expressionless face. Obeying his orders, she got on the cloud and sat on it without questioning her presence here.

As for Taliya, she merely glanced at Lissandra then turned her attention to Arthur, who was sitting at the front. Anastassia soon followed by flying on her own and Jackob was a bit late as he had to wait for the dragon.

With a constant speed, they arrived at the large metal gates of the sect, standing tall and having quite a domineering presence, fitting the sect's name.

A large circle with a star inside of it were engraved on the gates, they represented the sect's symbol and an emblem not many would be pleased to see as it's something to fear, admire or respect from afar.

The permanent guard for the large gates is the one and only unique red Minotaur which Arthur apprehended. The creature was a dungeon's boss but with a little trick, Arthur managed to subdue it and order it to protect the sect, just like the bone dragons.

It wasn't particularly strong compared to Arthur, Anastassia or the bone dragons but it's not something to be underestimated either. With a whopping Level of 872, a large blade and axe on its back and a five-meter height, it was a terrifying existence which made any enemy sweat from fear.

Usually, it just spends the hunting all kinds of desert beasts or just sleeping near the gates, Jackob would also spar with it when there's time but it could be said that all of its time is spent snoring near the huge gates.

After consecutive fights with Anastassia and experiencing her deadly and cold daggers, the minotaur never tried to rebel or slaughter any sect member, it did its job and defended whenever an enemy attacked. With such a horror guarding the gates, no enemy has ever gotten past that point which strengthened the creature's role and position in the sect.

'ROAAR'

As they approached the gates, a loud dragon roar was heard from behind the metal doors. If not for the three bone dragons being behind them, Anastassia would have judged that roar to be one of theirs since it sounded so similar. In total, Arthur summoned four bone dragons with the main one slumbering near the sky-high tower and two active ones helping in missions or circling the sect territory.

Jackob was currently riding one of those two and the last one was behind these gates. Arthur sensed it earlier and knew that Robin has finally come, but she was not alone. There were a couple of other individuals with her and from her distressed expression, you could guess it wasn't intentional on her part.

........

Going back a few hours, as she was sitting on the dragon's wide back along with her secretary, they were met with an unexpected thing. The bone dragon was quite useful as it could fly with a fast speed and avoid terrestrial creatures but there was one problem, the thing that stopped their trip was neither a terrestrial monster nor was it even a dangerous beast. It was actually a group of black-robed people, with a shady look, ominous aura and chilling eyes behind those dark hoods.

She tried to avoid them but they purposely flew in front of the dragon's way. Robin was no dumb person, she had a bit of knowledge about flying people, like Arthur for example and one thing has to be known about them, they are insanely strong. She only saw a few of the Elders of her Clan capable of flight which means that these people, which most likely were not kind, are definitely at the Spirit Realm which is not something she could face.

Fortunately, the bone dragon threatened the black-clothed people a bit as it roared at them but that wasn't enough to shoo them off. One of them flew a bit toward the dragon which stopped in its track, the person took off his hood and showed his ugly old face and dirty yellow teeth.

The old man grinned hideously at Robin and her secretary and said

"Missy, you appear to be heading towards the Western Continent."

Robin and co were currently at the far Western edges of the Human Continent, just about to cross the sea separating the Western continent and Human continent.

With her glasses pulled back and an expressionless face, she replied to the old ugly old man

"Our destination is none of your concern and if you don't get out of our way, I'll have no choice but to resort to violence."

She knew that they had no chance if they fought against them all, none with just one dragon, however, she will not be a coward like last time and escape, not like it's possible anyways.

Taken aback by her aggressiveness and boldness, the old man's grin widened and his row of pointy yellow teeth was shown clearly.

"We are not here to fight, with the same destination, we could somehow make things works, that is what we intended to do."

....

What happened next does not need to be known as the old man started spitting utter gibberish and nonsense as he and his shady party followed the bone dragon. He would also glance at the dragon but apart from that, he remained passive.

Not knowing what their purpose was and being completely helpless, Robin could only wish Arthur is in his sect so he can take care of them. She had a few guesses when she pondered about their identity but she couldn't confirm any of them.

---------------------

After arriving at the sect's gates and noticing the shady black-clothed people still following them with the old man in the lead. Robin just snorted and headed to the gates, where the large red minotaur was sleeping.

Hearing close footsteps, the beast woke up and stared at the bone dragon whilst dazing for a bit then as if it realized something, it snapped out of its daze and stood erect instantly.

For it, the bone dragons were like its elders as it could never beat them, seeing one of its elders staring back at it, the minotaur started feeling a bit fearful as it was clearly slacking off and sleeping but the bone dragons rarely bothered with it so it felt confused.

It may not be able to sleep but after fighting countless battles and gaining more stats, its intelligence was not that low. It had a bit of wisdom and it could understand a bit of the Human language.

Seeing Robin getting off the dragon and staring at it, the minotaur thought for a second before turning around and opening the tall gates for this woman. It was smart enough to know that she's not an enemy, however, after letting Robin and her secretary enter, the minotaur closed the gates and stared at the incoming group of people, who ignored it and used their flight power to just bypass the gates.

With its long blade on its back, the minotaur clutched the sword and used all the strength on its legs to instantly jump toward the group of black clothes people and swung its sword at them, creating a twirling wind tornado that pushed all of them to the back except the leading old man.

The Bone dragon which was protecting Robin joined the fray and flew at the old man as per Robin's orders, it roared and spit an alarmingly powerful breath of black fog which dispersed in the air and made a couple of the pushed back people wail in agony.

The old man's grin transformed into an even uglier expression as he waved his hand, creating some sort of a black sphere around him and comrades. He waved his hand again, conjuring a dark staff which was pointed at the bone dragon.

"Insolent creature! Go face your creator!"

A black beam shot out from the staff, it was faster than the bone dragon's reaction, which only managed to lean its body a bit but it was not enough to completely evade the beam.

Such a creature as the bone dragon couldn't feel pain but that beam still managed to injure its right wing, completely shattering its bones and making the large creature fall near the minotaur.

What followed was a loud roar coming out of the dragon's mouth, from the looks of it, it was calling its nearby allies but what it didn't expect is that it's one and the only master happened to be here.

The familiar dark cloud appeared near the minotaur. Robin was elated as she saw Arthur on the front, with him here, she felt safer as his powers are unfathomable and his strength is extraordinary, she never doubted his strength, especially after witnessing it more than one time.

Arthur spared the old man a couple of glances before turning to look at the silent Lissandra and coldly saying

"Go take care of your dogs."

Chapter end