Child of Destiny

Chapter 1899: The Battle for the Crown (Part 3)

……

Before long, Shin and Diablo arrived at the vicinity of the Cardenal City without any obstruction, which made the former a bit more suspicious about the plans of their opponents.

On top of these suspicions, his instincts were also telling him that there was something dangerous within this city. He might not be able to put his fingers on what exactly it was, but he could at least tell that it was not going to be great for their team once it revealed itself.

The two remained in stealth while observing the city, but they could not get that much information by staring at its wall. They could only sneak into the city if they wanted to gather more information.

Given that the place did not have anyone guarding it, sneaking inside was not an issue. But since his instincts were telling him that something terrifying was hiding within the city, Shin could not help but hesitate for a moment.

At the same time, it was also quite confusing to him since this map was not supposed to have any monsters in it alongside those supply points.

This then led Shin to review a few more details about the maps that concerned large-scale battle formats such as Battle Royale, Survival Mode, Guild Wars, and others.

He then eliminated the larger modes that concerned large armies and involved wars. He focused more on Battle Royale and Survival Mode, particularly the ones with supply points and monsters to grind.

Since he was still quite unknown to the competitive scene, he had no choice but to ask others for more information, particularly Arthur and Leonard.

Arthur was the first one to respond since he was among the players who were more active in such official tournaments. [Survival Modes and Battle Royales? If you are asking for their unique features aside from what people commonly know, then the hidden cores and magical formations?]

[They are scattered across the map, particularly in these fantasy games and especially those that include Sword and Magic.]

[So long as it includes large-scale maps, those two are always present.] He added before suddenly pausing.

It did not take long before everyone within the team realized what Shin was implying.

[Don’t tell us-…!?]

“I am not sure yet, but it is most likely the case,” said Shin before smiling bitterly. “I guess there are still quite a lot that I have to learn about these maps.”

He then turned to the city before continuing. “We now have no choice but to face them head-on.”

“If we continue to wait for them to come at us, it will already be too late for us to turn the situation around, since they will most likely finish controlling either one of the cores or formations of the map.”

“But if we come straight at them, then we will have no choice but to face the traps that they have prepared for us,” he added with a helpless smile.

He now understood why those guys from God’s Paradise had chosen such a map. Aside from having a large distance that separated the two groups, they could also utilize their great familiarity with the map to find those cores and formations ahead of time.

The distance had brought them enough time to set up traps while trying to take control of the so-called cores or formations.

Once they were done with all the preparations, the side of Empyrean Talons would suffer greatly under all these conditions.

Shin and the others were forced to pick their poison, which would put them at great disadvantage.

Considering the situation, Shin knew that it was better to scale through the traps that their opponents had prepared rather than facing the opposing side after taking over whatever was hidden within this city.

They had to stop the opposing side from controlling whatever it was before it was too late.

Realizing their current situation, Shin swiftly issued another series of commands, telling the others to come to the city while he and Diablo scout inside.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Shin and Diablo, still in their stealth state, swiftly climbed the walls of the city and stealthily sneaked inside.

The size of Cardinal City was quite huge, almost rivaling those major cities within the Aurora Continent. The buildings and other forms of structures made this place a bit more complicated than the forest behind them.

Of course, the terrain within the forest was still more complex and difficult to deal with. But with the number of buildings within the city that varied in different sizes, the situation over here would also be a bit more complicated in a different sense.

“We will scout separately and gather more information,” said Shin before quickly adding. “Make sure not to engage in battle as much as possible. We must wait until the others reach us before clashing with the opposing side.”

Diablo nodded before jumping off the city and disappearing into the darkness.

Shin was confident that Diablo would be able to escape the opposing side under the blanket of the night. He was not sure why these guys had chosen the night as the time setting for the match.

With the two of them possessing top-notch stealth abilities, Shin and Diablo would have a better environment to take advantage of.

Regardless, Shin had to set these thoughts aside for now before jumping off the city walls and dashing toward another direction.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

When Shin and Diablo disappeared into the city, the figures of Vulture and Dio suddenly appeared on the spot where the former pair had been standing earlier.

“It seems like we are a bit late,” said Dio as he squatted down and touched the city wall.

He was channeling his mana into the walls, seemingly communicating with it. The wall, in response, projected the silhouettes of Shin and Diablo, replaying what the two did when they climbed the walls.

“It is those two, as expected,” mumbled Dio before turning to Vulture. “What’s the plan?”

Vulture thought for a moment before replying. “Ashura, Valerius, and Lia are currently underground. There is only a single entrance towards, so there is no need for us to worry about them.”

“Susanoo and Kallavan are guarding the eastern and western parts of the city,” he mumbled before adding. “Let’s contact those two and ask them to mark Diablo and Sickarius.”

“As for us-… let’s continue scouting and look for the other members of Empyrean Talons. We have to delay them as much as possible until Lia takes over the magic formation of the city,” he added.

“Alright,” nodded Dio before jumping off the city wall and heading to the forest.

Vulture then disappeared and quickly followed.

They were not to engage in any skirmish against the members of Empyrean Talons as much as possible, so they would not go deep into the forest and just scout the vicinity.

…

Within the city, Susanoo and Kallavan were currently standing on the roof of a clock tower and bell tower, respectively.

These were the two highest points within the city, which were also the two places where they could overlook the entire place.

They were also utilizing their respective means to scan the entire city.

Susanoo was utilizing his connection with the wind element. He was constantly releasing a series of gentle currents that swept through the entire city and informed him about any changes or movements within its walls.

Meanwhile, Kallavan seemed to be using a special technique to oversee the entire city. His eyes were pulsing with mysterious light while scanning through the city.

“Huh!?”

“Hmm!?”

Not long after, the two sensed a strange fluctuation of mana coming from two different places.

It was also at that moment that they received a message from Vulture, informing them about the infiltration of Shin and Diablo.

“Tsk! As expected, it is those two,” said Susanoo before turning toward Kallavan, who was standing on the bell tower in the distance.

He could already see that this old partner of his was already quite itching for a battle, especially after learning about their opponent’s infiltration.

With a sigh, he focused his gaze in a certain direction, locking on the blurry silhouette that was dashing through the streets of the city.

By communicating with the wind, he was able to figure out who he would be facing. “It is Diablo this time, huh? I guess this is going to be trickier.”

Dealing with a thief and assassin had always been the most troublesome due to their possession of various lifesaving skills and survival abilities that could help them escape all kinds of scenarios.

Moreover, among all such opponents, Diablo was among the most difficult guys to deal with, given his skills. He was almost on the same level as Death God Faker, Shadow God Zoldryck, and God of Trickery Loki, who were the peak of assassins and thieves.

Setting those distracted thoughts aside, Susanoo jumped off the clock tower before dashing toward his opponent.

Swoosh!

At the same time, a massive explosion erupted on the other side of the city, signifying the first collision between Kallavan and Shin.

Boom!

This then signaled the start of the final match of the United Cup!

……