Chapter 191

Rockblaze glanced at the ruins in front of him, then turned back to Arran . “What aren’t you telling me?”

Arran smirked . “You’ll find out if you walk up to the wall . “

A dark look appeared in Rockblaze’s eyes . “I don’t trust you . What are you planning?”

“The city contains the lingering Essence of the battle that destroyed it,” Arran said . “Someone created a formation to contain it, but when you approach the city, it will overwhelm your Sense . “

Although he was tempted to talk Rockblaze into approaching the city unprepared, he decided against it . It would only serve to further increase the tension between them, and worse, it would waste precious time .

“You expect such a cheap trick to work against a Master?” Rockblaze stared at him in disbelief .

“I do,” Arran replied simply .

“You think some lingering Essence will harm a Master?” The adept scowled as he spoke, and there was a trace of anger in his voice . “And even if it could, how do you plan to draw him inside?”

Arran took a deep breath, resisting the urge to shout at Rockblaze . Instead, he said calmly, “We will drop the Lifesense amulet here, and I will go into the ruins . When he appears, I’ll shoot a few arrows to make it look like a failed ambush — and when he comes after me, the city’s pressure will incapacitate him . “

“What’s to stop him from just evaporating you where you stand?”

With a sigh, Arran gathered a mass of Fire Essence in his hand, then shot a fireball at the city . Before it could reach the city walls, it dissipated into thin air . “The barrier works both ways . “

Rockblaze frowned, then launched a fireball of his own — one that was many times stronger than anything Arran could create . Yet for all Rockblaze’s strength, his attack fared no better than Arran’s, simply disappearing when it hit the invisible barrier .

Naturally, this did not surprise Arran . He had spent months in the city, and although most of his time had been spent training his resistance to magic, he had investigated the formation around the city as well .

Still, Rockblaze did not appear satisfied . “If you can withstand the Essence in the city, you cannot possibly expect it to stop a Master . “

“It will work,” Snowcloud interjected, a trace of annoyance in her eyes . “I’ve experienced it myself, and the pressure in the city is overwhelming . “

“Lady Snowcloud,” Rockblaze said, and his voice suddenly turned respectful as he faced Snowcloud, “while you are undoubtedly a talented mage, you are only a novice . Us stronger mages can withstand powers far beyond what novices like yourself can imagine . “

The annoyance in Snowcloud’s expression grew stronger, but before she could reply, Arran cut her off with a soft gesture .

“If you don’t believe us,” he said to Rockblaze, “then follow me . “

Without waiting for a reply, Arran began to walk toward the city walls, and Rockblaze followed behind him after only a brief moment of hesitation . Although there was an uncomfortable look on his face, it seemed he was unwilling to show himself fearful of something Arran faced so casually .

When Arran crossed the barrier, he winced in discomfort as the city’s pressure fell upon him . Although the feeling was a familiar one, it was far from pleasant, and it took him a moment to steady his mind before he turned around .

“Your turn,” he said to Rockblaze, who had paused at the edge of the barrier .

For a moment it looked like the adept was about to back away, but a scowl appeared on his face, and he stepped forward — then collapsed instantly .

Arran grinned as he looked at Rockblaze’s trembling body on the ground before him . After a moment, he looked up at Snowcloud and Zehava, who had remained a few places behind .

“Will he be all right?” Zehava asked . This was the first time she had spoken in at least a day, and her expression was one of shock .

“That depends,” Arran said . He turned to Snowcloud . “I don’t trust him . He has a part to play in my plan, but if you think he might turn against us…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but his hand moved toward his sword .

Snowcloud was silent for a moment as she considered his words . Then, she shook her head . “We will need his help on the way to the Valley . And whatever there is between the two of you, I’m certain he will not betray us to the Iron Mountain . “

Arran nodded, then reluctantly dragged Rockblaze out of the formation .

Even without the city’s pressure, it took several minutes for the adept to regain his senses, and when he did, he was greeted with a grin from Arran .

“Still doubtful?”

“That…” Rockblaze blinked, trying to steady his vision . “How did you withstand it?”

“Practice,” Arran replied . “If you want, I can toss you back inside . A few weeks from now, you should be able to resist it as well . “

Rockblaze slowly sat up . “Your plan might work,” he said, though he did not seem particularly pleased about it . “What do I have to do?”

“I need you to hide in the treeline until our opponent arrives,” Arran said . “If he stops before the barrier, or if he has adepts with him, you’ll need to find a way to push them inside . “

“Hide?” Rockblaze frowned . “You expect me to hide from a Master?”

“You have that Shadowcloak technique, don’t you? I’ve seen novices use it . Surely an adept like you has already mastered it . “

Rockblaze shook his head . “Using a Shadowcloak takes too much Essence . I can only keep it up for a few minutes . “

This was something Arran had not foreseen . “Only a few minutes?”

“Shadow Realms are hard to train,” Rockblaze said . “And while mine is stronger than most, it isn’t enough to keep up a Shadowcloak for hours on end . I doubt even a Master could do that . “

Arran frowned, but only for a moment . “Then use this,” he said, taking out his Duskcloak . “It only needs a sliver of Essence, and it will hide you until you move . “

“You have a Duskcloak?!” The adept’s eyes widened when he saw the cloak in Arran’s hands . “How did you get it?!”

Arran had not expected this strong a reaction, but either way, he had little interest in debating the matter right now .

“It doesn’t matter how I got it,” he said, handing the cloak to Rockblaze . “What matters is that we get in position . Unless you think we should wait for the Master to catch us here?”

Rockblaze accepted the cloak silently, though Arran could see that the adept’s eyes were filled with suspicion . But there was no time to deal with that now — they had already wasted too much time .

“But what about us?” Zehava spoke in a soft voice, almost as if she was afraid of getting in between Arran and Rockblaze . “If Ghostblade goes into the city, and Rockblaze hides in the treeline, where will we go?”

Snowcloud smiled cheerlessly . “Ghostblade will take us into the city,” she said, with a look that told Arran she had already seen through this part of his plan . “It’s the only place where we’ll be safe . “

“But…” An ugly expression appeared on Zehava’s face . “If the city has that effect on adept, what will it do to—”

“It won’t be pleasant,” Snowcloud interrupted her, “but we’ll survive . I’ve experienced it before . ” She glanced at Arran . “Now let’s stop wasting time and get in position . “

A few minutes later, Arran stood alone at the edge of the barrier . Rockblaze had hidden among the trees, concealed by the Duskcloak, and Arran had carried Snowcloud and Zehava into the city, laying them down behind the walls . The pressure within the city had rendered the two novices unconscious as soon as they crossed the barrier, but they should be safe with the city walls .

Now that the trap was set, all that remained was the bait . Arran took a final moment to consider whether there was anything he had overlooked, but there was nothing he could think of . With a deep breath, he took out the Lifesense amulet .

“Time to find out how tough Masters really are,” he muttered .

Then, he tossed the amulet on the ground outside the barrier .