Chapter 1296 Schemes
“D*mn, is it possible that the old man actually intends to eliminate his own people?” Hayden muttered with uncertainty.
The atmosphere in the small garden at this moment could be described as extremely eerie.
The death soldiers from the North Outer City governor's residence were surprisingly singled out as well, targeted one after
another as if they had become the primary focus of the Black Armor Legion.
Kathleen, on high alert, regarded Hayden, who lay on the ground like a limp pile of mud, and inquired, “Can your venomous
insects still exert control over others?”
At this moment, Hayden's spiritual energy and vitality had not yet recovered, making it impossible for him to muster even a shred
of fighting strength. He was so weak that he couldn't even stand steadily.
If it weren't for Jonathan risking his life to pull Stellario out of Insect Sea, the latter would probably have been chopped into
pieces by now.
Although these individuals each belonged to different factions and didn't particularly care for one another, they couldn't afford to
play any tricks when faced with a common threat.
“I possess parasites capable of controlling corpses. You've all witnessed them on the Ascension Peak's square platform.
However, the insects I'm releasing presently are not that type of parasite; they are highly toxic creatures. I believe Celestus is
merely concocting an excuse. It's evidently another trap.”
No sooner had Stellario's words left his lips than sharp noises began to rend the air.
Joshua brandished the Formation Crusher in his hand, casting it out in all directions. Several formations and restraining barriers
took shape, providing protection for everyone within.
Someone roared angrily at Celestus, “Celestus! Are you planning to rebel?”
At this moment, Celestus appeared utterly nonchalant.
“Rebel? Rebel against who? Are you talking about Governor Carmichael, who's dead? Since you are so loyal, I will grant your
wish of following him in hell.”
As he spoke, Celestus raised his right hand high and swung it forcefully forward.
The Black Armor soldiers put down their longbows and drew their swords, charging into the small garden. They began to
indiscriminately slaughter every death soldier within the garden.
Amid the initial onslaught of arrows, the individuals left within the garden, except for Jonathan and a handful of other outsiders,
were the death soldiers. Caught by surprise, they had sustained substantial casualties.
At this juncture, the remaining twenty or thirty individuals, although they had been meticulously chosen by Roy as elites, found
themselves incapable of withstanding such a large-scale massacre.
Within the garden of North Outer City, a ceaseless clamor of shouts and curses resounded.
The only ones who could be considered safe were Jonathan and his companions at the very center.
Those Black Armor soldiers seemed to be aware of the abilities of the few individuals, so they were extremely cautious when
approaching the center.
Nonetheless, the garden's size was limited. Even moving at a deliberate pace, someone had already closed in on the group.
Hayden fired a shot using his sniper rifle, blasting a basketball-sized hole in the chest of a Black Armor soldier.
Nevertheless, this gunshot was also a signal.
In just a blink of an eye, the Black Armor soldiers erupted with roars, brandishing their weapons and charging toward Jonathan
and his companions.
Kathleen shouted loudly at Jonathan, “Jonathan, set up the formation!”
Earlier, Hayden had severed Celestus's arm, and the formation plate that hadn't had the chance to be activated was seized by
Jonathan and stored in his storage ring.
If they could use the formation in the small garden against the enemy, although it wouldn't allow them to escape, it could at least
buy them some time.
Yet at this moment, Jonathan's face was ashen.
He took out the formation plate, along with Celestus's severed hand that was still tightly gripping it, and threw them all to
Kathleen.
“It's merely a jade ornament; there's absolutely no formation engraved upon it. Celestus never had any intention of rescuing Roy
from the outset! If my assumption is accurate, Neil was able to orchestrate this trap because his informant within North Outer
City is likely Celestus.”
Everyone present was crafty and cunning.
Although Jonathan didn't delve into extensive explanations, these few speculations sufficed for everyone to grasp the underlying
cause-and-effect relationships.
Neil had assembled a substantial private army, indicating his clear intent to revolt.
However, the supposed deal between him and Joshua simply didn't exist.
Neil spoke of wanting to obtain the formation markings of this small world. Indeed, from Joshua's reaction, it was clear that such
a thing truly existed.
However, for reasons unknown, Neil had placed Joshua in an exceedingly dire predicament.
Was it because that particular item held no significance, or was there another motive at play? They remained in the dark.
In short, if Neil wanted to revolt, the best strategy would be to divert Yannopolis' attention.
If chaos were to erupt in North Outer City, it would perfectly serve Neil's purpose. The best candidates to create this chaos would
be them, the outlanders.
As for Neil's prior deceit involving Kathleen and others, persuading them to transmit secret messages to his family, there
undoubtedly must be another motive concealed within it.
Neil planned to lure the outlanders together with such a method, and then execute them all at once.
Neil's words were carefully crafted, blending truth and falsehood seamlessly, rendering it nearly impossible to discern any
inconsistencies.
Hence, everyone truly found themselves in a desperate situation.
Joshua was ceaselessly waving the Formation Crusher in his hand. Amidst the tumultuous surges of his spiritual power,
rudimentary restraining barriers and formations unfurled continually around everyone, effectively holding the Black Armor
soldiers at bay.
Joshua gritted his teeth and said, “Forget about whether the formation plate is real or fake. Even if it's real, it can only help us
hold off for a while.”
“Jonathan, you just unleashed a Pryncyp attack. What was that all about?”
“How the h*ll am I supposed to know what's going on?” At this moment, Jonathan felt incredibly frustrated.
Just now, in order to help Hayden block those attacks, he chose to endure a multitude of assaults.
When Jonathan was on the verge of bursting, he mustered all his strength to swing his sword. For some unknown reason, it
carried the aura of Pryncyp.
Even if Jonathan could perfectly replicate the process he just went through, he wouldn't dare to try it again.
After all, it was a rather peculiar equilibrium.
During that moment, if he had slightly intensified his own attack, he could have easily been reduced to a pile of mush
instantaneously.
“It seems we are certainly going to die here.”
At this point, Stellario had managed to recover some of his strength. Though still considerably feeble, he could now move
independently, with only his hands remaining immobile.
“I never imagined that in the end, I would die alongside you guys. It's truly ironic.”
The surrounding Black Armor soldiers caused the group to completely lose any chance of escape.
At that very moment, Jonathan felt as if something within his body was trying to burst out.
Before he could even react, the clothes on his abdomen were already torn apart with a ripping sound.
Within it, a pitch-black glimmer of light flashed out.
Boom!
The final formation set up by Joshua completely shattered under the shadow of that pitch-black light.
A colossal coffin suddenly appeared before everyone and sent at least a dozen Black Armor soldiers flying.