CHAPTER 476: A SHOULDER FOR A PRICE

There was only one thing on the Ashen Crucible that could reach everyone and still remain unnoticed.

"I have found the trigger, Admiral." Pablo said.

Harlia asked with her brows.

Pablo smiled and pointed in a certain direction.

Harlia saw it and her brows shot up.

Pablo nodded. "Yes. It’s the smoke."

Harlia went silent. Pablo carried on.

"I remember commenting about the smell of the smoke and after that, I was already inside the illusion. To come out of it, I had to kill myself. The pain felt real but I was out of that shit. And this very smoke reached everyone and they all fell for it."

"So is there a chance that we will face the same thing again? Because the smoke is still here." Harlia asked.

Pablo shook his head. "No. It won’t happen again. If it was supposed to happen again, then we would still be in an illusion. After all, we all can still smell the smoke."

Harlia nodded a few times. "You are right. What strange prowess this place has."

Pablo agreed. "This place is alive, Admiral. It is worse than the rumors say. We have to stay careful. I believe the middle of the ground is the most dangerous spot. I mean we fell in the trap while we were walking towards the center."

Harlia nodded again and raised her hands.

CLAP!

She clapped louder than any claps Pablo had heard as the sound rang around the Crucible.

Everyone turned their heads towards her and Harlia began talking.

"Soldiers! Be careful in every step. This place is cursed. We all are tired so it’s best we stay together. Set up the tents, make some food if you are hungry. You all will get sleep for only a few hours. The Vampires and Cannibals must be coming here pretty soon. Before they could come, we should be together and ready to retaliate if they began the war just after arriving. COME HERE NOW!"

Harlia shouted at the top of her lungs and all the soldiers ran towards the Admiral.

But only her soldiers ran towards her. Not Pablo’s.

Harlia and Pablo had decided that they should only order their own soldiers to not make them confused about whom they should listen to.

So Pablo’s soldiers were waiting for him to say something and Pablo did that.

He didn’t say anything but he just raised his right hand and waved it, telling the soldiers to come near him.

The soldiers listened and ran towards Pablo.

Both armies reached their respective Commanders.

Pablo and Harlia both told their armies to stay near the border of the ground and set tents there.

The soldiers listened and went to their work.

Harlia also went to her soldiers but Pablo let his soldiers be. They were doing their work and Pablo remained standing, looking ahead.

He was staring at the second entrance of the Crucible as he believed the Vampires and Cannibals would come from there.

Draxus, Sera, Cupid and Andrezj were around him and Sera was the happiest girl in the world right now.

The reason for her happiness was that she was still holding Pablo’s hand and the man wasn’t saying anything.

Though, she remained silent about it as she thought that Pablo had forgotten about it. That’s why he didn’t tell her to get lost yet. If she spoke and told him that she was holding his hand, then she was afraid that she wouldn’t get to do this.

However, she was wrong.

Pablo knew full well that she was holding his hand and he didn’t make her leave it because he was about to do something. Something he had done many times on her.

[ Mimesis Malefica In Use! ]

[ Keep Holding The Target’s hands for five seconds! ]

Pablo was copying her Ego.

He had realized that Crucible wasn’t just another haunted place and to survive it, he needed more than strength and courage.

He needed luck as well.

That’s why he decided to copy Sera’s Ego. He had thought he would do this just before the war but now he couldn’t risk waiting. The ground might be hiding more surprises. It was better to be early than sorry.

Five seconds passed and the notification came.

[ Ego Successfully Copied! ]

[ A large amount of life force would be taken from the target! ]

[ You can keep this Ego for twelve hours! ]

Pablo was done and now he can make Sera leave his hand.

He gazed at her and before he could say it, he felt Sera’s hand getting weaker as her head fell on his shoulder.

"I am suddenly tired, dear." She muttered.

Pablo stared at her with no expressions and after a second, he averted his eyes.

He let the girl rest her head on his shoulder and his hand stayed with her as well.

’That’s the right decision, Pablo. She feels tired because of you. She deserves a shoulder from you at least.’ Cupid said, right inside Pablo’s mind.

Pablo didn’t reply and kept staring at the entrance.

"They won’t come right now, Czar. What are you looking for there?" Draxus asked, standing at Pablo’s right.

Sera was on his left side and she had her eyes closed.

Pablo didn’t look at Draxus but he still answered the man.

"I am just thinking if they would come from the entrance or not."

"Hmm? Of course they would come from the entrance. Where else could they come from? They will also feel the same way like we did. They will also struggle and they won’t have what lady Sera has to protect themselves. So it’s an advantage for all of us."

"You may be right. But Malvador chose this place himself. He must also know about this and yet he chose it. If he didn’t have anything to protect himself from this Crucible, he wouldn’t have chosen it."

Draxus squinted his eyes. He also thought about it and he agreed with Pablo.

"So what are you thinking of doing? What do you think Malvador can do, Czar?"

Pablo sighed. "I think, if we are not too careful, then this Malvador..."

Staring at the second entrance, Pablo imagined the future.

"He will kill all of us."