This arrogant proclamation sent the watching crowd into a tizzy, with rage and fury clouding the faces of the many citizens of the Black Raven Kingdom as they started hurling insults and retorts at the man in the middle whose blood they now wanted to drink.
Even the wizened man beside Faxul displayed a temper that didn't match his age, making him feel a heat as the elementary particles around the man reacted to his emotions.
Watching the entire situation around him, Faxul wondered again if there was any other option.
According to the discussion he had had with Daneel, this commotion was necessary for their future plans.
Yet, Faxul had argued that it would better serve them if he managed to stay behind in his disguise.
Sadly, there was no way to hoodwink the identity detector. Hence, they had no option but to flee.
Of course, before running away, there was a small something they had to do.
Closing his eyes, Faxul teleported to the predetermined location where Daneel would soon arrive.
…
At the location of the hostage situation.
The wizened man who had teleported Faxul looked to the side, unable to understand why the young Black Raven Fighter who had been so hell-bent on revenge had teleported away at this instant.
His instincts of a soldier who had spent years on the battlefield before retiring due to an injury tingled, telling him that something was wrong.
With his face still twisted into an angry expression due to the words of the intruder, he raised his hand to report this matter to the superiors.
Yet, right at this moment, both the barrier and the ice pricks at the necks of the civilians vanished, leaving them stunned as to what was going on.
Was the man truly surrendering after realizing that there was no way out?
After all, the wizened man had been pretty sure that this would happen as he was well aware of the equipment that had been deployed for this operation.
For instance, the space lock itself was so high-level that even a peak Warrior level existence would have difficulty in breaking through it. Besides, this was a special space lock trinket they had acquired which could also detect if an attempt was being made to break through it.
Also, all around the hostages stood the most elite of Black Raven Fighters and Mages who would definitely even be able to take down an Exalted Human level person in no time.
"Ya, what happened to the bravado now?"
"Come out and accept your death!"
"Serves you right!"
Amongst these shouts, the 30 civilians finally came back to their senses and ran forward.
The sight that greeted the crowd and the soldiers silenced everyone, making them drop their jaws as they wondered what the hell had happened.
At the spot where the rude intruder was supposed to be was only a piece of parchment.
There was nothing else, and as everyone tried to peer through the rubble of the inn to make sure that they weren't missing anything, the realization slowly started to dawn on them that the man had actually done what he said.
The superior among the soldiers, a middle-aged man with an exceptionally robust Raven on his shoulders walked up to the spot with a stoic expression on his face while carefully looking out for any traps.
After reaching the location with the parchment, he gave a signal to the army to indicate that their target was, indeed, missing.
Just as the wizened man started putting two and two together to realize that the one he had come with was definitely a suspect, the superior bent and picked up the parchment with an expression that was being tightly controlled to not turn into one of rage.
"HAHAAAA, TOLD YA! YOUR KING AND KINGDOM CAN PISS OFF! DON'T EVER DARE TO BRAG AGAIN WHILE BEING RULED BY SUCH A COWARDLY DOG!"
These words resounded across the street, being heard by thousands of citizens who all gritted their teeth at the taunting and overconfident tone.
...
Hearing the echo of the shout, Daneel chuckled after teleporting beside Faxul.
"That should rile them up. Let's go. We don't have a moment to lose."
Giving a look to Faxul who had a faint expression of struggle on his face, Daneel teleported again to a street near the Royal Palace.
After a few moments, Faxul also followed with the cold, neutral expression back on his face.
Not having the time to address anything else, Daneel asked the system to scan the security of the Palace.
The initial plan had been foolproof: at this point of time, they were supposed to be making their escape. Of course, he couldn't have predicted that Faxul would meet the protector Raven for which they would have to come back.
Still, Daneel knew very well how much of a game changer it would be to get the Warrior level beast on their side. Hence, he had changed the plan to at least try and enter again.
Yet, as he waited for the system's answer while assessing the situation himself, he realized that there was simply no way.
Each and every entrance of the Palace was surrounded by teams of Black Raven soldiers who were looking in every direction alertly.
The Palace's doors itself had been replaced by steel barricades, making Daneel wonder why they didn't have a similar system in Lanthanor.
[Analysis complete. Space lock and teleportation detection formations detected. In the database, this has been termed as a triple-layered trap. Even if the space lock is broken, any intruder will activate the traps that have been deployed. At least Warrior-level strength and reflexes are required to escape the trap and teleport again. Even if an individual endures the attacks from the traps, they will be subjected to a backup space lock and teams of soldiers. Host is currently not capable of safely breaching this trap]
The thorough logic behind the trap impressed Daneel, making him wonder just who it was that had come up with it.
Essentially, by sacrificing the ability to teleport inside the Palace, the Black Raven Kingdom had set up a foolproof trap to engage any enemies who would still dare to attack. In fact, it was slightly similar to the traps in the Valley of Mist, but here, the deployment could be done at any time.
"Faxul, there is no way. We cannot go to the forest now."
As Daneel sighed and said these words, he turned around to see Faxul's eyes fixed on their target.
Even he could guess how it must feel to leave such an important companion behind. Yet, sadly, they had no choice.
"Don't worry, we will return soon. Very soon.", he said, in an attempt to console Faxul.
Knowing that this was true, Faxul nodded after a few moments and turned away, not wanting Daneel to see his expression.
Patting his friend on the back and taking one last look at the Palace, he teleported both of them away.
…..
"Sir, the teleportation detection formations have detected two individuals fleeing the Kingdom! Strike teams are already after them!"
"Good. It is as the old protector said. That man had an accomplice. Send more teams. We CANNOT afford to lose their tail. I'll go myself."
Saying so, the only Exalted Human Level Black Raven Mage teleported away from the barracks which Faxul had 'invaded' before.
As was custom with these situations, strike teams would teleport to the last known location before quickly deploying another teleportation detection formation to know the next location of those fleeing in case they teleported again to get away.
Essentially, if dealing with anyone who was not a Warrior, this devolved into a cat-and-mouse game before finally turning into a skirmish where the fleeing party would try to destroy the teleportation detection formations so that they could leave without being tracked.
This was what she expected, but what happened left her feeling a frustration that almost made her set her own clothes on fire by mistake.
After repeatedly teleporting and being tracked in this way for a few times, the two fleeing men had reportedly entered an area after boldly leaving another statement to follow them if they dared.
This area's specialty rendered the pursuing soldiers speechless, as they knew that entering would surely mean certain death. Hence, they had no choice but to give up the chase.
This area which marked one of the biggest defeats of the Black Raven Kingdom was - The Valley of Mist.