Chapter 94: Coming to The Ultimate Truce

He felt his feet leave the ground as his body rapidly soared away.

BAAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

The buildings in his path were reduced to nothing but rubble as his body smashed through three of them before finally crashing into the ground and bouncing several times.

He forcefully redirected his own momentum, slamming one leg into the ground and finally bringing himself to a stop.

DRIIIIIP!

DRIIIIIP!

DRIIIIIIP!

The sound of liquid dripping onto the ground resounded as Aren’s eyes flashed with shock.

His hands immediately reached for his nose and swiped beneath it before he looked down at his own hand.

It was a dark liquid he knew all too well.

’I was injured... by a punch!’

He thought in absolute disbelief as he raised his head, seeing nothing but the broken remains of countless huts surrounding him.

"Tch, you’re courting DEATH!!!!"

Aren roared furiously as he burst out from the ground with terrifying speed, becoming a beam of dark light that rapidly pierced through the darkness.

The sound of bones violently writhing echoed from within his body as he rapidly underwent a grotesque transformation.

"DIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!"

He roared as he appeared above Arlo, who had just sent one of his brothers flying into a building.

He immediately descended toward him, his hand jerking backward

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"What the...?"

BAAAAAAAAAAANG!

Arlo’s leg immediately gave way beneath him as the force sent him crashing into one of the buildings, which instantly crumbled into dust.

Each of his steps created gigantic potholes in the ground, while his hands vibrated intensely from the shocking power still running rampant through his body.

He had spotted the rapidly approaching figure from a distance and thought he would have no problem dealing with him.

Yet the moment his attack collided with Arlo’s fist, it was as though a miniature explosion had detonated at the point of contact, sending a powerful reverberation of energy throughout his body.

RUSSSSTLE...

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The air rustled behind him, and without even turning to look, Arlo bent his upper body horizontally toward the ground, narrowly dodging a beastly kick that swept past his face by mere inches.

Immediately, he tapped his leg backward and twisted his body in mid-air before slamming a kick directly toward Aren, who quickly raised his left arm to block it.

BAAAAAAAAANG!

GROOOOOOAN!

The kick crashed against his arm, the overwhelming force driving him into the ground and creating a massive pothole beneath his feet.

A groan escaped his lips, but Aren ignored the pain, the veins in his remaining right arm bulging and writhing as he slashed toward Arlo with horrifying speed.

Arlo immediately tapped his left foot against the ground and jerked backward, narrowly avoiding the claws that swept past his face by mere inches.

BOOOM!

The sound of his feet violently striking the ground resounded as Arlo landed ten meters away before straightening himself and staring at the trio, who had now gathered together once more.

’He still dodged it!’ Aren thought in shock as he stared at Arlo’s face, which bore not even the slightest mark.

Even after consciously taking an attack from the young man in order to land his own attack, Arlo had still managed to evade it with ease.

His reaction speed was insane, and so was his striking power.

"He is very strong..."

"Stronger than each of us one-on-one..."

The two voices rang out, belonging to none other than his two brothers, Auguste and Ansel.

Both of them had immediately reacted after Arlo’s sneak attack on Aren, but despite launching their attacks almost instantly, they had been sent flying only a moment later.

He had dodged their seemingly fast attacks and responded with attacks of his own.

"You trio can tell this is going to be a waste of time for you, right? Everyone else is busy gathering cards, and we’re here fighting each other. It sounds stupid to me. So, I have a better idea." Arlo offered as they paused to listen to him.

"Good choice. How about we just turn our backs on each other right now and leave? We’ll pretend this never happened and go on with what we’re here to do."

"No one suffers any unnecessary injuries, no unnecessary energy is wasted, and no one unnecessarily loses their cards."

Arlo offered and the trio looked at one another, their eyebrows furrowed in deep thought before they finally turned their gazes back toward him.

"So, a truce, you mean, huh?" Aren asked to which Arlo nodded.

It seemed the young man at the center was the leader of the group and also the strongest among them.

While Arlo had indeed sent him flying through several buildings with a single punch, it had only been because he had attacked when none of them were expecting it.

His sneak attack had been aimed at immediately incapacitating him, but who would have guessed that Aren would reappear less than a second later and actually exchange blows with him without being sent flying again?

The other two weren’t particularly strong compared to Arlo. He had been able to deal with them easily using nothing more than a simple punch and kick.

"Yes. A truce that benefits both of us,"

The trio’s deep-thinking expressions slowly disappeared, replaced by struggling expressions as they desperately tried to hold themselves back.

"MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Their laughter was deafening and filled with mockery, and they laughed so loudly that Arlo couldn’t help but wonder if he had made a mistake with his proposal.

"You! You! Hahahahah!"

"He wants a truce!!"

"My side hurts!! Hahahaha!"

But suddenly, their laughter receded as they all looked toward Arlo with serious expressions.

"We haven’t hunted for cards even once during the three days, we’ve been here. We only take cards from others."

"It is the law of the strong! To take!"

"We wait for weaklings like you to go around risking your lives and foraging for cards. Then we swoop in and take everything!

"Judging from how strong you are, I’m sure you have a crazy number of cards with you."

"Once we get our hands on your cards, combined with the cards we’ve obtained over the past three days, it will be more than enough to make us number one in this phase of the test."

"So there is nothing unnecessary for us. It’s only unfortunate for you because you’ll be our last target. It will be worth it, no matter what injuries we sustain."

Aren, the eldest of the trio, explained to Arlo.

Arlo’s eyes flashed as a new thought suddenly entered his mind.

"You guys are actually right!" Arlo replied.

Their eyebrows immediately creased at his sudden change in attitude.

Wasn’t he begging for a truce just a few seconds ago? And now he was saying they were right?

"You trio should also be close to unstoppable if you encounter a single student. You would have been able to rob the cards from plenty of students, wouldn’t you?

"That means if I’m also able to seize all of your cards, then I won’t need to go hunting for any more cards. Adding all your stolen cards to the ones I already have should be more than enough to make me the undisputed number one."

"That’s actually a great thought!" Arlo said, his eyes shining.

And to him, the plan really did make perfect sense.

The three people standing before him were all individually strong, and when combined, he was certain practically anyone who encountered them would be doomed to surrender their cards.

And since they had been hunting down students like him for the past three days, the number of cards they possessed would undoubtedly be enormous.

His own collection was already large enough, but if he took the trio’s cards as well, would anyone still be able to match the number of cards he possessed?

That would be close to impossible.

This might as well be his final fight.

It was a splendid plan, and Arlo didn’t know why he had never realized it until now.

"Nice! Nice! It seems we’ve both come to a final truce, haven’t we?"

Aren asked as Arlo cracked the bones in his back and neck, preparing for one last struggle.

"A perfect truce that solves all our problems!"

[Oh-oh-oh. I like where this is going!]

The System screamed gleefully inside Arlo’s head, causing his grin to widen even further.

[New Mission Has Been Issued!]

[Defeat The Vorath Trio and Obtain Their Cards!]

[Rewards:

1) + 3 Level Up Cards!

2) + 4000 EXP!]

"What is the plan of attack?" Ansel whispered behind Aren as both brothers assumed their fighting positions.

Aren, however, simply stared at Arlo with a wild grin.

"Aren?" they both called out.

"There is no plan of attack, brothers. If this is going to be our last fight, then why not go out in a fucking blaze of glory? Enjoy every single moment of it!"

"Impossible!"

"Are you suggesting...?"

"Yes! I am. Let’s show him true horror!" Aren declared with an insane smile.

In the next second, Arlo watched as the trio stood upright before simultaneously dropping onto all fours.

And immediately...

CRAAAACK!

CRAAACK!

CRAAAAK!

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the surroundings as their bodies began undergoing their transformations.

[A perfect time to sneak attack them. I’ve noticed that Voraths are usually vulnerable when phasing into their forms.]

The System panel flashed.

Arlo simply shook his head.

"There is no need for a sneak attack. Let me see their worst. Perhaps that might make me discover mine too."

Arlo muttered expressionlessly as he watched the trio rapidly change and the final result of their transformations genuinely surprised him.