29 The Race

''Ba-ba-barbara?'' The King stuttered as he added, ''Bar-bar-baric bitch?'' It was as if he just heard the most terrifying words in the world.

''Don't say such ridiculous words. If you just made this up, hurry and beg for mercy.'' The King immediately beckoned his daughter, his eyes filled with worry and fear.

Challenging 'that person' who can destroy the entire Maharlika Kingdom on a whim was tantamount to destruction. And his daughter actually...

''Father, I don't even know who this Barbara is. How can I make things up?'' Cassandra replied as she tilted her head slightly, wondering why the King was suddenly acting like that.

"..." The King suddenly fell silent again. What she said made sense. She definitely wouldn't know the identity of that person since she was a mysterious being who lived from the past. Very few people actually knew her, much less, had seen her.

And those who had seen her would definitely have no choice but to fear her very existence.

But the person that his daughter was talking about actually dared to challenge her? Not only that person knew her and called her by nickname, but he also cursed her as if she wasn't worth fearing at all.

Just who in the world did his daughter and her party meet?

Now that the King thought about it, he suddenly became curious about who his daughter encountered. She squinted his eyes as he finally spoke, ''What's the ability of this person you're talking about?''

''We didn't actually know since he only toyed with us. But he could Silence our skills and abilities for a long time, leaving us completely vulnerable and helpless.'' Cassandra replied. And upon recalling something more incredible, she went on, ''Ah, right. He could also bring the dead back to life.''

Suddenly, the King's eyes widened as his pupils constricted. Silencing the skills of the level of his daughter was already a great enough feat. But he could actually bring the dead back to life too? It wasn't a secret to him that it was only a feat achieved by a single person in the entire world and all across the ages.

''Heretic Saint...'' The King muttered as he finally got to know the identity of that person. He quickly stood up from the throne and started leaving. Then he said, ''You three are pardoned. But I must report this matter to 'her' as soon as possible.''

If it was Heretic Saint who messed with them, then he was definitely more than capable of doing so. He also could definitely say such cursed words against 'that person' since he had the ability to back his words up.

After all, Heretic Saint was on the same level as 'that person' they called Barbara.

***

Meanwhile...

Some time later after Jax and the band began their race...

''Damn it. Mecaella is definitely cheating. How can she even fly?'' Ben grunted as he gritted his teeth. Mecaella's awakened ability was definitely annoying. She easily overtook him since she could pass through all obstacles easily.

''At this rate, I can't be the first place,'' He added as he put more effort into his running.

''Ben! Wait for me, you bastard! I should be the second place, not you!''

Suddenly, a voice of a young lady rang out. Ben glanced behind as there he saw Jajah who was trying to catch up to him.

He smiled as he put more strength to his feet and ran faster. Then he replied loudly, ''Dream on!''

Just like that, time went past and they could finally see the town in the distance. Since Mecaella could fly, and she managed to put some distance away from the others, she would be the one who would achieve first place.

Or so, they thought.

When Mecaella was about to reach the town's gate, she landed on the ground to avoid attention. Though, of course, some people had seen her flying.

But they didn't pay much attention to it since it was normal for some awakeners to fly.

In any case, Mecaella arrived outside the town. She halted her step as she had seen three people out there that immediately caught her attention.

Two of them were sitting under a colorful parasol, while the other one was standing from the side as if he was a butler serving the other two who were acting like the master and the young master. They even have some cold drinks as if they had been there for quite some time now.

Who else could they be, other than their Master, Heretic Saint, and surprisingly, Leovicente? Although it was the first time he had seen the butler, he was still quite familiar and Mecaella could likely tell his identity.

However, upon seeing them, Mecaella's smile this time suddenly became a bit too forced.

''You guys are here already?'' Mecaella remarked as she went closer to them to greet them.

''Yes, yes, come, sit here, Mecaella. Have some iced tea,'' Leovicente greeted back as he showed her an empty seat.

Mecaella sat down and decided to take a cup of iced tea. She glanced at her Master but he seemed to be sleeping under that sunglasses of him.

She didn't wake him up as she decided to stare back at Leovicente and said, ''You're extremely fast. When did you arrive?''

She couldn't believe that Leovicente would arrive first. She didn't even see him running past her. When did he even arrive there?

''Ah, that?'' Leovicente forced out an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Still, he added, ''I rode on the God Tree, so I arrived pretty early.''

"..." Suddenly, Mecaella found the corners of her lips twitching. She found it hard to find a word to speak in response. She subconsciously shifted her gaze at the butler as she became certain that her guess was correct.

That new old guy must be the God Tree in human flesh!

It wasn't a secret to her that beasts on the level of Legend rank or higher could transform in human form.

That aside, Leovicente was really something. If she was already cheating since she used to fly, then this guy was on a completely different level. If he really rode at the back of Tikbalang, then he should have arrived at that place in mere seconds.

How could they possibly compete with the Tikbalang in the battle of speed? This guy was really...

Helpless, Mecaella decided to take a sip of iced tea and didn't say anything anymore. Good thing they prepared that beforehand, or else, she might find her head aching due to the migraine.

''Second!!!'' Jajah's lively voice soon resounded cheerfully.

''Damn it! You're cheating, I should be the second place since you put some dirty tricks on me!'' Ben argued indignantly. That Jajah only tapped his clothes for a moment and it suddenly became so heavy. How could it not be called cheating?!

''Using our ability is never been a cheat. You should have used yours too. Look at Mecaella, she also used her ability and flew all the way here,'' Jajah responded, winning against Ben 'fair and square' sure was a good feeling.

''Argh...'' Ben could only grit his teeth in response. How could he use his ability when all it could do was to give him weapons?

Helpless, he shifted his gaze to the people under the parasol.

But to his surprise, his helplessness only seemed to level up. To think that he was not actually the third place. Leovicente was already there together with their Master. From the looks of it, he appeared to be the one who arrived the first.

How did he do that anyway? It wasn't a surprise to him if their Master was already there. But for Leovicente to arrive there before them? That was something he didn't expect.

But to his relief, there was one person who was still missing. A smile appeared on his face as he said, ''I'm not the last one who arrived, right?''

Their Leader, Jax, must be still out there in the forest, on the way here.

Meanwhile...

Somewhere deep in the woods...

''Don't worry, you two. I will take good care of your skills and abilities.'' Jax's voice sounded. Looking at him, a wide smile appeared on his lips.

In front of him were the corpses of two huge beasts. They were a Blue-Horned Rhino and a Fire Ape.

From the looks of it, both beasts had just died a few moments ago.

And Jax intended to use his ability on them and absorb their souls. He planned to absorb their skills and abilities to make use of it for himself.