Chapter 42: Red Lotus Vs Thieves Guild 2

Zaos walks leisurely through the streets of the fortress. He moved directly to the large and grand building towering over all the residences in the fortress.

Meanwhile, Darfin and the group of elves behind him had already managed to breach the gates of the fortress.

They were able to accomplish this feat due to the aid Zaos had given them.

"Hahaha! Is this all you got you lousy bandits?!" Darfin bellowed as he swung his large battle axe around.

"Ahh!" "Help!!" "My leg!"

The mob elves blocking his way were forcefully cleaved in halves by the massive battle axe in his hands. With each step forward Darfin took, corpses of bandits and guards alike littered the ground.

The defending elves trembled in fear, and horror as they watched their companions get killed. The momentum of the Red Lotus gang frightened the cowardly bandits, many of them were already thinking of escaping and abandoning their loved ones behind them.

"Who dares invade the Bandit King's abode?!" A booming voice resounded through the battlefield.

"It's lord Goren!!" "Lord Goren has arrived!!" "We are saved!!"

At the sound of the voice, the depleting spirits of the defending bandits and guards quickly surged.

Darfin turned to the direction of the shout. He was about to respond when a massive fireball streaked toward him.

"Hmph!" Darfin snorted. He activated his elemental weave and got into a defensive stance.

*Boom!*

The fireball crashed on Drafin's fully armored body, sending a shock wave that cleared the crowd of elves around him.

"Hahaha! What a weak strike! Has the vice leader of the Thieves Guild gotten soft?" Darfin's booming voice resounded from behind the thick cloud of smoke produced by the fireball.

*Swoosh!* *Swoosh!* *Swoosh!*

In response to Drafin's taunts, three more fireballs flew through the air aimed directly at him.

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

After three consecutive crashing sounds and large shock waves, Darfin's figure was revealed. He had been pushed back a few meters and his shiny metal armor was damaged in some spots.

He stared with bloodshot eyes at the figure tens of meters away from him.

"You don't have to worry, you mindless brute, I can do this all day!" The figure spoke to Darfin. The figure's fierce red hair fluttered in the wind alongside his simple crimson robe.

He conjured another two fireballs and hurled them at Darfin.

"Hmph! Come then!" Darfin braced himself for impact.

While the war at the entrance of the fortress was getting increasingly intense, Zaos had stealthily made his way to the grand construct in the middle of the fort.

The construct was an imposing stone tower built more than fifty feet tall. It was the largest building Zaos had seen since rebirth. A single at the building's heavily fortified exterior, one could tell it was important.

[This is probably the main headquarters or the guild hall of the Thieves Guild…] Zaos walked up to one the walls and activated his phantom elemental weave. His body immediately turned illusionary and he smoothly phased the thick stone wall of the building.

Zaos immediately found himself in a grand hall after phasing through the wall. The hall had a high roof with an elegant candle chandelier illuminating its lavish and spacious surroundings.

The walls were decorated with beautiful stone murals depicting various awe-inspiring scenes. They ranged from fierce and grand battles to exquisite feasts held by beautiful elves. In the middle of the hall were life-like statues of aesthetically pleasing elves.

[Wow… the Thieves Guild must be extremely wealthy!] Other than the awe Zaos felt to the lavish lifestyles of the Thieves Guild, Zaos also felt greed!

[Once I take over this place, I won't have to worry about funds for a long time!] Zaos gave a bloodthirsty smile as he traversed the beautiful but empty hall.

He walked to the spiral stairs and made his way to the upper floor of the tower.

The hallway of the upper floor was almost as elegant as the grand hall Zaos had just left. The floor was layered with a beautiful red carpet with floral designs etched into them. The walls were painted gray, and on them hung large paintings depicting less intense scenes than the murals of the grand hall.

On either side of the hallway were multiple doors leading to different areas of the tower, and on these doors were tags stating where the doors led.

[How convenient… ] After walking through the torch-lit hallway, Zaos spotted a door with the tag 'Guild Master's Office' on it.

He phased through the door and arrived at a spacious brightly lit room. The room was decorated like a typical office with a wooden desk, chairs, a few paints, some aesthetic plants, and a large bookshelf propped against a wall.

Right at the window of the room, a figure with long green hair stood silently as he observed the scene outside the room. Zaos couldn't see their face as they had their back to him.

[That should be him,] Immediately Zaos laid eyes on the individual, his senses screamed danger.

Zaos calmed his beating heart and silently approached the individual while still invisible.

[Weird, why is there so much wind?] When Zaos was just a few meters away from his target, he noticed an oddity. He immediately drew his Superior-grade dagger for good measures.

Yet before he could continue towards his opponent, the green-haired figure made an abrupt movement.

They spun their body in a fluid and rapid motion, exposing a fully drawn bow. Before Zaos could react to the sudden development, the individual aimed the bow in Zaos' direction and released the nocked arrow.

*Boom!*

[F*ck!] Zaos hastily activated his shield as the fired arrow streaked toward him, creating sonic booms in its wake.

*Bam!*

The shield Zaos had erected managed to hold back the arrow for a split second before it shattered and faded out of existence.

Using the small window created by the shield, Zaos managed to twist his body to barely avoid the arrow. Yet, he was still grazed by the arrow's tip causing a massive wound to appear on his arm.

*Bam!*

The arrow struck the wall behind him hard before losing the rest of its momentum.

Zaos quickly sprung into a defensive stance after his earlier maneuver.

He gazed with fear at the wind elf in front of him. The male green-haired elf had his bow nocked with another arrow, he aimed it directly at Zaos' new location.

"You must be the new leader of the Red Lotus gang…" A deep male voice escaped the lips of the wind elf.

[He can see me!] Zaos immediately tensed. One of the main reasons he had easily triumphed against high elves was his invisibility, yet now, his opponent seemed to have countered it.

"You probably heard of my invasion plans from that fool, Venom Panther, but it doesn't matter. Come, show me the strength you used to take down the former leader of the Red Lotus gang!" The green-haired elf released his nocked arrow as he bellowed.

[F*ck! This is going to be tough…]