Oblivion's Heir: Rise of the Sovereign - Chapter 41: The Third Faction

Chapter 41: The Third Faction

The man flinched due to Ren’s reaction and lost his footing, tumbling from the roof.

’He’s related to the third faction.’ Ren didn’t waste a single second.

He sprang forth, circling the house in an instant but the hooded figure had already started to run towards another narrow alley.

“I won’t let you run.” Ren wasn’t going to let him go.

He needed answers to understand why Evan had told him to be cautious of the third faction.

Ren chased after him, quickly gaining ground — but the man twisted through alley after alley, making it impossible for Ren to catch him.

Though it didn’t last long, the man reached a dead end soon.

“Which faction do you belong to?” Ren inquired with a sharp gaze.

The man didn’t answer. He lifted his hood, allowing Ren to see his face.

And it was covered with a half-broken mask?

“Are you dea—” before Ren could finish his sentence, an arrow whistled through the air, aimed straight at the back of his head.

He tilted his head a second before, allowing it to graze past his cheek before continuing forward.

The hooded figure’s pupils constricted as he saw the scene unfolding before him, it was now coming for him.

And he wasn’t quick enough.

The arrow pierced through his leg, and only stopped after its shaft burst out the other side.

“Arghhhhh…” His scream tore through the air and at the same instant, Ren lunged at him.

’He has allies.’ Ren didn’t have enough time to locate them while dodging one arrow after the other, so he went for the figure before him.

The man saw Ren charging at him, so despite the pain emanating from the bolt that lay embedded in his leg, he raised his arms and chanted, “water.”

’Wha—’ A huge wall of water formed out of thin air right in front of Ren’s eyes, causing his punch to land on it.

And unlike his expectations, his strike didn’t slow down due to the water but simply bounced back.

The man was safe from Ren, at least that’s what he thought.

Soon, another bolt followed, but Ren felt it this time. His senses tingled and before the arrow could reach him, he jumped to his right.

The arrow slowed down for a moment as if it were obeying Ren’s will, but resumed its charge a moment later.

Ren could’ve escaped easily through all this mess by letting them get away, only at the cost of letting the necessary information about the third faction slip from his hands.

“I just want to talk.” He screamed.

The archer responded by firing again, and the arrow shot right beside the wall Ren now stood behind.

Running out of options, Ren decided to step back and let them get away when suddenly, something caught his attention.

The water that surrounded the man wobbled slightly, enough for him to realize a sharp object might do something, “That’s it.”

Opening his inventory, Ren willed and a sharp canine comparable to the length of a standard knife now lay in his hand.

With his full force, Ren hurled the canine straight at the man, and before he could react, the canine collided with the water.

Though it also fell, it didn’t bounce back. A small gap formed in the water sphere for a second, and Ren seized the chance.

He bolted forward and before the gap could close, he punched at the man without holding back.

The masked guy couldn’t even react to the fist that landed on his chest, and in the next moment, his body tore through the water sphere and smashed directly against a house.

Cracks spread through the wall before it crumbled to the ground, and the man now lay half-dead beneath all the rubble.

“You wanna talk now?” Ren asked again and sure enough, received a response this time.

“Wait.” A voice cut through the tension and soon enough, another hooded figure entered Ren’s vision.

’It’s a man.’ It was slightly unexpected, the only person Ren knew who used a bow with a class related to it was Luna.

A frown appeared on his face as he shook his head, trying to discard the unpleasant memory.

’Maybe he doesn’t have a class? No, but his accuracy wasn’t something one could have without months—if not years of practice.’

The figure raised both his hands in the air and stepped closer to Ren, and one of them held a bow.

A quiver clung to his back and held more than fifteen arrows.

“Why were you spying on me?” Ren questioned suspiciously.

The figure removed his robe and showed his face, which was not that mature.

“Uhm… we were ordered to keep an eye on you.” The man replied, his eyes frequently darting to the rubble near them, or to be precise, at the man who was unconscious beneath it.

“Spying?” With a raised brow, Ren asked him to explain, which the man did without hesitation.

His mind still remembered the scene he had seen with his skill in which the kid had taken down his friend with a single punch.

Not being sure if his friend was even alive, he blurted out the orders he had received in a single breath.

“Our boss told us to keep an eye on you as we received the information that you were exiled from the citadel for attempting to—.”

“Alright, enough.” Ren shut him up before the other person could get on his nerves.

He still hadn’t forgotten the look of delight and mockery in Derek’s eyes when he was being taken back to the citadel.

’Enjoy it while you can, Derek.’ Ren’s jaw clenched as he noted to pay him back tenfold.

’What should I do with them?’ Pondering, he reanalyzed his current situation.

’I can’t trust the third faction due to Evan’s words… but why? Is there a reason for it?’

Ren decided to uncover the mystery and so, he changed his destination.

“Take me to your boss.”

The man was surprised at Ren’s words but nodded quickly and went to check on his friend.

A vial spawned in his hand, containing a red liquid. And without wasting any time, he tipped the vial into his friend’s mouth.

“A healing potion?” Ren muttered.

“How do you know about this? And no, it’s just a pain relief potion.” The man was genuinely surprised by the boy who appeared to be a few years younger.

’I hope at least this decision of mine is correct.’ Ren followed the duo to the third faction—not knowing that a predator, someone Ren knew nothing about was a lot closer to him.