Chapter 197 - The Plan

Loosening their embrace, Lumia and Helial looked at each other again. Two worlds met through their irises.

Green on Blue.

Sun on Moon.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Cried Medusa across the arena. "What are you waiting for to fight?"

Helial ignored Medusa once more and stood up straight, still looking silently at her sister.

He could have said so many things, he could have told her that he didn't want her to get stronger, that he didn't want her to bear all that suffering. He wanted to tell her that there was no need to feel pain if she did it for him.

However, Helial had learned more than one lesson alongside Alexander.

Lumia didn't need to get strong just to protect herself when Helial wasn't at her side. Her sister had to explore the world to discover herself, like every other living creature in the universe.

Looking out of the corner of his eyes at his team, Helial smiled.

All this was not just about Lumia. Frankenstein, Lulu, Vlad... they too were taking such a difficult path to find their own Mana Path. And suffering was indispensable to savour the joys that life reserves, just as it is impossible to enjoy the light if there is no darkness.

Living a dull life would not lead them to be happy, but only to live like beasts. To be happy they would have to fight. And suffer.

The young man's resolute gaze passed over his companions, dwelling on each of them.

Snowflake had things to settle with his family. Helial would have pulled the sky down if it helped.

Vlad was in love with Francesca, but Orma's precarious balance kept him prisoner. Helial would rebuild that city brick by brick, after destroying it, if it helped him.

Lulu and Frankenstein were probably only looking for a place in the world, and to help them Helial would dig with his own hands even in a mining vein.

Aiako intruded on the young man's flow of thoughts with a high-pitched laugh: “Are you really still in the Late stage of the First Phase? At least your teammates had the good sense to level up as fast as possible."

Helial glanced sharply at Aiako, and then turned back to his teammates. “Follow my orders during the battle. Nobody is allowed to do as they want, otherwise some of us will die."

Then turning to Aiako, the boy's gaze brightened.

Skill Activated:

Perception

The consumption of Mana due to the use of Perception was negligible, compared to its advantages. After a few seconds, Helial already had a general idea of their enemies' abilities and weaknesses.

"I want to face Margherita in a one on one match," said Frankenstein, looking at his counterpart on the other team.

"Silence." Without turning, Helial raised a hand and motioned everyone to keep quiet.

The boy's new attitude left everyone perplexed. Despite having always had the leader attitude, Helial had never possessed any authority, nor had he claimed to possess it. Now, however, he looked like a consummate general, almost as if his chest had been filled with medals during the last night of sleep.

In fact, in the new life passed alongside Alessandro, Helial had led more than one strategy capable of reversing the fate of a battle. Helial's military acumen was not something Medusa or her friends could have possessed.

Iblis' disciple, after a quick analysis, had already understood what would be the main problem in the clash. "Medusa," he said confidently, "I have a proposal for you."

With her brows slightly raised and a look full of contempt, a nod of her chin was the only answer Helial got.

“We skip the direct confrontations and jump directly to the group clash. Changing the order, it would not be difficult for the two of us not to face each other directly. You could use your men to tire me and I mine to tire you. If this happens, the direct confrontation between the two of us would be useless. I don't think you want a mutilated victory. And then, you could send someone ahead of you, to make me waste as much mana and stamina as possible, to avoid colliding directly with me."

Medusa trembled with anger. Did the bastard just imply that she might be afraid of him?!

But before the enraged woman could speak, Helial continued: “Let's fight directly in groups. The Colosseum should have no objection. Otherwise, we can also fight outside these walls. What interests me is to have a match directly with you. In a group battle, your teammates will be busy fighting with mine. This is a reasonable proposition, isn't it? While they will fight each other, we will be able to slaughter each other at will."

"Well! Well!” Medusa roared, ready to jump on Helial at any moment.

"APPARENTLY, THE TWO TEAMS WANTS A FIGHT WITHOUT FRILLS!" Shouted Star at the top of his voice, inflaming the audience’s minds.

"Shut up, clown. Ten minutes, in ten minutes my team will face you. Get that clown off the stand. The duels must be accompanied with blood and honour, not by a court jester," said Helial with ancient dignity.

Everybody froze.

Why had the words of that young man had just aroused approval from the bottom of their hearts? Why did Helial now look like a hero among children, so dignified that he had to remind them how to behave?

Star, embarrassed by a moment, felt a great anger rise in his body. Yet before he could say anything, he saw the nod of one of the bigwigs of the Colosseum. After he disappeared in mid-air from the broadcasting platform, the arena was shrouded in silence.

Regardless of the upheaval caused by his words, Helial had turned to Snowflake and the others.

"Ten minutes. Snowflake, tell me what your Skills are and what level they have reached. Lulu, keep healing Snowflake. Lumia, I want a precise idea of your offensive and defensive abilities. Frankenstein, show me the aces up your sleeve, take out all the Devices you created. "

Helial gave one instruction after another, listening to their answers and at the same time examining their bodies and their Aura through Perception. Once he had observed everything, Helial explained the plan he had in mind. The first to attack Medusa would be Snowflake. Helial approached the cat and started whispering in his ear.

As he listened, Snowflake curled his whiskers: "But just a few minutes you said you wanted to fight directly..."

"What?" Helial laughed, interrupting the cat, "do you think I'm so dumb?"

Snowflake scratched his head. "How powerful must it be?"

"Do your worst."

If Medusa really thought of dealing with them easily, after Helial had studied strategy together with the greatest leader ever, she was sorely mistaken.

Meanwhile, on the bigwigs' grandstand, Big was arguing with Crispio.

"Old one, what do you think of Helial's choice?" Began Big, slamming his wine mug hard on the arm of the chair, "you see, he has got huge balls! Hahaha! It reminds me of myself when I was young."

"A jerk full of arrogance?" Guiccia laughed aloud at his own joke, while biting into a leg of meat and splashing oil everywhere.

"Filthy pig, say that again?!"

"Ar-ro-gant jerk," said Guiccia, syllable by syllable.

DOOOONG

Suddenly, both Big and Guiccia found their heads on the floor, and their legs in the air.

Cesar clapped his hands lightly to remove the dust and looked furiously at the spectators beside him.

Guiccia got up almost immediately and was about to scream at the King, when Cesar made him spit half his teeth with a punch in the face.

“Today my disciple is fighting in the Colosseum. Who disrespects this duel will disrespect me. The traitors will be executed on the spot."

Nelia looked at her husband with shining eyes.

For some time Cesar had no longer exercised the King's profession with violence. He had snatched Orma from the hands of the Senate, which was leading it to ruin, after stepping on the corpses of countless enemies, and his military campaigns had completely changed the future of the city.

Although Aure had recently collected a lot of approval, without authority and full, absolute power, that approval would soon vanish.

Cesar was so powerful that he could ignore laws, complaints and discontent. He had been mild and gentle in recent centuries, but a sleeping tiger is always more dangerous than a screaming monkey.