Rise of the Crusader



A second after, the door opened and Vernon slowly moved toward it.

He looked into the door that was shrouded in darkness, and after pondering about it for a brief moment, Vernon took a twig on the ground and threw it in.

The twig vanished just as expected, and after getting the green light he wanted, Vernon stepped inside the door.

Unbeknownst to Vernon, as he walked in the door, a set of eyes were fixed on him the whole time. And as he disappeared from the surrounding, the owners of the eyes walked out of the hiding place.

"What do we do next?"

The people who had been watching Vernon were none other than the members of the assassin's league.

While they had suffered an immense defeat from Vernon, Orpheus and the other death merchants didn't give up on their pursuit.

"Go report to lord Orpheus about what you witnessed, I will go into the door, and continue to keep track of the target."

A nod came from the other figure donned in a black robe from top to bottom, and as his partner moved to the door, he vanished from the surrounding quickly.

Meanwhile, briefly, after Vernon walked inside the door, he arrived in a desolate area.

As Vernon scanned the surrounding, there wasn't a sign of any living being around him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after a few seconds, he spoke.

"What do you see?"

There was complete silence after Vernon spoke.

Fifteen minutes went by, yet there was still no response from who Vernon was talking to. Vernon kept his head straight, looking into the distance.

And despite being in a desolate area all alone, he was surprisingly very calm. There wasn't a tinge of fear or panic on his face as he looked around him.

He was in a tranquil state.

"There's a tavern ahead." Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"They are twenty-eight people in the tavern, and judging from my analysis, the weakest among them should be at the S-Rank, while the strongest is at the SS-Rank."

As the voice continued to provide Vernon with more information, his expression very much remained the same.

Even after hearing the term 'SS-Rank' Vernon still wasn't fazed… Not even in the slightest.

"I still don't know if the egg of Cleopatra is with one of them, but since we were brought here, we can assume one of them will know where the egg is."

Vernon nodded his head.

He agreed to what was said, however, there was still one detail he was interested in.

"Are they metahumans or meta beasts?" Vernon asked.

"Metahumans."

As those words were uttered, Vernon's lip curled into a smile. He cracked his knuckles, "So it was true after all."

"New age city isn't just the home of the meta beasts, it's also used as a prison for metahumans." Said Vernon as he looked into the distance.

"Yes." That voice sounded again.

"And these prisoners are the deadliest of all, I wasn't sure about it before, but after seeing those people in the tavern, it became very clear."

"The deadliest of all," Vernon muttered.

Vernon sneered, "I guess you're right." He paused. "The academy was lost on what to do to them that they chose to lock them in this place."

"That is the best thing to do. Imprison them under the supervision of the king of beast," the voice responded to Vernon.

There was a nod of acknowledgment from Vernon afterward.

"So, are you still heading to the tavern or are we changing the course of destination." The voice asked.

Responding to the voice behind him, Vernon chuckled. He shook his head and, with a bone-chilling smile on his face, he said.

"Don't you think I would be humiliating the Orleans family bloodline if I'm to flee because of some metahumans," Vernon smirked.

"Especially when they are prisoners!" He added.

"Very good!"

With that said, and Vernon moved forward.

He placed his hand in his pocket, walking majestically to the tavern with a prideful smile on his face and an arrogant air around him.

While Vernon headed towards the tavern, a different movement was occurring in the city.

As the member of the assassin league got to the hideout, he informed Orpheus and the other death merchants about what transpired with Vernon.

The member was as straightforward as possible, and after receiving a nod from Orpheus, he vanished from their presence.

"How come to the egg of Cleopatra is real, I thought it was a fairy tale or some movie prop." The person who spoke was Karmau.

He glared at the other death merchants, who shook their heads at him, before then folding his hand across his chest.

"If Vernon is looking for the egg of Cleopatra, then it must mean that it truly exists," Orpheus said. "I will have the assassins report back here, we will be the ones handling this assignment."

"And remember, if you try any stupid act like you did the last time, I won't spare any one of you." As Orpheus spoke, killing intent flashed in between in eyes.

This time around he meant it, the egg of Cleopatra was of grave importance if it were to really exist.

It even came first than their assignment to kill Vernon Orleans in New age city.

"Is that clear?"

There was a nod from Mystique and the other death merchants as they heard Orpheus. Orpheus stared at Karmau, and it was only after he, Karmau nodded his head that Orpheus looked away.

"But how do we fight Vernon for the egg? We weren't capable of laying a hand on him in the last fight, what's assuring us that, history won't repeat itself."

"True."

"And now that Vernon has his eyes set on the egg of Cleopatra, it will be even more difficult to take it from him."

"I can assume it will be a life and death battle"

Orpheus shook his head as he head as he heard the death merchants. The mention of a life-and-death battle certainly enticed some of them, as a glimmer of glow emerged on their faces.

This came from the belief that if they were to risk everything and go all out, they were, in fact, capable of taking down the mighty Vernon Orleans.

"There won't be any need for a life-and-death battle between us and Vernon because I asked for a friend to help," Orpheus said.

A slight change of expression came from the five death merchants upon hearing Orpheus.

They continued to stare at Orpheus and as the sound of footsteps occurred, it took only three seconds, before a figure appeared in front of the death merchants.

The five of them stared at the person in front of them with shock, disbelief, excitement, and even a bit of rage on one of their faces.

"I'm sure you already know him, but let me still introduce him to you all," Orpheus spoke.

"This is Jeremy McCall, a dear friend of mine, and he would be helping us take Jeremy down."