The silence at the entrance of the city gate was both suppressive and stiffening, until finally one of the Wagon Drivers could no longer take it..


    "Have Mer--" choking sound interrupted his words as a fine bloody slit appeared across his neck as a pale skinned palm grabbed his decapitated head.


    Grunting, Red Rose tossed the head into the distance as she suddenly vanished into thin air, appearing besides the Kingsguard as she swiftly stabbed towards his throat. Her movement was both silent, quick and brutal.


    "Nice try, but you shouldn''t have exposed yourself earlier" the Kingsguard who had already been expecting this move chuckled as he stopped the movement of her dagger with two fingers..


    It was unknown whether it was due to the armored pair of gauntlet he wore, or the raw toughness of his physique. However Red Rose maintained a calm expression as the dagger fluidly slipped away from her grip, just in time for her to silently teleport away.


    "Hm?" the Kingsguard suddenly swung flicked his wrist, grabbing the dagger as he swung it above his head.


    Bam!


    A shockwave erupted as the dagger blocked a descending blood colored crescent. However before the Kingsguard, this shockwave was merely like a small brush of breeze as Aiden''s *Essence Swipe* was easily broken through.


    "That was your plan all along? an Assassin acting as bait... Now that''s something " the Kingsguard grunted as he stared at Aiden with interest who was hovering above him, a pair of Lightning Wings behind his back.


    "You are quick for somebody your size " Aiden commented with a touch of amazement.


    Thanks to the System Skill *Link* he and Red Rose had shared a mental communication. The earlier strings of attacks had been perfectly planned and executed. Even if it wasn''t enough to bring down the foe, it would''ve at least stunned him.


    However the Kingsguard had completely seen through them, easily countering. Aiden was impressed with such kind of battle adaptation.


    "Is this your master plan Eragon? sneaking into the city with these puny human companions? although the General figured you were starting to grow desperate, sneaking into the city is just you rushing over to your death" the Kingsguard mocked Eragon who could only ball his fist.


    "Unfortunately for you, your coup won''t be happening tonight. . Or ever. However it is commendable that you tried " the Kingsguard scoffed.


    "I have met your kind more than once, but none of them were as cocky " Aiden''s voice rang out as he swooped down towards the Kingsguard, a punch wrapped with a lightning gauntlet slammed towards his face.


    "We Kingsguard are excellent soldiers personally handpicked by the General. In front of weak worms like you, I have every reason to be arrogant " the Kingsguard tapped his feet on the ground, vanishing from his original position as he appeared behind Aiden..


    Blink!


    "Taste my weapon " a wrathful draconic roar erupted as a crimson colored halberd appeared in the Kingsguard''s grip. Heaving his chest, he slammed it towards Aiden''s head in an extremely crude and barbaric manner.


    "A Warlock?" vigilance flashed in Aiden''s eyes when he saw the faint crimson halo wrapped around the descending halberd. Raising both arms, he held it before his face.


    Bang!


    Aiden swallowed back the blood that was about to escape his mouth as a powerful force transmitted through his arms, viciously rattling his innards as he got thrown through the air, smashing roughly on the ground.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Impossible!" he cried unwillingly as his numb arms slowly healed themselves, at the expense of all his accumulated HP finally running out.


    He couldn''t withstand a single attack from the other party?! Aiden''s pride refused to let this just slide. Just as he was about to charge forward, Eragon''s next words stopped him right on track.


    "Stop. This one is on our side"


    "What?!" Aiden gave him a bewildered look.


    "Calm down human.. I was just testing your capabilities and you are not that bad.. at least you won''t be a liability once the rebellion begins" the Kingsguard chuckled as the crimson Halberd transformed into a ray of light that shot into his forehead, taking the appearance of an unremarkable tattoo.


    "However if that''s all what you can offer then I am afraid you are not going to offer much help.. however she''s a real trump card if used wisely" his eyes trailed over to Red Rose.


    "You think I am weak?" Aiden''s brows twitched.


    "No. Just stupid. You prefer using flashy techniques over real offense.. it''s like you are intentionally marking yourself as a target for the enemy" the Kingsguard replied bluntly before pointing towards Red Rose.


    "However she''s different.. she''s more direct"


    "Now.." the Kingsguard pointed towards the seven wagons, shooting out seven crimson beams that blasted the wagons into smithereen, along with their drivers.


    As for the corpses within them, they were cleanly ground into dust. Luckily Rin had exited his wagon earlier.


    "What was that for?" Aiden gave Prince Eragon a confused look.


    Weren''t those six Wagon Drivers his supporters?


    "I never actually thought that we would run into Syrus. However now that we did, the plan has to be tweaked a little bit.." Prince Eragon replied with a sigh.


    "He has to make it appear there was a huge battle before he managed to bound us" he further added, noticing Aiden''s still confused expression.


    "We are still going to be captured? I thought he was on our side?!" Aiden frowned when he saw the Kingsguard shackling up the two former Kingsguards Prince Eragon brought with him.


    "It''s just for appearance sake you toad. Prince Eragon is regarded as an enemy if he access the city without prior authorization and I can''t just go around announcing my involvement with him.. the General would have my head" the Kingsguard snorted as he shackled Aiden''s wrist.


    —[Alert!]


    —[Host Has been exposed to Venusten!]


    —[All of Host stats will be temporarily operating at 30%]


    "What kind of cuff is this?" Aiden mused when he felt a wave of weakness suddenly overcome him, followed by the system''s notification.


    "We have no idea. A large amount of these cuffs was something we managed to obtain during one of our many failed invasions.. it temporarily blocks the various meridian channels, shutting down the flow of energy. Whether you are a Magi, Warlock or Runelock you are completely powerless while you are in these cuffs" the Kingsguard explained while he cuffed Red Rose.


    Noticing the other party''s eyes suddenly dull as she winces lightly, Aiden''s brows knitted.


    —[Are you okay?] He communicated with her using the system skill *Link*


    Unfortunately it was still stuck at the first level, limiting him to communicating with a single participant at once.


    [I can''t use my mojo.. although I have been in meridian blocking cuffs, this is different.. for some unknown reason I feel very feeble and weak] Red Rose reply rang within Aiden''s head.


    "I see.. so it wasn''t a problem with the system?" Aiden nodded inwardly.


    —[How are you feeling?] he communicated with Rin.


    —[I feel weak.. this is the second time I have felt so since I became a Vampire] Rin responded mentally.


    The secret of the *Link* skill was something that only he and Red Rose knew about.. well it made sense since they were one of the few people who could communicate with it anyways.


    —[What do you mean?]


    —[Some days ago while I was at a gathering for the top execs of the Red Sharks gang, the big boss revealed a peculiar axe.. according to him it was made of Venusten. Quoting his words, it is a a newly discovered ore and has been making waves in Utopia, off late]


    —[Venusten? are you sure?] Aiden''s eyes lit up when he heard Rin''s reply.


    —[Yeah. One of them decapitated me with the axe. That was the day I knew I wasn''t invincible. It was like as if my flesh had suddenly transformed into soft cream in front of that axe.. I have never felt so vulnerable before that incident.. and I am getting that weak feeling from these cuffs so it has to be made out from Venusten]


    —[The Boss of the Red Sharks gang.. did he mention how he got his hands on the Venusten Axe and where it is right now?] Aiden''s brows furrowed as he asked this.


    If Venusten was like a kryptonite to Vampires, then this was a huge revelation. Aiden wanted to locate the Venusten Axe and have it destroyed.


    — [You want it destroyed?]


    —[Do you have a problem with that?]


    — [No. Only that the Red Sharks possess ten such weapons and I doubt if they are going to be out on open display. According to the Big Boss, they were given to him by an envoy from the alien invaders attacking the capital city. According to the envoy, those Venusten weapons can permanently kill Vampires if used right. The Big Boss of the Red Sharks plans to use these weapons to win the gang war] Rin replied solemnly.