I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 263: Reinforcements

And just like that, a few minutes have passed with an impasse happening between the guards and Argentum and Blob. Throughout this time, the guards maintained their imposing postures, radiating an imposing aura that contrasted the auras radiated by Argentum and Blob. The two of them were exuding auras of immense fear as their postures were slightly bent, making themselves look like they had no way to escape the clutches of these guards.

Of course, in reality, it was quite the opposite. The guards were the ones afraid of Argentum and Blob, while the two were at the advantageous side. Surprisingly, while the two of them were still waiting for the feeling they felt to gradually disappear, Argentum went ahead and struck up a conversation with one of the guards, deciding to use his way with words to dissuade the guards into making a move against them even if their leader were to attack.

Unexpectedly, the guards did not deny their proposition, thinking that it would be in their best interest to not make a move against them. To be honest, if you were a Rank 1 Animate and knew that your opponent was of a rank far higher than you, would you make a move against them, only to end up being beaten up into a pulp? This was what the guards had in mind, hence the reason why they accepted the proposition. On the other hand, Argentum and Blob decided to make the offer sweeter by giving them a few incentives, like making sure that the town wouldn’t be attacked by the nearby beasts for a few weeks or so.

At that point, the guards were now wholeheartedly supporting Argentum and Blob in what they were doing. Unfortunately for the two, just as they thought that the impasse would last longer, a silhouette that was quite familiar to everyone in the surroundings had appeared once again from the same direction. But unlike before, there was a ton of dust and rubble attached to the silhouette’s uniform.

This was none other than the guard who was interrogating the citizens a while ago, the leader of the guards making up Team A. The one who tried to persuade the guards in the surroundings to make a move against the two since the auras they emitted were nothing in comparison to his. Nevertheless, as he made his way back to where his comrades were, he could not help but recall the feeling he felt before he was sent flying through multiple houses.

In his mind, he could not help but think, ‘Do these people have some sort of secret technique in their arsenal, allowing to exert a power that would triumph over mine?’

After mulling over it for a bit, he felt like that was the most likely answer, inwardly grinning as he thought that there was no way these two would be able to exert such a level of power yet again.

On the other hand, with the help of his enhanced vision, Argentum was able to see the being Blob punched harshly a while ago coming back to where they were. Letting out a soft sigh after noticing this being, he went ahead and sent a strand of energy to one of the guards he became close with throughout the past few minutes, asking, “Do you mind if we send him flying once again?”

In response, the guard replied through his mind with an indifferent tone, but held a hint of elation within. He said, “Go ahead, to be honest. Amongst the guards that are standing here right now, only that guard right there has the closest relation to the leader of the town. As for us, we just want to make sure that the town is safe from harm to the best of our abilities.”

“Glad to hear that coming from his comrade,” Argentum replied with a light chuckle. He then added another statement, which made the guard’s face light up slightly, “With that, I’ll sweeten the deal a little bit. We’ll make sure that no beasts will attack your town for two months.”

After he was finished saying that, Argentum went ahead and sent another strand of energy to Blob, saying, “Blob, that Animate is coming here yet again. At this point, you already know what to do, right?”

“How could I not know?” Blob let out a chortle as he responded to Argentum’s question. “It’s way better than doing nothing anyway.”

As he lightly clenched his fists open and close for a bit, he then added, “Oh, and also, tell me your reasons behind doing this after, okay?”

“Hm?” Hearing such a request out of the blue, Argentum let out a brief aura of confusion. Fortunately, Blob followed up on his words, saying, “The stalling for time and the feeling you have right now. The Argentum I know definitely has a greater motive behind all that.”

Argentum let out a playful giggle in response. Scratching his head for a bit, he then said through a strand of energy, “Let’s just say that it has something to do with the item we have for now.”

Whoosh!

Just as the two were finished with their conversation, the guard from a while ago had finally arrived, noticing that the guards standing around were radiating imposing auras, which was a far cry from what he saw a while ago. Thinking that the guards now had the will to fight against these two intruders of their town, he unhesitatingly took a deep breath before shouting with glee,” Indeed! That is the spirit a guard of Verdant Breeze Town should have!”

In response to the guard’s words, the other guards only coldly looked at his direction for a bit before redirecting it back to other directions. Noticing this, the guard finally realized that they were only radiating such auras as a facade. Slightly furious, he shouted, “What the heck are you guys doing? Do you have no shame in what you’re doing? You’re the guards of Verdant Breeze Town for heaven’s sake! Now, listen to me! Raise your weapons and atta—!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

And just like a while ago, even before the guard could finish his speech to instill a fighting spirit into his comrades, Blob went ahead and dashed at his maximum speed before tightly clenching his right fist once more. He then punched the guard in the face with a bit of spin this time, transforming the guard that was sent flying into a spinning projectile that was akin to a bullet.

With that kind of force, the guard had no problem passing through the holes he had made a while ago, ending up forming a few more holes through a few more houses, bringing the total number of houses he had formed holes through to 12. On the other hand, Blob radiated an aura of satisfaction as he blew on his right fist while making his way back to his previous position.

At the very instant he did so, Blob focused his sense of vision onto Argentum before sending a strand of energy. In this strand of energy, he said, “So…what are your reasons for doing this? How is it related to the Tome of the Four Elements?”

“It has a lot to do with the Tome of the Four Elements,” Argentum replied without delay with a strand of his own. He then added, “In fact, once the feeling we have disappears, we would have obtained an item that would allow me to have greater perception towards the four elements, allowing me to become the tome’s sole owner even faster.”

“I see,” Blob said after a short bit, nodding in understanding. Of course, he was not satisfied with the answer his creator had given him. But since Argentum did not want to say anything else about the plan he had in mind for now, he decided to just stay silent and follow what Argentum wants him to do to help out with his plan.

Noticing that the two were finished secretly conversing with one another, the guard Argentum was talking to a while ago took the initiative to send a strand of energy towards Argentum since he felt like Argentum was the leader of the two. On the strand, he said, “Tell your companion to wait for that guy to come again. Although it’s already the second time he has been defeated, he won’t give up that easily.”

He then added, “If you don’t wanna be bothered by him yet again, send him flying so far that he has no choice but to give up on fighting against you two.”

Hearing what the guard was saying, Argentum was slightly left at a loss for words. He could not help but wonder why the guard was doing him such a favor, prompting him to ask the guard through a strand of energy. In response, the guard coolly replied, “Think of it as a small repayment to the big favor you’re doing us. The greatest problem we guards have in this town are the beasts that attack the town’s walls every once in a while. If you remove them from our list of problems for a month or two, we would definitely have greater strength to fight against intruders like you the next time.”

“Of course, when you two come back here, we’ll treat you two as benefactors,” the guard said not long after, letting out a light chortle. In response, Argentum went ahead and lightly chortled as well, thinking that this guard he was talking to seems like a nice person as a whole. He thought that as a leader of the guards, this guy he was talking to would be a better fit.

Surprisingly, it was at this moment that the silhouette everyone has gotten used to by now had come and appeared in front of them once again. This time though, his uniform was now tattered in many areas due to the number of houses he had formed holes through. Not only that, but his face had also become a mangled mess, a far cry from the decently looking face the man had the first time he had arrived.

Radiating an aura that did not lose out to the guards, this man let out a loud yell filled with indignation, his stare akin to a metal spike as he shouted, “What the heck is everyone doing? Are you truly guards of this town, thinking for the betterment of the citizens?!”

“Are you truly thinking of siding with these intruders, who have done nothing but cause harm to us?” he added.

“[Higher Zephyr Magic: Zephyr Magna Acceliaris].”

“[Higher Ignis Magic: Ignis Fervor Maxima].”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hearing the sounds of spells being cast, the guard could not help but scoff at Argentum and Blob as he said, “So what if you cast spells? Would that even bring any change to the resu—!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Of course, akin to what happened some time ago, just as the guard was about to finish with his statement, Blob unhesitatingly went ahead and appeared in front of his field of vision in an instant, sending a punch filled with the zenith of his strength towards the man’s face. This time though, due to the number of buffs that had been cast on him, with the buffs Argentum cast on him a while ago still applying their effect, the strength behind the punch was greatly amplified.

Not only did the guard go through the holes he had made a while ago, but he also made holes through all of the houses he was sent flying towards this time, only stopping as his head became stuck on the walls protecting the town from beasts at night. At the moment the guard collided with the stone walls, everyone in the surroundings heard a loud thud resound throughout the town, with the guards surrounding Argentum and Blob having light smiles on their faces.

As for Argentum and Blob, Argentum went ahead and gave Blob a thumbs up just as he went back to his original position, saying, “Nice punch.”

“It was incredibly satisfying,” Blob said before letting out a chortle.

And just like that, the impasse from before had come back, continuing for far longer than ten minutes as everyone realized that the guard from before would not come back anymore from that attack. The force behind that attack alone would definitely put someone at Rank 3 out of commission, even more so for a Rank 2 that was not at their peak yet.

But unfortunately for Argentum, Blob, and the guards, this impasse would not last for long as an entity that radiated an aura far stronger than the guard from before had finally appeared in front of them. This entity wore quite some nice clothes, exuding the feeling that he had a decent amount of wealth. Not only that, but if one looked closely, a few particles of energy surrounded his body, making everyone realize that this entity had a class that was related to magic.

At this moment, this entity was currently hovering a few meters away from where the guards, as well as Argentum and Blob, were. An expression of dissatisfaction on his face, he said in a cold tone, “To steal something that I own, the only end I want for you two…”

“…is death.”

“Inner Protection Array, activate!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In less than an instant, a barrier that enveloped the town was formed, imbuing the guards that were just standing with a sense of strength that far surpassed their own. On the other hand, Argentum and Blob felt like their strength had gotten weaker, but it was not at a point that they could not brute force their way in exuding their full strength.

In fact, Argentum could not help but inwardly chuckle at the current situation as he sent a strand of energy to Blob, saying, “Time to move to the final phase of our plan. He’s the one that’s giving off the feeling we both felt a while ago.”

“No need to hold back anymore,” he added, which made Blob radiate an aura of immense elation.

“But just in case…” he muttered to himself soon after that, channeling the energy that was circulating throughout his body as a connection with a certain being had been formed in an instant. A few seconds later, a familiar voice resounded in his mind.

“Hello? Is that you, Argentum?”

“Yes, it’s me. How could it be someone else?”

“Well…fair point. So, what made you talk to me?”

“Could you head towards Verdant Breeze Town?”

“What for?”

“I just have something I need your help with.”

“Hmm…alright. Is it combat-related?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Give me a few minutes if that’s the case. You could stall for that long, right?”

“Yeah, no need to worry about that.”

“Alright, see you in a few minutes then, Argentum.”

“Alright. See you in a few minutes…”

“Felix.” 

——–

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