The guy stopped and stared at Alator with an intense gaze. Alator sighed and took a step forward."Fine, let me get straight to the point," he said and dropped the bucket of sand in his hand. Then he continued, "I don't want to continue staying here as a slave, and I can tell you want to leave as well. So why don't we collaborate and escape from here?" Alator said with a straight face. He wasn't going to run around the corners again, since the guy seemed not to be interested in formalities.Hearing Alator, his brows tightened and the guy narrowed his gaze at Alator. The two stared at each other for a while, with Alator waiting for a response. The guy suddenly took a step forward and knocked his shoulder into Alator as he brushed past him without saying a word.Alator closed his eyes and took a deep breath with his fist trembling. Honestly, he was trying his best not to punch the guy in the face. To him, even if the guy wasn't interested, he would have at least declined him like the ot

The next morning, Alator and his team had successfully secured the base for the operation, and all activities had started without delay.In the mine, everyone was working as usual, except for one person whom Alator was particularly interested in more than anyone else. The weird guy was currently missing from the mine, and Alator was looking for him. He still couldn't make sense of what had happened last night, hence wanted to confront the guy about it. He was still hoping the guy would agree and join him. But right now, the guy was nowhere to be found.Far from the mine, at the riverside, a guy was standing on the shore, staring blankly into the sky as he watched the birds flying around and whispering to each other.His face was elusive, but his eyes seemed to carry a deep storm. This was the weird guy Alator was looking for in the mine."Who exactly are you?" a voice sounded behind him, jolting him back to reality. The guy slowly turned, and his expression suddenly shifted to a nasty

"Yeah. What now?" Logan asked suspiciously. He could see that excited glint in Alator's eyes and he wasn't feeling good about it."Where did you get it?" Alator asked."Hell no, I'm not telling you that," Logan refused to answer."Come on, just tell me where you got it from and I promise I will not get you involved," Alator pleaded."No, I'm not doing that, okay," Logan said and turned to leave."Don't blame me for telling Valerius about it then," Alator said with an evil smirk. He really didn't want to use this method, but he had no choice now. He was running out of time and was willing to do everything possible to accomplish his mission, even if it meant betraying his close friend.Alator knew that if he was able to get his hands on such a thing, it would surely go a long way in helping out."Alright," Logan finally gave up."Can't believe you're threatening me after saving your ungrateful ass," Logan said in disappointment."I got the Black Dreew from a tree outside the mine a year

"What is that?" Dren asked with curiosity."Use this liquid to make the weapons. I don't know the most effective way to make the liquid become a part of the weapon, so it's best known to you how to use it," Alator said."What is this?" Dren asked as his brows furrowed in confusion. He cupped the black liquid in his hand and stared at it."This liquid can help nullify mana, so if we can integrate it into our weapons, it will give us a better fighting chance," Alator explained."Are you serious?" Dren couldn't help but ask.Alator just nodded his head in response."Great... then leave it to me," Dren said with a smile."These weapons," Alator said as his gaze lingered on the batch of swords and other weapons made by Dren."Make more crossbows. It's more efficient in this kind of battle. Our enemies are strong mages, and we are being restricted by the Arcsteel cuff. So using swords will compel us to confront them head-on. If we do that, then we are obviously going to lose," Alator explai

Fortunately, the soldiers were so immersed in their discussion. Hence, they failed to notice Alator. Once they had passed, and their laughter trailed behind them, Alator came out from his hiding and quickly entered the secret tunnel. Alator arrived in the wider region. There were a total of eight people standing there, waiting for him. "You all are here," Alator said as he approached them. "Yes, except the two that didn't make it last night. I think they must have been caught by the soldiers," a man with a brown beard in the group said. "Good, now let's proceed to the next plan," Alator said. "Proceed, you said? Are we really going to let them die like that? I think we need to rescue them first," a short man in the group said in annoyance. "I don't have time for that. If you want to rescue them, then go ahead," Alator said in a cold tone. He didn't want to linger around meaningless things right now. Nevertheless, seeing the angry look on their faces, he felt like explaining thi