Damned Healer-Chapter 615: Tiger In The Flock

Ramel was stunned. He had never imagined that, right at the city's entrance, everything would already be turned upside down like that.

Ailik let out a sigh and focused, ready to fight with everything she had. Niara and Darian, however, didn't react; from the very beginning, they had felt many distant eyes watching their every move.

Suddenly, the space in front of them rippled.

"Giltei, what is the Scarlet Cloud Clan doing at the east gate? Do you think my Violet Sky Clan doesn't exist?!"

At that moment, a group of people arrived; the guard who had shown favoritism toward Ramel was among them. However, everyone stood behind a woman.

She wore a violet dress, had pretty features, and long hair. There was a black flower mark on her forehead. Her lips were slightly thin, with the corners curving faintly upward. She looked like an extremely inflexible and stubborn woman. Her beautiful eyes were cold and devoid of emotion.

She was a pure human, unlike those from the Scarlet Cloud Clan, who possessed a beastly Bloodline.

Her voice reflected her icy demeanor as she stepped forward, drawing attention with every step.

"Hehe, now this is getting interesting," Niara said.

Ramel spoke mentally to Darian, 'I've never seen her before, but she must be the genius of the Violet Sky Clan... sorry, I ended up falling into their trap.'

'What do you mean?' Darian asked.

'The city has four noble family clans, each guarding the east, south, west, and north sides. The Violet Sky Clan is responsible for the east, while the Scarlet Cloud Clan is responsible for the west. I heard a long time ago that the two sides don't get along. The earlier guard didn't take my golden tablet and helped me because they want to use us for their own interests. Since I didn't refuse back then... I've put us in a tough spot now.'

Hearing this, Darian understood. He didn't know these details about the city; that's why, even though he suspected something like this, he couldn't be sure. It really did seem like that clan was using them to strike at the other.

The sudden arrival of Giltei and the others suggested that news of their presence might have been intentionally leaked by the Violet Sky Clan.

Darian and Niara exchanged glances. Did they really want to use them? Unbeknownst to them, they had just ushered the tiger into the heart of the flock.

Giltei replied in a dry tone, "Saelil, your clan was the first to break the rules and act with bias against others. You fully took advantage of your position. These people—"

Saelil, the supreme genius of that clan, cut him off directly: "Shut up. The affairs of my clan do not require the judgment of others. If you don't like it, you can file a complaint with the city's Elders. They will decide who's right or wrong. If you keep barking like a wild dog on my clan's territory, it will make others think we can't even control our own lands. Do you think I don't have the guts to cut you in half right here?"

Niara nodded lightly. A fierce woman who knew how to assert herself was to her liking. She praised her: "Very well said! He really does look like a dying wild dog. Your words are almost perfect."

Ailik added, "The barking part also adds vivid imagery, letting people get a deeper understanding of the picture."

Niara turned toward the young woman and smiled approvingly. Ailik was usually more thoughtful and quiet, but she was being influenced by Niara.

The icy Saelil cast them a glance. The guards behind her bit their lips, holding back laughter.

Herta and Hart had never encountered a situation like this. Niara's mocking words and Darian's almost ridiculous calm were extremely over the top.

Who could hold back laughter? Even so, neither of them dared to laugh out loud. Herta was trembling, and she covered her face.

On the other hand, Giltei was in no mood to laugh. His face was dark with rage as he clenched his fists. Moreover, his sword trembled as if it were having an epileptic seizure.

"Are you going to bite someone? Watch your heart," Darian couldn't help asking, wearing a concerned expression.

"Bastards!"

His roar was like a rumbling thunderclap.

"What a nasty smell."

Niara and Ailik covered their noses almost at the same time, waving the air with their hands.

"His breath smells worse than trench foot," said Niara.

Hearing this, Giltei felt the ground shake beneath his feet. He nearly went insane, but the little rationality he had left stopped him from attacking.

The situation had completely changed. Now, if he attacked, Saelil had the authority to summon her entire clan to kill him and would still be cleared afterward. The provocation was far too obvious... even so... it was hard to swallow.

"Saelil, by protecting them, you're breaking the City's rules. I will definitely report this to the Elders. Still, let's put that aside for now. I, Giltei, formally challenge you to a battle. Do you dare accept?" Giltei spat and took out a tablet.

The moment the tablet appeared, shocked cries rang out, because it was covered in golden marks.

According to the City's rules, fighting inside the city was forbidden. If there were irreconcilable differences, one could initiate a challenge and settle things in the battle arena.

"As you wish." Saelil snorted and waved her hand, sending a streak of golden light through the air.

"Another golden tablet!" Cries of shock echoed out. Along with Ramel, three of those legendary golden tablets had appeared in a single day.

"Are they all monsters?" Ailik's eyes were wide open. She could somewhat accept that Ramel was capable of killing a powerful creature like that. He was the only remnant of a terrifying race. But those two, who were just members of clans from this city, being able to do the same… that was extremely hard to swallow.

"It's nothing special," Ramel whispered.

Ailik turned to him, curious. "How?"

"It's true they killed a Nether Beast at the peak of the Heaven Saint Realm on their own, but who said it had to be a head-on fight?" Ramel replied.

"You're saying…" Ailik's jaw dropped.

"Poison, inscriptions, sneak attacks—any of those are possible. You can also wait for the right chance to strike. For example, they might wait until the females—" He stopped mid-sentence, covering his mouth. He almost said something he shouldn't have to such an innocent young woman.

Hearing this, Ailik immediately felt much better. She truly thought she was just a frog at the bottom of a well, but Ramel's explanation cleared everything up.

At that moment, the two golden tablets met. Suddenly, an emotionless voice echoed out.

"The battle will take place in six hours, at the main battle arena."

As soon as the voice sounded, the news spread as if it had wings.

"It's at the main battle arena! This is definitely going to be a peak-level battle of geniuses! Hurry, hurry!"

"Hurry for what?"

"Buy the tickets! If you don't, they'll sell out!"

Almost like an explosion, both inside and outside the city, countless people of various races surged out, all heading in the same direction.

Returning to the epicenter of it all.

"Sir, quickly, put a drop of blood on your tablet. We're buying tickets too!" Ramel urged.

Darian then dripped a drop of his blood, causing the runes on the tablet to light up, as if they had come alive.

That tablet now represented Darian's status in the city and across the entire island. In the future, he could use it to freely enter and leave the City. It would also store his honor points, the local currency. When going to the Empire, the city could exchange its points for the currency of the other island.

If Darian managed to kill Nether Beasts on his own, his honor points would instantly raise him to the gold level, granting him higher privileges.

Moreover, all transactions within the city required this tablet, and private dealings without it were strictly forbidden, as they offered no protection. In other words, if someone was scammed without using the tablet, it was considered their own fault. Therefore, without the tablet, Darian wouldn't be able to enter the city or buy tickets to watch the spectacle.

Just as Ramel was about to drag the group away, a cold voice rang out in their direction: "You don't need to buy tickets. As a participant, I'm allowed to bring ten people."

Ramel, who didn't want to get involved or owe favors to these clans, quickly said, "Miss Saelil, there are six of us. It wouldn't be appropriate for us to go with you."

"That's fine. I'm inviting you with no ulterior motives." She spoke without any emotion.

"I should thank all of you for giving me this opportunity. I've wanted to fight him for a long time, but every time I challenged him, he refused. You gave me what I wanted, so these spots are my way of returning the favor."

Saelil's tablet suddenly shimmered, and ten soybean-sized runes flew out of it. She handed six of them to Darian.

Darian took the runes, but before he could say anything, Saelil had already turned around and was walking away.

One of the guards behind her said, "If you put these runes into your tablets, you can go straight to the main arena and watch the fight. Hehe, I really envy you."

It was the guard who had helped the group earlier. Seeing those runes, he felt envious; Saelil would never give something like that to someone like him. So the guards could only accept their fate.

Ramel was worried. But when he saw Niara and Darian's indifferent expressions…

He felt like he was worrying about the wrong side.

Niara laughed and took one of the runes, placing it into her tablet. The others did the same.

Ramel wanted to show them around the city, but they didn't have time. The city was enormous, so he led them straight to the nearest transport point. When they arrived, everyone was stunned by the absurdly long line. It looked like a gigantic anthill.

Flying was forbidden within the city, and going on foot would take half a day to reach the arena. That was why everyone who wanted to watch had to rush as fast as possible to these inscriptions.

As for Darian's group, with their tablets, they could simply cut the line.

After passing through the transport inscription, the surroundings darkened. Above them, a vast, star-filled river pulsing with countless colors arched like a celestial dome, surrounding a colossal circular arena.

"Damn, this arena is seriously amazing!" Ailik exclaimed, staring at the sight in awe.