Rise My Elementals!

Proofreader: M_W Miss Fierce

Unbeknownst to Leo, the Battle Royal is no longer the same as the Battle Competition earlier ago. This time, there\'s not only one pair of eyes on the stage but two. And because of that, even though Leo was trying to move as inconspicuously as possible, one of those pairs of eyes still noticed his action, specifically Edgar Pierce, who had his eyes focused on Guild Leader Loki from time to time, extremely cautious of what the latter would do while Osborne and he is busy fighting each other.

"As expected," Edgar Pierce muttered. 

"As expected of what?" Osborne asked.

"Guild Leader Loki is currently scheming something," Edgar Pierce didn\'t hesitate to reveal to Osborne what he had found out. The reason for that is simply because he wanted someone else to help him deal against Guild Leader Loki. Against a mischievous schemer like Guild Leader Loki, the more people there are, the better for him since he can use those people as his shield to protect him from any sort of schemes.

"What is he currently doing?" Osborne followed another question after realizing that he couldn\'t see behind him due to the earth walls on both of his sides. He\'s currently stuck in between the two earth walls, and it\'s somewhat difficult for his huge and tall body to get out due to how tight and narrow they were. And also, it might make Guild Leader Loki realize that they have found out about what he\'s planning on doing once he tries to move out of this place. As a result, the latter would stop. In his opinion, that would be the worst-case scenario since he can take advantage of Guild Leader Loki\'s plan to turn the tables around in his own favor.

"Why should I tell you? Don\'t you realize that it would be better for me if only Guild Leader Loki and I knew the plan? By then, I will cooperate with his plan to eliminate you. After all, you are now nothing but a trapped boar," Edgar Pierce said with a smirk.

"I presumed that you know a boar is way better by dozens of folds compared to a pig, right? As such, there\'s no telling for certain yet whether it would be me who will get eliminated or you!" Osborne replied, not intending to back down from the argument.

"Are you perhaps proposing that we cooperate with each other, Osborne?" Edgar Pierce asked.

"Why would I do that? I only ever wanted from the start of the Emerald Elven Battle Competition to fight the strongest people in my level, fair and square, you, Elmont, and Guild Leader Loki in particular. Winning was only a bonus for that," Osborne shook his head. He added, "In addition to that, I already like the current state of the Battle Royal. So, why would I do something to ruin it?"

"Then what exactly do you want?" Edgar Pierce still doesn\'t understand what Osborne wanted. Initially, he only said his earlier line so that he could make the latter propose a temporary truce to fight against Guild Leader Loki. Or, in other words, an alliance. But to his disappointment, Osborne seems to be seriously intent on not having any alliance with him. Well, after all, he was even smiling when Guild Leader Loki disbanded their alliance, probably because this was what he wanted from the start. That was the reason from the start why he didn\'t bluntly propose an alliance and instead thought of a scheme to make Osborne say it himself, albeit it failed in the end. Though, not completely, since Osborne seems to have another plan in his mind.

"Are you a fool or something? Maybe it\'s because your brain is full of schemes that you seemed to misunderstand my words," Osborne cleared his throat before clarifying the meaning of his question before, "Didn\'t you hear me mention the word \'Currently\'? I only want you to tell me what he is currently doing, and it would be entirely up to me to guess about what he exactly intends to do now. I don\'t want you to tell me anything other than what he is currently doing, understood? Of course, it would be up to you whether you will inform me or not. But I won\'t blame you if you don\'t,"

Osborne wasn\'t stupid. Although Edgar Pierce had noticed Guild Leader Loki\'s action, he still doesn\'t know what the latter is precisely planning on doing. Edgar Pierce would only find out when the time comes that Guild Leader Loki reveals it himself. As such, regardless of Edgar Pierce telling him of what Guild Leader Loki is currently doing or not, both of them would still be left entirely clueless. To simply put, even if he wasn\'t intent on keeping the current state of things, there are just no benefits for him to gain if he cooperates with Edgar Pierce other than allowing the latter to have the biggest chances to become the champion after eliminating Guild Leader Loki.

Besides, Osborne already had a contingency plan in mind. If ever Edgar Pierce\'s decided not to tell him anything, he could always choose to get himself out of this place to see it for himself. Even though there\'s a considerable possibility that Guild Leader Loki would stop his plan, that would simultaneously mean he can prevent what\'s about to happen to him. Like what he had planned before, the only reason he did not get himself out of this place was that he was planning on using Guild Leader Loki\'s plan against him. 

Hearing Osborne\'s words, Edgar Pierce could only heave a sigh of helplessness. He really underestimated the intellect of the former when he chose to execute his scheme… No, Osborne seems to be much wiser than him, a complete opposite of the majority of the Orc race.

"It seems like it was me who got fooled instead," Edgar Pierce muttered.

"If you were around Guild Leader Loki for as long as me, it wouldn\'t be strange for you to learn a thing or two on how to guard against schemers like you," Osborne explained.

"Fair enough," Edgar Pierce totally understood what Osborne meant. Even he had learned a few things after battling against Guild Leader Loki before, let alone cooperating with him. It would definitely allow one to know how he executes things. 

Since his plan has already failed, Edgar Pierce decided to just tell Osborne what Guild Leader Loki is currently doing, "At this moment, Guild Leader Loki is still sneaking around, seemingly like he wants to go towards another location,"

"Aren\'t you worried that maybe the reason why Guild Leader Loki is sneaking around is that he wanted to launch an attack on you this time?" Osborne asked curiously.

"I am not worried. Now that I can see what Guild Leader Loki is doing, I can also know when to get away and avoid whatever he is scheming," Edgar Pierce expressed that he was fine. He continued, "Anyways, will you tell me about what you have in mind regarding Guild Leader Loki\'s plan? That\'s the least thing you can do for me after I informed you of the latter\'s action, right?

This time, it was Osborne who formed a cunning smile on his face as he replied, "Why do you think I would do that?" 

"You… don\'t you care about your honor? That will make you lose face if you don\'t pay back the favor you own me!" Edgar Pierce exclaimed before he started thrusting his lance to Osborne\'s shield once again. He was infuriated by the latter\'s response. That\'s why he\'s releasing his emotions by attacking him.

"Is this how you react when asking for a favor?!" Osborne exerted even more strength to his arm holding the shield so that Edgar Pierce wouldn\'t be able to hit him successfully. He\'s already injured with his previous fight against Selina, so he can\'t afford to worsen his state. After all, he hasn\'t completely recovered that much yet after the short period he spent recuperating a while ago.

However, that wasn\'t the real reason why Edgar Pierce was exerting more strength on his arm. As Edgar Pierce continued to attack him, he slowly got his other arm free from being stuck. Shortly after, he was finally able to use his sword.

"Oh no!" Edgar Pierce finally realized just how stupid his action just now was. Now, Osborne could finally launch his counterattack against him.

"Take this!" Osborne exclaimed before swinging his sword towards Edgar Pierce. With the latter having no shield to block his attack, his only choice is to retreat.

As expected, Edgar Pierce immediately retreated after seeing Osborne swinging his sword.

"Now, you won\'t be able to hit me anymore," Edgar Pierce scoffed. 

"Who said so?" Osborne raised one of his eyebrows.. In the next moment, he stored his shield inside his Storage Ring and started approaching Edgar Pierce. Who said that a sword won\'t be able to block a lance?