Chapter 228: Chapter228-Crisis! The Traitor!
The moment the dagger pierced his body, he felt all strength drain from him instantly, his staff clattering to the ground.
"John!"
Archibald, heart nearly leaping from his throat in fright, rushed to John's side and supported him.
But John opened his mouth to speak and found he could utter no words.
At the same time, everyone saw John's health bar visibly plummet to zero.
"Where's the priest? We need a priest here now!"
Archibald screamed almost hysterically, his voice breaking as several priests hurried over.
But in the next instant, chaos erupted.
Boom!
A skill crashed into the crowd; some were too slow to dodge and fell instantly to the ground.
The others, in terror, turned back to see two or three people on a raised platform relentlessly unleashing skills on them, causing explosive area damage that claimed several lives directly.
"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?!"
Leopold stared in disbelief at the group.
Had they lost their minds? Why were they attacking their own?
"With your blood, we pave the way for our lord."
The eyes of these few were bloodshot, clearly showing signs of madness as their demeanor grew wildly hysterical.
They continued to cast skills crazily towards the side.
Now that everyone was alert, fewer were hit.
Several swordsmen charged forward, pinning them down on the spot.
Yet even so, those few continued to scream wildly.
"You all deserve to die, you have all obstructed the path of my lord!"
"When my lord descends, you all shall perish!"
"We are the true envoys, the ones who accompany our lord in his descent upon this world!"
Leopold observed them and noted that there were no signs of enchantment or any other buffs.
This meant one thing...
These people had genuinely been brainwashed!
How could this be possible?
These were the same people who had fought side by side with them before, even slaying numerous monsters together!
The one on the left was the supply team's squad leader, whose skill in alchemy had captivated everyone.
He was indeed Alkaid's most outstanding alchemist.
The one with disheveled hair behind was a prodigy from House Blackwood of Dubhe.
Although from a secondary branch, his capabilities were exceptional.
And the one who had been slain was from Merak!
They had all fought together before.
Why? Why had this happened?!
And now, these were just the few who had been exposed.
With so many present, just how many more had been brainwashed?
Alastair watched as chaos unfolded on the platform, a satisfied smirk curling at his lips.
He gathered his strength once more and hurled it violently at the protective shield.
Boom, boom, boom!
His skills smashed against the shield, stirring ripples across its surface.
Even though it didn't break, the man felt a surge of glee.
He wondered how long they could last without John, their linchpin.
John really wasn't much after all.
He couldn't understand what Sophia Winchester was thinking, entrusting the power of control to such a failure.
Just one move of internal and external coordination, and John was out of options.
The poison on that dagger was no ordinary toxin.
It was a gift from the prime god himself!
Not just any minor character like John, but even a semigod-tier warrior would undoubtedly perish if struck by this poison.
This was supposed to be their trump card against Sophia Winchester, but unexpectedly, it had been used on this failure instead.
Besides, this move had consumed nearly 20% of his own power of control.
Now, he only controlled 24% of it—4% was used in brainwashing those people, while the remaining 16% was all spent on subduing John.
But no matter.
Once this failure was dead, all the power of control would be his alone.
He planned to welcome the descent of the prime god with blood.
They all had to die, every single one of them.
These people deserved death!
Chaos reigned atop the city walls as everyone tensely eyed their comrades, who had stood shoulder to shoulder with them just moments before, now only regarding each other with suspicion.
They were at a loss, unsure of what had happened or why suddenly they were facing each other with drawn swords.
The sudden attacks had caught everyone off guard.
They seriously doubted whether others might have been bribed.
If those around them had turned, their lives were in grave danger.
"Everyone, stay calm, group in threes! Watch each other, keep an eye on each other! If anyone spots something amiss, the other two must act immediately and show no mercy!"
"Don't forget what you should be doing right now! There are still so many monsters outside; if you don't want to live, just jump off and end it!"
Archibald quickly took control of the situation.
With John's condition unknown, if he didn't stabilize things, the problems could multiply.
He had to maintain control at all costs.
"Keep your heads, check each other in groups of three!"
Leopold shouted, quickly calming everyone on the platform.
Although there was still fear, they braced themselves, continuing to throw skills outward, though at a slightly reduced frequency.
After some time, a few people began to break down and cry, the pressure that had built up over time now bursting forth.
"I want to go home!"
They had barely managed with the thought of holding out for 15 days, after which they could return, but now a traitor had emerged! No one knew who the traitor was or what they might do next.
What if the traitor really killed them? What would they do?!
A single stone causes a thousand ripples.
Some of the more timid among them couldn't help but start crying too.
"We're not dead yet! What are you crying for?"
Leopold, gritting his teeth, slapped one of them across the face.
The man, holding his cheek, looked at Leopold in disbelief, stunned.
Was he... was he just slapped?
Leopold felt his own palm tingling, a testament to the force he had used.
But he had no regrets; instead, he coldly surveyed the others.
"Whether there's a traitor among us or not, if you don't fight back at this moment, the only thing waiting for you is a dead end."
"If you want to die, jump now. Don't waste time here, and don't waste our energy."
Leopold's words were harsh, but they did serve to steady some of the people.
Everyone clenched their teeth and warily watched each other, then began to furiously cast their skills outward as if venting something.
Though still somewhat chaotic, the situation had somewhat stabilized, not as dire as it had initially been.
Leopold cast a worried glance in John's direction before continuing to monitor his own area.
He knew that Archibald was handling the situation with John, and someone needed to maintain order here.
He couldn't leave.
He must... keep these people in line!
After John woke up, there were other plans for him.
Meanwhile, Archibald, trembling, laid John flat on the ground.
His hands shook, yet he dared not touch John.
He could clearly see from the panel that John's health bar was continuously dropping, and the speed of the decline was terrifying! It only took two or three seconds to completely deplete a health bar, but then John's health bar would eerily refill.
This left them dumbfounded.
They knew John was poisoned, but they did not know with what poison.
Priests frantically cast healing spells on John and used various dispelling skills.
But it was of no use.
"It's no use! John is likely poisoned, and unless we remove the debuff, no amount of healing will help."
"What do we do now?"