Chapter 1260

When Stellario and Hayden spoke at the same time, their eyes met.

Without any hesitation, they turned on their heels and left, walking in separate directions.

Merilyn was the only person left standing in her original spot, seemingly overwhelmed by this display.

Everything the two of them did was very natural and brisk.

Hayden had never accused Stellario of not valuing benevolence or compassion. Stellario, on the other hand, had not claimed that Hayden was indecisive.

Everything was as it should have been.

Stellario and Jonathan’s collaboration was only made possible with Seboxia’s coercion. The main purpose was to keep an eye on each other in the small world so that they could escape together.

When Hayden was outside of the small world, he had plunged himself head-on into the battle at River Onyx to defend Beshya’s borders out of consideration for Joshua’s patriotism.

After this happened, Hades used the Eastern Army’s special missiles as a threat to shield Hayden as well as the Zink family, thus pulling them into the Asura Office faction.

As such, Hayden was now someone associated with Asura’s Office.

Using his capacity as the head of Asura’s Office, Jonathan issued an announcement to the Eight Great Families to defend the Zink family. This kindness was something that Hayden had to repay, even if it cost him his life.

Merilyn glanced around before finally gritting her teeth and rushing off to follow Stellario to the peak.

Hayden, who was still holding his saber, plunged into the thick clouds of dust and smoke below.

When he arrived at Jonathan’s last known location, Hayden thrust his saber into the rock once more.

“Mr. Goldstein, are you still alive? Please respond if you can hear me!”

Hayden repeatedly thrust his saber into the stone wall to descend by a few dozen feet, combing through the area bit by bit.

“Mr. Goldstein?”

Hayden descended once more. Just as he was about to continue on his search, he felt a rope bind itself around his waist before yanking him toward the mountain wall with full force.

In the dark cave, Hayden kept a steady grip on his saber in a downward slashing motion, but he suddenly felt someone’s tight grip on his wrist, preventing him from moving in the slightest.

“It’s me!”

A familiar voice was heard, and Hayden’s once-ferocious gaze suddenly melted away into a bright smile.

“Mr. Goldstein! You’re alive—”

Hayden had just exclaimed in joy when Jonathan forcefully clamped Hayden’s mouth shut.

“Do you want to give away our location?” hissed Jonathan through gritted teeth.

With a wave of Jonathan’s hand, he summoned the bronze handbell which then encapsulated them both inside.

Under the golden glow of the bronze handbell, Hayden monitored his surroundings carefully.

Right now, both Jonathan and Hayden were in the middle of the mountain wall. The surface of the wall was extremely smooth, which implied that it was clearly unnaturally formed.

“Mr. Goldstein, didn’t you say that your Elemental Extrication Technique was useless here?” asked Hayden, using hushed tones.

Suddenly, realization dawned upon him as he pointed squarely at Jonathan and exclaimed, “How shameless of you to lie, Mr. Goldstein!”

“Pfft!”

Jonathan merely reached over to swat Hayden’s finger out of the way.

“Why would I lie to you about this? My Elemental Extrication Technique is, in fact, useless. Ever since we entered the arena, I’ve tried to use it. However, my spell will only penetrate the ground by a few feet before encountering resistance from another formation. However, as long as I’m not burrowing downward, then I can use this technique on anything else.”

After listening to Jonathan’s explanation, there was a look of contempt on Hayden’s face.

“Hang on. Despite the lengthy explanation, you still hid this Elemental Extrication Technique from us!

We were so close to dying, but you chose not to use it earlier. You’re such a d*ck!”

A d*ck?

Jonathan gave Hayden a pointed look and slapped him on the back of the head.

“Who are you to call me that? I was kind enough toward the Zink family. Yet, I’m the d*ck?”

Hayden grinned and held his sore head.

“Darn, I think I’m being kind enough to you as well. I think Stellario couldn’t care less if you lived or died. He turned around and ran straight toward the peak.”

Jonathan rummaged in his pack for a few Spirit Rejuvenating Pills and gave some to Hayden before swallowing two himself.

“We’re only collaborating. I think it’s normal for him to abandon me in the face of life and death. You, on the other hand… I never expected you to come back for me.”

“Of course!” replied Hayden with a smug grin. “We’re sticking by the code of chivalry!”

“Okay, that’s enough messing around for now. You should hurry up and recover some of your spiritual energy. Who knows how many tough battles we have to fight,” said Jonathan.

“Tough battles?” Hayden was briefly stunned. “We’re going to reach the peak soon. After this, we can all exit the arena.”

“And then what?”

Jonathan’s gaze was fixated on Hayden.

“What?”

Hayden was a little confused by Jonathan’s question.

Meanwhile, Jonathan gave Hayden a slight nod.

“Yes, and then what? What will you do after you regain your right to live from Ascension Peak?”

“Well, I…”

Hayden was momentarily stunned by Jonathan’s question.

Jonathan sighed helplessly when he saw Hayden in this state.

“Just think about this. We’re now somewhere in the middle of the Outer City of Yannopolis, right?”

Hayden nodded gently. Jonathan then took out his tactical knife and drew two circles in the dirt.

“Look here. The big circle is the Outer City of Yannopolis. The small circle is the arena we’re in now.

After we receive our rights, we can only leave the small circle. How are we going to leave the big one?”

Jonathan paused and added, “Apart from the Outer City, we still have to contend with Yannopolis since they control the Outer City, as well as the small world we’re in. So what’s the point in leaving the arena? We’re still going to be subjugated, and we’ll have no free will.”

After hearing what Jonathan had to say, Hayden looked visibly deflated.

“What are we going to do? Surely we can’t spend the rest of our lives lingering in the small world?

We’re not free even though we’re hiding in here. I reckon it’s wiser to reach the peak so that we can live.”

Jonathan tossed over a can of beer at a listless-looking Hayden.

“Do you really believe that the peak is our ticket out of here?”

“What else would it be?” Hayden leaned against the protective light of the bronze handbell with a look of resignation. “We’re like sitting ducks here. Do we even have the right to choose?”

“No,” replied Jonathan with a laugh.

“It’s like you said. We’ve been completely manipulated by them, and now our only way out is through the peak. This was their rule all along, and we had no say in it. However, did they say when we had to reach the top?”

Hayden clutched his beer and shook his head.

“So, you’re saying that…”

Jonathan laughed gently once more.

“There are at least a few thousand earth-based cultivators in this arena. They’re basically waiting for us to show up at the base of the mountain,” said Jonathan.

“Has nobody thought of waiting at the peak right away?” asked Hayden.

“Just you wait. I think the peak must be quite lively right now.”