Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 151: A Way Out

Caleb felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach the moment those four made their move. Without hesitation, he used his magic, swifly teleporting out of the Duke’s office and triggering all the security protocols.

Instantly, the entire castle and knight base were notified of the presence of an intruder. The knights wasted no time and rushed towards the private chambers of the Duke’s family, others made their way towards the office, the private forces included.

Unfortunately for them, the intruder was no longer in the castle. Caleb had already made it inside the Commander’s office. However, he wasn’t alone.

The four individuals who charged at the location were impressively fast, arriving just in time to meet Caleb in the act of freeing Jess from her bindings.

There was no hesitation in their movements as the hooded individuals surrounded the base and abruptly cast destructive spells at the building, completely ignoring the knights and officials who were still inside.

BOOM...!

"Ah...!"

The knights in the vicinity of the explosion exclaimed in horror as the fiery shockwaves blew them away, the shrapnel and bricks hitting them like stray bullets.

All this happened in the span of a second, too fast for many to even react.

"What the hell is happening?!" The Duke demanded as he backed away, his attention drawn to the blaring alarms coming from his castle and the explosion that took out the Knight base.

Duke Coldmere was very confused. How the hell was Caleb able to infiltrate his estate without him or his men knowing? Moreover, how were the hooded individuals able to tell that Caleb was here?

He had many questions, but more than that, he was worried about his family. The Duke rushed off in the direction of his castle without even getting a reply to his question. The knights he came with quickly followed behind him as was their duty.

"Tell your men to activate the magic sealing poles!" The lead hooded individual turned to Axel and instructed. "That explosion won’t be enough to take him out." frёewebηovel.cѳm

Commander Axel gritted his teeth in anger. Seeing his men being treated like worthless objects nearly drove him mad. Unfortunately for him and his men, their feelings had to be put aside for the sake of the operation.

He turned to look at one of his lieutenants and they nodded in understanding, running off to carry out the order.

"Timothy, go inform the bounty hunters to get ready as well." He turned to another knight and instructed. The knight nodded as he too ran off to carry out the instruction.

Turning to face the hooded individual who identified himself as Luc, Commander Axel demanded coldly: "Was that necessary? You just said the explosion wasn’t enough to take him down!"

Since the explosion was not enough to cause Caleb harm, the commander wondered why Luc ordered his men to do that.

"Yes," Luc replied coolly, leaving the Commander speechless. "If that Caleb is as strong as I think, then it’s going to take a lot more than a little explosion to defeat him."

’A little?!’

Commander Axel exclaimed inwardly. That explosion took out the entire base, leaving behind a deep crater over 70 meters in diameter. The foundation was gone, exposing a scorching earth with dense smoke rising into the night sky.

"That’s the bare minimum needed to defeat someone like that," Luc added as he took a step forward and disappeared in a burst of speed, heading towards the site of the explosion.

At the edges of the crater stood his men, ready and alert, their senses focused on the centre of the smoky crater. Around them, the knights and bounty hunters rushed to take their positions while others helped the injured escape.

They had managed to activate the magic draining poles as seen from the large purple magic circle in the sky, successfully putting the area spanning over 50 meters in radius on a magic lockdown.

Among the bounty hunters who rushed to the scene, Crusher went the opposite direction with the intent to prove his thoughts. From the commotion going around, the tigerkin knew Caleb was on site.

However, Caleb couldn’t be at two places at once, especially now that the site of the explosion was put on lockdown. The tigerkin swiftly arrived inside, and as he expected, Belzac was gone.

’I knew it!’ Crusher clenched his fists as he rushed back outside, heading for the team responsible for watching the poles. ’Things could get messy real quick. I can’t stand by and watch that innocent girl get hurt; it’s now or never...’

After several seconds of watching the explosion die down, the leading hooded figure called out in a loud voice, his arms folded over his chest.

"You can’t hide in there forever, Mr. Zane! Your tricks may have fooled these men, but not us. You should know this place is on lockdown... There’s no way out for you."

"Is that so...?" Caleb’s voice resounded from the thick smoke, making the knights and bounty hunters tighten their grip on their weapons.

Most of these knights and bounty hunters were on the outside of the locked-down space, leaving just the hooded individuals, Commander Axel and a few powerful knights inside with Caleb and Jess.

Even as they stood there at the ready, they could all feel the drain of their mana reserves. The artefacts didn’t differentiate between friends or foes, affecting everyone who dared to step within its bounds.

The only way to get things done was by using physical abilities, and these five Creed-of-Assassin-looking guys were very confident in their physical prowess.

"I’ll make you an offer." Luc ignored Caleb’s taunting remark and said. "Come with us, and this will all go away."

"What?!"

Commander Axel was the first to react to those words. Apparently, everyone after Caleb had their own agenda. More than eliminating him, they were interested in his power.

Ignoring the Commander, Luc added. "I can tell you’re incredibly strong, far stronger than anyone in this backwards kingdom." Multiple glares came his way, but the figure didn’t mind.

"What if I tell you you can become a lot stronger? Your talents are impressive, and I can assure you my superiors will welcome you with open arms."

Luc didn’t initially believe the rumours about Caleb. However, the moment he picked up on Caleb’s domain, he knew the rumours failed to do justice. ’The people of this kingdom have no idea what they’re throwing away...

’Not that it matters...’ Luc shook his head. ’It will be over soon...’

As most of the thick smoke cleared away, the silhouette of Caleb and Jess could be seen, drawing everyone’s attention to them. From what they gathered of Caleb’s silhouette, they noticed him performing basic stretches.

"How about a no?" The stretches came to an end as the reply came. "I’m quite comfortable where I am..."

"Very well..." Luc unfurled his arms as he too cracked his neck from side to side. "Don’t say I didn’t give you a way out."