They were right besides James yet they couldn"t even see his shadow. The moment they realised that James was not by their side, he was already standing in a distance with a head in his hand.

They couldn"t help but feel the sweat dripping from their forehead. But at the same time, there was an excitement in their eyes.

Maybe they could really…

" So, what about you all?"

James threw the head in his hand before speaking. There wasn"t a single speck of blood on his clothes.

The others four finally exchanged glances with one another before one of them stepped forward.

" I am Willing to follow you. From now on, I, Victor Edwinson will be at your call as long as you fulfill your promise."

" I, Arnold Bargese shall follow you too."

" I am Volford Achilles. Let"s get along.", the guy said with a laugh.

" I am Reinard Markman. Even though my last name is different. I belong to the Walker family.", the guy said with a straight face.

" Oh! So it"s the b.a.s.t.a.r.d child of the Walker House.", Volford said with a laugh.

Hearing him, Reinard"s eyes turned bloodshot and killing intent started to leak out of him.

The house of Achilles and the Walker house weren"t on bad terms. But still there were some past few incidents which had left a bitter feeling between them. How could Volford allow this chance to go?

" Volford and all of you. Let me remind you. From now on you all will be my followers who will take control of your families for me. I  don"t want any fighting between you guys. You should know that there won"t be a lack of people who would want to take your place." 

James warned all of them before taking four black-colored pills out of thin air.

He pa.s.sed one to each of them. 

They obviously knew that it was definitely something to keep them under control. But one had to pay the price. There were no free meals in the world. Besides, even if they didn"t want to take it. Did they have any choice? There were only slim chances of them being able to escape from James if they ran in all four directions.

So, they gritted their teeth and swallowed the pill.

After a few seconds, they felt their body throbbing. 

" Ahh!!"

One of the guys screamed before falling onto his knees.

Within a few minutes, all four of the guys were on the ground screaming in pain.

On the other hand, James ideally sat on the rocking chair as he calmly observed them.

Suddenly, a person appeared by his side. This person was none other than the Instructor of the Mage Department. He stood beside him like a servant and watched the scene in front of him.

" Is it done? ", James asked calmly.

" Yes, Master. The experts from the a.s.sociation are dead. Do you want me to kill everyone else?"

" No..leave them. The experts from the a.s.sociation were a.s.sa.s.sinated only because they had let their guard down right?"

" Yes ", the man replied after hesitating a bit.

" I know at your level, you are more than enough to kill them. But it isn"t possible without causing a ruckus. But still, it is nice that they are dead. With them gone, things will go more smoothly. As for the instructors, they are all together. You won"t be able to do anything. Besides, what if there are experts hidden in Instructors. I can"t let a single mistake foil my plan which I have prepared for the past 3 years.", James replied as he shook his head.

 " Then Master what if the Instructors interfere when the chaos begins.", the man asked.

" Here take it. You know what to do with it, right?", James smiled as he pa.s.sed a brown pouch to the Mage Instructor.

" Beast Dust! "

The man uttered in shock.

It was a forbidden item and it"s smell can irritate the mana beast to go mad.

At this moment, the mana in the surrounding surged forming a whirlpool around the four guys on the ground before disappearing.

The four of them got up one by one and looked at their body in surprise. They could feel a strong force coursing through their body. They had even broken through a couple of layers. 

" Haha..this feels great!"

" Yeah!..I will finally kill them who called me a b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

" Have you had enough of the celebration. If yes then I have got a job for you." James said beckoned them to come forward.

If it was a moment earlier, those four definitely would have a nasty look on their faces. But now, it looked as if James would ask them to bark, they wouldn"t dare to "meaow".

" Just say it. We will do anything for you.", Victor stepped forward and others followed his steps.

" Good! Go and kill as many contestants you can. But remember to spare those first in line heirs."

" Why only the first?", Volford asked with a nasty expression. The other people"s expression turned sour too.

These guys obviously hated these first heirs. They wanted to kill those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds more than anyone else.

Hearing him, James stood up and the next moment he was already beside Volford.

" You seem to have misunderstood something. But since this is your first time, I will let it go.", he spoke as he rubbed the dust off of Volford"s shoulder before further continuing.

" No one questions my decision."

The words were simple but the look in James" eyes and the tone of his voice made all the people in the surrounding to s.h.i.+ver even in the hot summer.

Everyone felt their back drenched in sweats the next moment. They didn"t know why but they felt as if they had lost control over their lives a while ago.

" Now go, and make sure to hide your ident.i.ties."

The four guys nodded before disappearing.

Leaving behind James and the Mage instructor.

" You can go and use the Beast Dust on the Instructors.  After that go and wipe out Team 11. That bunch has really been lively all these years and has always been getting in my way."

Looking at the guy who appeared to be in confusion, he spoke.

" I just want to be sure... Norek Blaze, I really have no idea about this guy. He gives me an odd feeling. Just go and take him down. Today is an important day. I want it to be error free."

The instructor nodded before disappearing.

The area turned quiet and tranquil.

9 hours before the beast horde...