Chapter 148: The Grand Meet!
The space warped from the sheer heat that smoked out of the Killdeer Mountains, now reduced to a valley of black glass and char.
The dragon beat its wings against the air, smoldering fumes streaming from its snout.
It growled in brewing fury... a livid glint flickering in the depths of its slitted eyes.
The humans had definitely gotten away. As a dragon, it was well familiar with the intoxicating smell a burning human gave off, and it detected none of it.
It was filled with rancor...
Its maw parted, letting out another sky-shaking roar.
Meanwhile, beneath it, the new batch of Bloodborne appeared in troves.
A figure leading this batch frowned at the sight that lay before him.
Then he glanced at the sky, narrowing his gaze at the sight of the dragon.
But it was clear there was no fear in his eyes. His figure took to the skies, riding the wind.
Arriving fearlessly before the dragon in the air, an ancient dialect rumbled from the Bloodborne’s throat...
"What happened here! Did you kill my people?" The Bloodborne questioned, a chilling glint blooming in his gaze.
In his eyes, after appearing and seeing nothing but scorched earth as far as the eye could see — plus the dragon in the sky — he quickly deduced the absence of Kaiden and his team had to do with this dragon.
The dragon glanced at the Bloodborne rising to its side, its gaze brimming with disdain as it let out a smoky snort.
In comparison of size, the Bloodborne was akin to a mouse before the grand majestic frame of the dragon.
The dragon kicked at the wind, suddenly flying away in a huff.
The Bloodborne frowned at the lack of reply and lack of regard, but he still couldn’t bring himself to attack.
The myriad races had all signed a treaty: as long as humans remained overlords, they couldn’t antagonize each other.
Hence why doubts to his conjecture remained at the back of his mind.
And without proof, attacking a dragon kin would be stupid — especially flame dragons, vengeful sons of bitches that thrived on grudges.
Suddenly, a figure slowly streaked closer from the horizon.
The Bloodborne squinted, and his eyes lit up with recognition the moment he realized who it was — Kaiden!
"Leader brother, you are here..." Arriving before his brother, Kaiden smiled wryly.
But his brother didn’t smile back. Instead, his frown deepened. "Where’s your team?"
Letting out a weak sigh, Kaiden responded, "All dead."
His elder brother’s eyes turned cold at that answer, a crimson tint stirring across his frame, reflecting his rage.
"The dragon?"
Kaiden hurriedly shook his head, embarrassment and shame eating him alive.
The Bloodborne were also known as the undying among the myriad races. They were dubbed so due to the difficulty in killing one.
As their race was practically immortal... well, as long as their blood crystal remained in place, that is.
But now all dozen or so Bloodborne under his command had died. It was a shame and disgrace to him and to his line.
Hesitation marred his expression, his tongue feeling heavy.
His brother pressed, "Then who?"
Kaiden’s expression twitched, then in a resigned tone he replied, "Humans... a frightening human to be precise!"
The area went silent. The Bloodborne below were listening. He could feel the mocking gazes boring into his back.
His expression twitched once more, his hands clenching into fists, his heart bleeding with shame.
’Human, just you wait. I will return this humiliation by a thousandfold!’ Kaiden swore internally with gritted teeth.
The only reason he was alive was because of the coincidental intervention of the dragon. The humiliation burned deep.
All his life, humans had at most only ever amounted to nothing but a nice snack in his eyes.
Just like a human would grade a cow as beneath him, seeing it as nothing but food.
It wasn’t that he specifically looked down on humans — it was just how it was. Humans were prey, and they were the predators.
But today his worldview had been flipped over. The prey that wasn’t supposed to be able to resist his might in the slightest had flipped the script, shattering his pride and sending him fleeing.
It was a humiliation he’d remember, one that he would avenge at all costs.
His brother frowned. Surprisingly, his gaze wasn’t carrying the same mocking light as the others as he pondered silently.
"Don’t think of it much. If the hegemon title didn’t have its perks, we wouldn’t be fighting for it..."
The words shocked Kaiden. He had expected ridicule and insults, but never this.
They gracefully alighted from the air, setting their feet on the scorched earth turned glass.
Staring at their surroundings, the elder brother frowned. "This is bad. How are we supposed to start rebuilding a fort?"
Since the blood world had integrated into the Killdeer area, moving it was impossible, meaning they were stuck in this now barren land.
But Kaiden was unconcerned by this, and more interested in something else...
"Brother, when will we begin our attack on the humans? When is the grand meet going to take place?"
His elder brother glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and remained silent for some seconds before speaking.
"You will have to be patient. All that will be decided during the grand meet in three days’ time..."
Kaiden blinked... the grand meet!
A great gathering that would be the first of its kind on Earth.
A gathering of myriad races that consisted of all enlightened lifeforms of Earth — except the humans.
It was the day they would designate roles, divide territories, and structure a plan for the downfall of the humans, the undeserving hegemons.
After thoroughly crushing this race of over-glorified apes, they could then truly begin the grand battle among themselves to see who truly deserved the title of hegemons.
You see, truthfully, most races didn’t think much of the human race. To them, the war that was about to commence would merely be a one-sided slaughter.
A slight inconvenience that they had to correct. No one thought much of the humans.
After all, how much could this inferior species amount to?
Humans were their weakest. Since their brotherhood into evolution, a good one-tenth of their history was spent as slaves.
The only thing that changed across millennia after millennia was simply the masters.
But their status as slaves remained constant — until the grand rebellion that pushed ancient races into forced slumber.
That rebellion gave humans a chance at reigning as the sole overlords of Earth for centuries. Well, now that the big players were back...
In their eyes, it was only a matter of time before reality shifted back into how it was meant to be.
Kaiden licked his lips with silent expectation, Seth’s figure burned into his mind.
"Just you wait, human. I will make sure you understand your place!"
