Chapter 464 464-A Tense Standoff
In the heart of the Naga Faction, within the Queen's palace, the Naga Queen scrutinized the three intruders before her, finding their arrival peculiar.
"Why have you intruded into our Naga Faction? What is your purpose here? If you seek to investigate clues about the Mystery forces, why come to us?"
The Queen's direct questions to John reflected her need to understand the situation as the supreme ruler of the Naga Faction.
John's facial expression was tense, even somewhat fierce - an appearance to outsiders, but internally, he was seething with anger.
Upon laying eyes on the Naga Queen, he had confirmed that she had indeed been tainted by the Mystery forces, validating his previous suspicions.
"Why are you silent? Did you not hear Her Majesty's question?"
Shatras, standing beside them, expressed her annoyance at John's lack of response.
John's discovery about the Naga Queen significantly changed the dynamics of their interaction.
The situation was now fraught with complexity and danger, as he had to navigate this encounter knowing the Queen was under the influence of Mystery forces.
Although Shatras thought that John had enough strength to converse on equal terms with Her Majesty the Queen, when faced with the Queen's questions, John did not offer any response. Wasn't this a bit too impolite?
As Shatras reminded him, a slight relaxation appeared on John's face.
However, he did not lower his guard, believing that the Naga Queen might attack him at any moment.
"My purpose here is quite simple; I just want to investigate clues about the Mystery power. Your Majesty, don't you really know any clues about the Mystery power? Are you not aware of a mysterious entity known as the Mystery Saint? I think you should be very familiar with the Mystery Saint," John said.
These words made everyone in the Naga Palace fall silent. Adam and Blue Sea, who had accompanied John to the Naga Faction, understood the underlying meaning of John's words.
Both of them were ready for battle, believing that the Naga Queen had been exposed by John.
After being exposed by John, the Naga Queen might become enraged and choose to attack immediately.
The other Nagas in the palace did not immediately show their stance.
Shatras was still unclear about the situation and found John's words quite difficult to comprehend.
The more experienced Nagas seemed to grasp the meaning behind John's words.
They could only direct their gazes towards the Naga Queen, trying to deduce something from her facial expression.
Only the Naga Queen remained remarkably calm, seemingly unsurprised by John's statement.
"What's the matter, Your Majesty? You haven't answered my question yet. I have already used my question to respond to your earlier one. As an exchange, shouldn't you also answer the question I asked you? Are you really not familiar with the Mystery Saint at all? Have you truly not collaborated with the Mystery Saint?" John inquired.
At this point, everyone in the palace understood the implication.
They seemed a bit overwhelmed, finding John's words incredibly hard to believe.
One of the Naga tribe members stood up and said loudly to John, "Aren't you being a bit too presumptuous? The one speaking to you is Her Majesty the Queen. Why do you dare speak to Her Majesty with such a tone? This is the Naga Faction, and Her Majesty the Queen is the most precious being here. It's already a grace that she deigns to answer your questions. It's perfectly normal for her not to wish to respond."
Facing this sudden outburst from a noble of the Naga Faction, John remained unconcerned, as he considered the opponent hardly worth his attention.
Although the noble's status was indeed more precious than that of the other Naga guards, he was just an ordinary Naga, lacking substantial power.
While John remained silent, Blue Sea spoke up, "I believe the one being exceedingly presumptuous here is you. You're just a common noble, yet you dare to interrupt John. Do you not realize how powerful John is? Are you unaware that John has twice saved Storm City in the past? As one of the strongest in the Order Faction, John's conversation with Her Majesty the Queen is naturally on equal footing. Her Majesty should answer the questions John previously asked."
Blue Sea's statement left the other Nagas even more bewildered.
All of them turned their gazes towards the Queen, as they felt she indeed should provide some answers.
The Naga Queen, with a calm expression and a gentle gaze, looked at John.
After a moment, she directly provided her response.
"I do not know who this Mystery Saint you speak of is, nor have I collaborated with him. Why do you think I would collaborate with him? Is it simply because you detected traces of Mystery power on me?"
The Naga Queen openly addressed John's discovery.
As she spoke these words, the atmosphere in the palace grew tenser.
Everyone could feel the severity of the situation, knowing that a direct confrontation might soon erupt.
John appeared hesitant in response to the Naga Queen's answer.
He thought that as a member of the Order Faction, the Naga Queen should be aware of the threat the Mystery Faction posed to the Order Faction.
So why would she candidly admit to having Mystery power within her?
Did she not care about this matter at all?
Or did the Naga Queen possess such confidence that she believed she could eliminate John and the other two right there?
For a moment, John couldn't come up with a perfect explanation.
Therefore, John did not directly answer the Queen's question.
A slight smile finally appeared on the Queen's face.
"I am aware of what you are suspecting, and I am also very clear that it's not just you who harbors doubts. Even some within the Northern Myst Empire are questioning me. They think it's possible that I have collaborated with the Mystery Saint. Some even believe that I have allied with the Dark Realm. Do you think I have collaborated with the Dark Realm?"
Faced with the Queen's question, John slowly shook his head.
He did not believe that the Naga Queen would cooperate with the Dark Faction, as the Nagas and the Dark Faction were complete enemies.
John had read about the history of the Naga Faction in books.
Since its inception, the Naga Faction had faced several attacks from the Dark Realm.
Had it not been for the assistance of other members of the Order Faction, the Naga Faction might have been completely obliterated by the Dark Realm.
"The reason why traces of Mystery power are present on me is because I have indeed collaborated with the Mystery Saint. The sole purpose of our cooperation was to ensure the safety of our Naga Faction. Although the Mystery Faction is very hostile towards you, they do not show hostility towards us Nagas. The Mystery Saint even considers the Naga to be the most talented of all creatures."
The Naga Queen finally revealed her secret, a secret that was apparently known to some other members of her tribe.
John, however, was dismissive of the Queen's explanation.
He believed that the Queen had been deceived by the Mystery Saint, who would not provide any additional help to the Nagas.
"Your Majesty, you are being overly na?ve. You have been deceived by the Mystery Saint. He will not offer you any help in the future. I am even certain that the threats your Naga Faction is currently facing are caused by the Mystery Faction. If you do not believe me, I am willing to explain it to you. Of course, if you do not wish to hear my explanation, then I will have no choice but to consider you an enemy. As a member of the Order Faction, I cannot possibly agree to your Naga Faction collaborating with the power of Mystery!"
John's tone became very cold as he spoke.
In his view, if the Naga Faction truly collaborated with the Mystery Faction, then he would have no choice but to consider them enemies.
The Naga Queen's eyes flickered slightly.
She had assessed John's strength and did not believe she could eliminate him quickly.
If she couldn't swiftly defeat John, he would undoubtedly cause significant destruction to the Naga Faction.
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