While Cethus was staring down the Rankers and High-Rankers of the Vahan Empire, the guild chat of Heaven's Gate had turned very lively.
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Cai: Go Cethus! Damn, I never thought you had it in you. The readers and I had almost given up on you, but you're making us so proud of you right now. Mad respect bro, mad respect! For someone who was dropped when he was still an egg, you are seriously bringing out the big guns and taking one for the team. Is this what they call character development?
Gerhart: This Idiot is done for. Lux, maybe you should hire the Game-shin Impact Merchant Guild to make a marble coffin for this fool.
Keane: Rose taught me a lot about flowers. I can probably pick some good ones to put in his grave.
Lux: Sounds like a great idea. I'll also pick some flowers in the Outer Reaches. What quote do you think is good enough to put on his tombstone?
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The corner of the Dragon Born's lips twitched as he read the chat logs in the Guild chat. Unable to take their bullcrap any longer, he retaliated and sent his thoughts, making everyone know how displeased he was.
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Cethus: You ungrateful bastards! Who do you think I am doing this for?! Instead of supporting me, you're even badmouthing me? You damn f*ckers!
Cai: Why should I support you? Those are Rankers and High-Rankers. I only bully the weak and fear the strong. I don't want to die, you know?
Gerhart: Stepping into the argument of others… who do you think you are? Do you seriously think you're a big shot or some kind of hero? You're just a Cethus. You should know your place.
Keane: A wise man once said, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Please, do carry on.
Lux: Cethus, if you have any treasures hidden somewhere, now is the time to reveal their location. It is best to share your blessings with others.
Cethus: You damnable motherf*ckers!
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While the Guildchat of Heaven's Gate had turned into a cursing war, Aron, who had deemed that Prince Cyrus' condition wasn't serious, looked at the imposing Dragon Born in front of them.
A single glance was enough to tell him that the Dragon Born was only of an Initiate Rank. Had this been an ordinary situation, he would have ordered his men to capture Cethus and Lux so that he could punish them for attacking their Prince.
However, he couldn't put out such orders because of Cethus' Race.
Even Prince Cyrus, who was known to be a very arrogant and aggressive individual, held back as he glanced at the black-robed men that were observing everything from the side.
Cethus, who had reached the limit of his anger because of his Guildmates' bullsh*t, glared at the Rankers and roared.
"Didn't I tell you maggots to kneel and apologize to me!" Cethus roared in anger. "Do all of you really court Death? Do you really wish to face the might of the Dragon Kingdom's Army?! Do you dare?!"
"Shut up, Weakling!" a D-Ranker from the Vahan Empire shouted back. "You are the one who should know your place!"
Without another word, the Ranker charged at Cethus with his blade poised to strike. However the next moment, the Ranker found himself hitting the ground face first, as one of the black-robed men stepped on his head.
"You are as arrogant and obnoxious as the last time I saw you, Cethus," the black-robed person said. "One day, that stupid mouth of yours will cause your death."
Cethus looked at his own clawed hand and rubbed it over his plated armor before blowing on them as if he had everything under his control.
"And you are?" Cethus asked in an arrogant tone. "Your voice sounds familiar. However, do you know that it is impolite to not show your face in front of a Royal Guard of the Dragon Kingdom?"
"Cheeky brat, you don't really know how to spell the word death, do you?" the black-robed person replied before taking off the hood that covered his face. "You're the only one who has the guts to talk like this in front of me."
After removing the hood that covered his face, the expression on Cethus' face changed to that of surprise because he never expected to see a familiar face so far from their Kingdom's zone of influence.
"Uncle Piccoro?" Cethus blinked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
The black-scaled Dragon Born snorted before kicking the D-Ranker toward the other Rankers that belonged to the Vahan Empire.
Aron and Prince Cyrus had been wanting to ask the Saint why he attacked their man when they were all supposed to be on the same side.
However, after hearing the younger black-scaled Dragon Born call the powerful Saint, Uncle, they all decided to keep their mouths shut and think of a way to salvage the situation.
"Now you call me Uncle, you brat?" Piccoro walked forward and smacked Cethus' head making the latter cry out in pain. "I should be the one asking you questions. What are you doing here?"
"Um, I already said this earlier, Uncle," Cethus replied with a face filled with injustice. "I'm here to supervise the Half-Elf. This is an order from the Dragon King himself."
"Oh, him?" Piccoro glanced in the Half-Elf's direction before narrowing his eyes. "If it had been any other Dragon Born, I would have already smashed their head into a pulp. You're lucky your two Grandmas love you very much."
Cethus smirked at his Uncle before shifting his gaze to the person that was still being protected by the three other Saints.
"Does the Crystal Palace have business with the Domain of the Fallen?" Cethus asked his Uncle, who was still eyeing Lux with an appraising gaze.
"That's none of your business, you brat," Piccoro replied. "Have you forgotten that Karshvar Draconis and the Crystal Palace don't see eye to eye? You should just go back to your Floating City and stay out of trouble."
Cethus firmly shook his head and once again crossed his arms over his chest.
"No can do, Uncle," Cethus stated. "I already mentioned it earlier—I'm here to supervise Lux. As for why the Crystal Palace is here, I am willing to keep this a secret from the Dragon King for Grandma's sake. Although he doesn't look like it, he still honors the Oath he gave hundreds of years ago."
"An Oath of Convenience," Piccoro scoffed. "We don't recognize him as the true and rightful king of the Dragon Throne. He's just an usurper."
Cethus sighed before shaking his head. This issue had long started even before he was born, so he had no intention to make a big deal of it. Karshvar Draconis and the Crystal Palace were like oil and water.
Once the Dragons and Dragon Borns from both sides meet somewhere in Elysium, there was a high chance that it would immediately escalate into a fight.
Piccoro wasn't lying when he said that if the Dragon Born wasn't Cethus, he would have already killed him to ensure that their secret wouldn't reach the ears of the Dragon King.
"Uncle, I'll just say this," Cethus said with a solemn face. "Lux and his comrades are my Guild Members. I would appreciate it if you don't do anything to harm them."
Piccoro didn't reply right away. Truth be told, their goal was to take something that belonged to the Dragon Race from within the Domain of the Fallen.
It was a treasure that had been given to a Saint of the Human Race by the former Dragon King, which the latter used to fight against the Duke from the Abyss, sealing the Devil inside the Domain of the Fallen.
If not for the fact that the Artifact they used to find the Domain's location had just been fixed recently, they would have long conquered the Four Gates of the Apocalypse and retrieved the Demigod-Ranked Artifact that had been sealed inside it.
Now that the location had been discovered by Humans and quotas used to enter it were limited, they had no choice but to use the Humans as cannon fodder in order to get what they wanted.
The Crystal Palace had a Pseudo-Demigod artifact that would allow them to enter the Domain of the Fallen, so they didn't need to forcefully take the quotas of the teenagers who managed to conquer it in the past.
However, at most, they could only bring thirty people inside, and all of them had to be Initiate and below.
They had brought enough loyal Dragon Borns from the Crystal Palace who were still of the Initiate Rank, in order to assist their leader to conquer it without fail.
Part of their plan was to coerce Lux, as well as everyone who belonged to his team, to work for them, just like they did with the Vahan Empire.
However, Cethus' existence was a variable in their plan that they had to carefully consider.
"Who are the people that belong to that Half-Elf's group?" Piccoro asked.
Immediately, Jasper and the members of the Xynnar War Pact moved to stand beside the Half-Elf.
Val, Enlil, Einar, and Henrietta also moved toward the Half-Elf, bringing their subordinates with them.
Cethus gave these people a side-long glance before shifting his gaze back to his Uncle.
"Uncle Piccoro, although Lux is the only one that I am supervising, I consider the rest of these Low Landers my servants," Cethus stated. "Rest assured, I will not interfere with your plan to clear the Gate of Famine. However, I will also lead these people to clear it as well. May the best team win."
Piccoro laughed after hearing Cethus' words that were filled with determination.
"Fine," Piccoro replied. "Since they are your servants, we will not take the initiative to attack them. However, if they get in our way, we will not hold back. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sure," Cethus answered coolly. "I've always wanted to see how strong the younger generation of the Crystal Palace is. I hope I won't be too disappointed."
The thirty black-robed individuals that belonged to the Crystal Palace all glared at the arrogant Dragon Born. However, since they were all wearing hoods, their expressions couldn't be seen so easily.
Cethus then glanced in the direction of the Rankers of the Vahan Empire and clicked his tongue.
"What are all of you doing staring at me like idiots?" Cethus asked. "Didn't I tell all of you to kneel and apologize? Dumb Humans, do you still not know your place?!"
Piccoro crossed his arms over his chest and glanced in the direction of the Vahan Empire. His gaze was telling Aron and Prince Cyrus to just do it already so that they could already go inside the Domain of the Fallen and start the expedition.
Left with no other choice, Aron, Prince Cyrus, and all the Rankers of the Vahan Empire knelt and apologized, making the corner of Cethus' lips curl up into a smile.
After this incident, everyone belonging to the Skystead Alliance, Xynnar War Pact, and Six Kingdoms drastically changed their impression of the Half-Elf, who had a very strong backer supporting him.
What they didn't know was that the arrogant Dragon Born, who had made the proud Prince and Rankers of the Vahan Empire kneel, was gloating in the Heaven's Gate Guild Chat, making all of his Guildmates want to spit on his face so badly.
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