Chapter 210: Resolution
In the frantic, bloody days that immediately followed the restaurant incident, total chaos descended upon the Dragon God Clan.
Several highly fortified locations both inside and outside of Reverse Scale City were violently bombarded.
They were systematically dismantled by a small, elite group of humans who came and went exactly like ghosts.
They would appear completely without warning, entirely bypassing the ancient, defensive magical barriers of the city.
An ancient, heavily guarded clan treasury would be completely emptied out in a matter of seconds.
A vital, frontline military outpost would be brutally destroyed, its defenders left groaning in the rubble.
A wealthy noble's private, priceless collection of artifacts would completely disappear overnight without a single trace.
And before absolutely anyone could sound the alarm or react, the human raiders would already be completely gone.
Even with the Almighty Duke Ao personally keeping a furious, suffocating watch over the entire city, they couldn't stop it.
By the exact time his elite guards noticed something was wrong and mobilized, Ethen and his group had already vanished.
Jormungander's absolute spatial warping made tracking them completely impossible for the enraged dragons.
It quickly became a deeply humiliating, highly predictable cycle for the proud beast-kin.
The dragon clan would franticly prepare their defenses in the east.
Ethen would seamlessly warp in and attack somewhere completely different in the west.
They would aggressively mobilize their entire army to surround a compromised district.
He would instantly disappear into the spatial void, leaving them grasping at empty air.
Then, a completely different, highly sensitive location would be hit before they could even recall their troops.
Eventually, the leaders of the Dragon God Clan had absolutely no other choice but to forcefully negotiate with the dragon council.
The entire situation had become far too embarrassing and financially devastating to allow it to continue.
Of course, officially stopping Ethen's relentless, ghost-like raids came at a massive, humiliating cost.
The arrogant dragon god clans had secretly attempted to assassinate a formally recognized human envoy.
They had completely, spectacularly failed.
And now, the ruling Dragon Kings were being forced to publicly compensate him for the trouble they had caused.
For the next several days, tense, highly political negotiations continued behind closed doors.
But Ethen wasn't particularly interested in sitting at a table and formally negotiating with cowards.
He simply wanted his compensation delivered directly to his hands.
And if the arrogant dragons were entirely unwilling to give it to him willingly, he was more than happy to take it himself.
"City raiding really is a fantastically efficient way to make money."
Standing calmly on the windy peak of a jagged mountain far away, Ethen looked down at the enormous capital.
He remained well within direct viewing distance of Reverse Scale City, a highly satisfied expression resting on his face.
His recent, rapid-fire raids had been incredibly, overwhelmingly profitable for his cultivation journey.
Every single time he returned to the Bastion, his glowing spatial storage rings were completely filled to the brim with priceless treasures.
Heavy, enchanted weapons forged from rare metals.
High-grade, refined crafting materials stripped directly from the clan vaults.
Bottles upon bottles of condensed, high-tier cultivation pills.
Incredibly rare biological resources meant only for royal bloodlines.
He had even stolen several ancient, glowing treasures that he didn't immediately recognize or fully understand.
The dragon clan was simply too wealthy, and they had grown entirely too comfortable in their hoarding.
Unfortunately, his highly lucrative little hobby was about to be officially interrupted.
"A formal summons?"
Ethen looked back over his shoulder at the young, heavily sweating man standing nervously behind him.
The terrified man was a low-ranking noble from one of the dragon families.
He had been sent specifically, as a completely expendable messenger, to deliver the official Bastion document.
"Yes, Honorable Messenger."
The young dragon man smiled awkwardly, his vertical pupils contracting as he stared at the ground.
"The Bastion is officially holding a top talent screening this week."
"After the Blazing Star's successful ascension to Angel, a massive position has permanently opened up among the younger generation."
"The Dawn Faction desperately needs a capable representative to attend the ceremony."
He nervously stepped forward and handed over the heavy, sealed document with trembling hands.
Ethen took it smoothly, his dark eyes immediately scanning the thick, magically enforced seal resting on the envelope.
"This seal is flimsy."
His eyes narrowed in deep, critical suspicion.
"How exactly did you draconic bastards easily get a verified stamp directly from Ulric?"
The young man's scaly expression immediately became incredibly awkward and fearful.
"Ah... I truly do not know the political specifics, sir."
Ethen simply stared quietly at him, letting the heavy, suffocating silence stretch out.
The young man swallowed hard, terrified that the human was about to draw his blade and sever his neck.
The absolute most powerful, legendary warrior of the Dawn Faction had apparently just given Ethen direct permission to leave Dragon Ridge.
And this lowly messenger was clearly, physically uncomfortable hearing Ethen casually call the terrifying Angel by his personal first name.
"Whatever."
Ethen finally waved the trivial matter away, breaking the heavy tension.
Then, he looked directly back toward the sprawling, heavily fortified expanse of Reverse Scale City.
"Just go back and tell your Dragon council to immediately send me my money for the Blood Serpent God meat."
The young man's facial expression twitched violently at the sheer, unapologetic arrogance of the demand.
"If their deep pockets are suddenly empty and they can't pay in cash, they can use rare crafting materials."
Ethen casually raised a single finger, pointing it directly at the terrified messenger's chest.
"If they stubbornly refuse to do that, I'll happily take their equivalent military points directly with the Bastion."
He paused, letting the cold, unyielding reality of the threat completely sink in.
"Tell them to make it snappy."
A highly dangerous, unhinged smile slowly appeared on his handsome face.
"If the entire debt is not fully sorted in exactly one hour, I'll raid their inner city vaults."
The young man immediately nodded his head rapidly, not daring to argue.
"Yes, Messenger! Right away!"
Ethen turned around smoothly and confidently walked away, entirely dismissing the dragon from his presence.
At the very edge of the steep cliff, he sat down completely casually with the heavy summons resting in his hand.
He casually broke the magical seal and opened the thick parchment, beginning to read the intricate text.
"Top talent screening..."
His dark eyes moved rapidly down the length of the page, absorbing the military jargon.
Then, they completely stopped.
"Oh."
Ethen's dark eyebrows slowly rose in genuine, mild surprise.
"It's actually a dual ascension ceremony?"
He continued reading the heavily detailed, highly classified document.
Then, a deep frown formed on his face.
"Who the hell is Falcon?"
...
At the exact same time.
A heavily armed group of brutal, battle-tested warriors entered the inner gates of the Bastion.
Thick, dark blood violently stained absolutely everything in sight.
Their jagged, heavily notched blades.
Their torn, highly expensive silk clothes.
Their thick, reinforced metallic armor.
Even the heavy military transport vehicles they had confidently arrived in were coated in gore.
The entire silent group looked exactly as though they had just barely survived a massive, horrific massacre on the front lines.
At the very front of the grim procession stood a young woman, dressed entirely in pristine white robes.
Despite the shocking amount of fresh blood heavily covering her expensive clothes, her facial expression remained completely, chillingly calm.
"Welcome back safely, Youth Leader Falcon."
A highly familiar, incredibly imposing figure quickly appeared at the grand base of the Pyramid of Karth.
"Senior Ulric, long time no see."
The young woman smiled bitterly, her eyes completely devoid of warmth.
"Truly."
Ulric returned the tight, uncomfortable smile before turning his broad back toward the towering pyramid.
"Come inside. We have a lot of important things to discuss."
The bloody group followed him silently, their heavy boots echoing loudly on the ancient stone.
As they began climbing the massive, steep stairs, Falcon deliberately walked right beside Ulric.
She had already asked him a highly sensitive, deeply personal question several minutes ago.
And judging strictly from the cold, unyielding expression on her face, she wasn't going to let him escape without answering it fully.
"I absolutely don't think you can be so easily replaced."
Ulric sighed heavily, the weight of the entire Bastion seemingly resting firmly on his broad shoulders.
His tired eyes briefly shifted downward toward the newly ascended Angel standing among the bloody group.
"He's just a highly promising young man. Nothing more, nothing less."
Falcon's sharp eyes narrowed dangerously into thin slits.
She looked at the legendary warrior from the side, a deep, mocking sneer forming on her lips.
"Just a promising young man?"
"Yes."
"And yet, you willingly, publicly made him a divine Messenger of Karth."
Ulric remained completely silent, his jaw clenched tightly as he stared straight ahead at the pyramid doors.
Falcon's calm expression instantly became slightly more annoyed by his stubborn, cowardly silence.
There was something much deeper, much more toxic hidden directly behind her clipped words.
Deep, unadulterated jealousy.
Perhaps even a burning, violent resentment.
The legendary Blazing Star had successfully ascended to a higher realm.
A massive, highly coveted position of absolute power had opened within the military ranks.
And now, out of nowhere, there was another young, untested talent receiving all the attention from the Dawn Faction.
Falcon had once proudly stood at the very top of the younger generation's hierarchy.
She had been the undisputed Youth Leader, the shining beacon of the Bastion's future.
Now that she had finally paid the bloody price and become a fully realized Angel, she should have had even more absolute authority.
Yet, she still seemed entirely unwilling to graciously let go of her former position and the spotlight it brought.
"Hm."
Falcon arrogantly raised her chin, her eyes flashing with cold fury.
"I'm not blind, Ulric."
She stepped aggressively forward, her bloody white robes brushing loudly against the ancient stone steps.
"I bled for this faction for years, and you never once made me a Messenger of Karth."
Ulric's tired expression became incredibly complicated, filled with deep regret and unspoken secrets.
Falcon completely ignored him, walking directly into the dark pyramid without ever looking back at him.
Standing entirely alone behind her on the massive steps, Ulric could only sigh heavily into the wind.
The fragile political situation surrounding Ethen was rapidly becoming far more complicated by the day.
And now, the Bastion was about to officially gather all of its most talented, dangerous young warriors in one room.
For a highly prestigious position that had just become completely vacant.
A prestigious position that Falcon clearly had absolutely no intention of surrendering quietly to anyone.