"Fake invitation? But how is that possible? That’s the leader of the Everlight Moon Guild, right? It’s impossible for him to use a fake invitation!"
"But you’re saying the attendant is lying? That’s impossible, right? He wouldn’t make such a mistake that could ruin his entire career!"
"So what the hell is going on here? Does that mean Mr. Varnos actually used a fake invitation?"
While the people around them whispered and murmured about what just happened, Varnos’s face had darkened slightly. He was absolutely sure his invitation wasn’t fake.
No matter what, this was the invitation the Goblin Guild itself had sent him. So what the hell was happening here?
"Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? This invitation was personally sent to me by your guild leader," Varnos said.
"I don’t make mistakes. This invitation doesn’t have our guild leader’s seal on it, which means it’s fake! It’s better if you don’t waste your time and get out of here right now, or else I’ll have to call the guards to intervene."
"I am the leader of the Everlight Moon Guild. Do you really think I need to use a fake invitation?" Varnos asked with a cold expression.
"So what? Whoever you are, are you above the law or something? Besides, this invitation is fake. I don’t care about the details," the attendant replied. He didn’t look scared at all and clearly had no intention of backing down.
Daniel frowned as he watched the two argue. He could already guess what had probably happened. But did the Goblin Guild really need to resort to such low, dirty tricks?
Unless... they were extremely vindictive...?
"I never thought I’d live to see the day the leader of Everlight Moon Guild shows up with a fake invitation!"
"Maybe he wasn’t invited and used a fake one just to save face?"
"But that doesn’t make sense, does it? It was bound to get exposed anyway."
"I don’t know... maybe he thought the invitations wouldn’t be checked properly, or that the checker would be too scared of his identity to say anything."
"But they let the leader of their enemy guild, White Stars, in without even checking his invitation, right? Damn... this is a straight slap in the face to them."
Varnos’s expression grew even colder as he heard the whispers from the crowd. He wasn’t stupid. Just by seeing the playful, mocking look in the eyes of this invitation-checking attendant, he could tell this was all part of a setup.
’So they want to humiliate me and my guild, huh?’ He let out a cold snort.
His patience had limits, and it could run out at any moment. When that happened, nothing good would come of it.
But suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder. The touch snapped him back to reality. He turned his head and looked beside him.
"Leave this to me," Daniel said as he took a step forward.
He waved his hand, and the torn invitation pieces instantly returned to their original form. He held it in his hand and glanced at it.
"This invitation was delivered to us by a messenger from your guild. We have the identity of that messenger. With one call, I can find out his name. How about we check whether that messenger really belongs to your guild or not?" he said with a smile.
The attendant’s face twisted ugly when he heard those words. The higher-ups had instructed him to do all of this. If the name of that messenger was brought up, it would immediately become clear that they themselves had given the invitation.
What was he supposed to do now? If he refused, everyone would think they were lying. If he accepted, the lie would be exposed.
But before he had to say anything, his savior appeared.
"Is there a problem here?" A calm, masculine voice rang out. A man wearing a navy blue suit slowly walked out from the door and looked at the three of them.
"Greetings, Mr. Jason," the attendant immediately bowed deeply when he saw the man.
Varnos gave the man a cold glance. Of course he knew who this was too, and he instantly informed Daniel through mental communication.
’He’s the brother of the Goblin Guild leader.’
Daniel wasn’t too surprised. Now that the tables had turned and someone had come to "resolve" the issue, he was curious to see how this guy planned to handle it.
He quickly sized up the brother of the Goblin Guild leader with one glance. He didn’t feel the slightest hint of danger from him, he could crush him with a single strike if he wanted.
At best, this guy was an Early Rank S Awakened. He didn’t look like someone with any special abilities or hidden tricks. But from his face alone it was obvious he was arrogant, the type who genuinely believes he’s the best in the world.
Even though he hid it pretty well, Daniel could still catch a trace of hostility in his eyes, hostility directed not just at Varnos, but specifically at him too.
Varnos made sense... the guy had plenty of reasons to hate Varnos. But why the hell did he have personal beef with Daniel? It was unlikely to be just because he was part of the Everlight Moon Guild.
A moment later, the attendant explained the entire situation in full detail.
"So that’s what happened," Jason’s face looked mildly surprised, as if he had no idea about any of it.
"I didn’t expect Mr. Varnos to do something like this, and I doubt he would. Still, someone of your stature doesn’t need an invitation at all to enter," he added with a smile.
Varnos glanced at Daniel, as if asking for his opinion, should they drop it or push further?
Daniel answered by taking one step back. The guild leader stepped forward and replied with an indifferent expression.
"I didn’t expect your guild leader to forget to put his seal on my invitation. It seems the older he gets, the more his mind wears out," he said, then walked straight into the palace. Daniel followed right behind him.
Jason kept his smile until the very last second, but other emotions were hidden in his eyes. Without saying a word, he turned around and left the area as well.
After entering, Daniel and Varnos went straight to the main hall where the ceremony was being held. They found an empty table and stood around it. There were no chairs for the guests to sit.
"I didn’t expect them to pull such a cheap trick," Daniel said.
"Neither did I, but those bastards are even bigger bastards than I thought," Varnos replied.
"That was probably just a small welcoming gift for our arrival. They might have even dirtier tricks prepared," Daniel nodded in agreement.
He was now certain the Goblin Guild really had plans for them. He raised his guard. The incident from a few minutes ago had been resolved without any fight or major problem.
But he guessed the whole thing had been designed to anger them and tempt them into making the first move and starting a conflict. It was probably a simple probe, and they themselves didn’t expect it to succeed.
But even that was a clear sign of what their real plan was.
Varnos was about to say something when suddenly an arm was thrown around his shoulder. He felt the presence of three people right beside him.
"Haha, Varnos! It’s been a long time since we last saw each other!"