Hubert sneered at him and everyone else. "I don’t know," he said, but the sarcastic smile on his face conveyed the opposite.
The serious one pondered for a moment, then glanced at everyone. "We don’t know if more monsters might emerge from the crack in the void, so we should enclose this area in a dome for the time being, for better or worse."
The other leaders nodded. It was the best they could do to counter any unforeseen situation.
"Hehe, I’ll take my leave then," Hubert said with a smile. "I believe with our deal, I don’t need to worry about the other group."
With those words, the members of the Monarch disappeared one by one.
Many were unhappy with them, some even angry for causing such a catastrophe, but they remained silent. The Monarch was the strongest force in the Valora continent and the most feared.
Ten years ago, there was no such force called Monarch. But in only ten years, a genius rose to prominence with the ambition of a dragon. He defied the rulers of the Central Region at the time, slaughtering them like pigs.
In the end, he built his own organization, the Monarch, and within just ten years, his strength reached the peak of the Valora Continent. He declared himself the Young Monarch of the continent.
Many feared his ways, but there were also those who worshipped him, hailing him as the greatest genius the continent had ever seen.
---
Beside the Rune Tower, everyone was waiting for someone to address the tense matter at hand.
Both Max and Veylin seemed on edge—Veylin itching to make a move on Alice, while Max was on the verge of killing Jessica.
This caused the tension between them to escalate to an extreme level.
However, everyone sighed in relief when a round figure made his way toward them. It was the kind one from the mercenary trio.
"Everyone dismissed," he said loudly, turning to Max. "Let her go. The situation has been handled already."
Max glanced at him and withdrew the purple flames into the lantern.
The kind one then turned to Veylin. "Take your group and leave the East Region. Otherwise, the consequences will be far worse."
Veylin gazed at him and nodded. "Don’t worry. I don’t plan to stay in this filthy region any longer."
But before he could leave, he turned his gaze to Max. "Between you and me… This isn’t over. I will kill you soon."
Max smiled in response, his expression turning sinister. "You can try, but you should also be prepared to be killed. As it turns out, I’m very keen on revenge." His voice carried an edge sharp enough to cut through the tense air between them.
Veylin glanced at him coldly and sneered. "We’ll see." With those words, he signaled his team, and they flew off into the distance, disappearing from the scene.
The kind one from the mercenary alliance glanced at everyone. "Go back to your guilds."
Max glanced at him before turning to Alice and Anton and walking toward them.
"How are they?" Max asked General Gale upon reaching them.
General Gale responded, "They should be fine, but Alice seems very weak."
Max frowned. He didn’t know what had happened to her to bring her to this state.
"What happened to her?" he asked.
General Gale shook his head. "I don’t know."
"I know what happened to her." Erica arrived with Elena and Nash before them.
Max turned to her, asking for an explanation.
Erica glanced at Alice, her expression turning solemn. "When the group from Monarch attacked, we didn’t stand a chance. We became desperate, so she used the World Destruction Flame Lotus here. Even though it didn’t kill them, the explosion was enough to draw everyone from the city to this area."
She sighed and added, "However, it seems she used something else at that time… It must have been the phoenix flames Veylin talked about. Because of that, she suffered immediate backlash after her attack."
Max frowned, glancing at Alice, his expression filled with worry. He touched her forehead and frowned even harder. "She has a high fever? She’s burning up," he said, glancing at Erica.
"Step aside, kids." Just then, a very solemn voice sounded as a lady appeared before them. She had long red hair, and her beauty was remarkable.
"She seems to have used her phoenix flames…" she muttered, glancing at her daughter with concern before turning to Max. "Report to me once everything here is over." With those words, she carried Alice and Anton away and flew off.
Max sighed, watching them leave. ’It’s finally over.’
"Good job," Nash said, slapping him on the back.
Max glanced at him and laughed. "You too… uh… what should I call you? Nash, Senior Nash? Adept Nash?" he asked suddenly.
Nash laughed lightly. "Since I’m older than you… just call me Brother Nash."
Max nodded and smiled. "Alright, Brother Nash. You also did a good job intercepting the green-haired duo."
He turned to everyone around him and said, "It’s all thanks to everyone here that we managed to save Alice. I’m very grateful." He bowed to all the generals and others who helped Alice when he wasn’t there to protect her.
"You don’t need to thank us, kid. We were just doing our job."
"Yeah, we were just doing our tasks. You’re the one who saved the day."
"You’re a true genius, kid. Not only did you save Alice, but you also stood your ground against Veylin."
"You did a good job, kid."
Max smiled, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the crowd, but he didn’t let it get to his head.
"Max, a word here," the man in the mask from the Black Lotus guild called.
Max glanced at them and walked over.
"Who was it that wasted so much money on me?" he asked curiously.
The man in the mask chuckled. "In our business, all our clients are confidential."
"Such sad news," Max shrugged sadly.
The man in the mask glanced at the lady beside him, his expression turning serious. "There are things I wish to say and ask, but I couldn’t do so."
Max frowned, his eyes flashing. "Is it related to the matter of my black flames?"
The man in the mask nodded. "I would like to invite you to my guild," he said, tossing a leaf burning in black flames. "If you ever decide to join our guild, this leaf will guide you to us."
Max caught the leaf and turned to him, his expression solemn. "Why are you trusting me so much with this leaf? I could give it to my guild, and that might reveal your headquarters."
The man in the mask grinned. "Only those who possess the Black Dragon Chaotic Bloodline will the leaf guide."
Max’s eyes narrowed upon hearing the bloodline mention. ’It seems they have the same bloodline, or should I say, the skeleton from which I obtained the bloodline was part of the Black Lotus guild?’ he wondered.
After pondering for a moment, Max put the leaf away and said, "I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to join the Black Lotus guild, but if I change my mind, I’ll come straight to your guild."
The man in the mask nodded, glancing at the lady before turning to Max. "We should leave. Also, if you want to fully unlock the potential of the black flames and access the inheritance behind them, you’ll have to join our guild. There is no other way."
With those words, he and the lady disappeared in a puff of black flames. At the same time, all the other members of the Black Lotus guild also disappeared with them.
’Their way of going and coming is cool.’ Max mused, deciding to think about the inheritance matter later.