Chapter 471: Grin
"Unacceptable."
Morgan's words caused the military tent to practically freeze over.
General Song frowned, looking toward the professor with a sharp gaze and an unhappy twist to his lip.
"Professor Hayes, this is-."
"Don't try to belittle me, General. I've allowed your rules and regulations to put up guardrails wherever you may please in the past. Have I ever resisted your orders before?
"But you seem to have forgotten that we are not in a subordinate-superior relationship. In fact, in the eyes of the Celestial Republic, I am no less important than you are.
"I might listen to your words when it's a matter of safety, but you know nothing about my field. So I would suggest that you show the same level of deference that I have given you in these last several months in matters such as these."
The atmosphere seemed to solidify as silence fell over them all. No one dared to speak or even breathe too loudly as the two men faced off.
The Summoning had changed a lot of things, but they were men of the government. Even if it was just on the surface, they had no choice but to do their best to follow the rule of law.
No matter how weak Morgan was, he was seen to be a valuable asset to the government, and he was one of the few experts that could decipher the secret of the Great Celestial Wall.
On top of that, after the matters of today, the wall had likely become an even more high- priority item.
If in the past it was just speculation, the fact those alien races had suddenly appeared on the wall today said everything that needed to be said. If anything, after today, Morgan's standing among them all might even be higher than that of General Song.
Of course, this was a military tent of high officials, so there was no doubt that most of them were tacticians politically savvy enough to see through this.
As for what they were arguing about, it was unsurprising that it was related to the Basilisk King.
General Song wanted to try to torture the beast to see if there was any information they could get out of it. After all, according to reports, Morgan had successfully communicated with it. And in order to uphold appearances, Morgan had no choice but to pretend that this was the truth as well.
If torturing didn't work, General Song wanted to send the creature back to the government to be kept under secure lock and key.
Obviously, Morgan couldn't accept this, so he refuted, and he actually had strong reasons on his side. After all, everyone had seen the Clypsians use some sort of beast-controlling art. It was easy for him to divert attention from what potential connection the Basilisk King might have with Sylas and turn it to a connection it had with the alien races instead.
According to Morgan's woven tale, the Clypsians tried to establish contact, but General Song chose to capture the beast and shred apart their goodwill.
Morgan was arguing that they should treat the Basilisk King well and even send it back if possible.
But obviously, General Song wasn't a fan of this. The alien races had to be studied and understood, but they were not friends. Those high up in the government knew exactly how dangerous they could be in the right circumstances.
General Song bit back the actual words he wanted to say, but the gloominess between his brows painted its own story.
"You had better forget about sending this beast back anywhere."
Although his tone was tough, it was clear to them all that this was actually him taking a step back.
"Call Grin back."
Morgan's heart shook when he heard this.
Grin.
The military wasn't known for its anomalies. It was strict in hierarchy and order, and the only times clashes like the ones between General Song and Morgan might occur were when they came from vastly different fields.
Under normal circumstances, there would be an obvious hierarchy between them as well. But because Morgan was an academic and General Song was a military man, their relative positions were a bit more murky, leading to the current confrontation.
Grin, however... was an outright anomaly.
Morgan knew that his situation in this place wasn't the best, so he had only continued to follow orders and never fought back while gathering as much information as he could through silent observation.
But the one man he didn't actually understand was this "Grin" character.
He didn't seem to have an official military rank, but General Song had an odd deference to him that almost seemed to stem from... fear. But at the same time, General Song seemed to love the idea that Morgan was so in the dark about this man and often used it as a power play to suppress Morgan.
"You already sent him?! This-!"
"I called him back, didn't I?" General Song snarled. His patience was wearing thin.
Morgan's expression flickered with anger, but he calmed himself.
"Take me to the snake."
---
Morgan rushed into the dark tent only to be hit by a stench of blood.
He could see very clearly, and it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust, but even during that period, the first things he saw were a pair of bright yellow eyes staring with almost
vacantly.
No, it wasn't a real vacancy; it was almost a reminisce, an unwillingness, a detachment from
the current reality and the seeking out of another.
When his eyes finally did clear, Morgan saw the scene in full.
There was a man who stood before the Basilisk King with a curved blade in hand. Blood drizzled down the length of the dagger as another scale was almost carelessly flicked off of the Basilisk King's body.
By now, the Basilisk King had practically been skinned alive, his proud count clanging to the ground like loose change.
However, those eyes continued to stare, seemingly right through Morgan.