" NOW ENTERING - Patriarch of the Titus Clan, the host of today's banquet, the crown jewel to the vampire army, the powerful, the magnificent, Vega Titus with his wife "
Vega entered the banquet and looked around to check if people gave him face by arriving before he did, and just like he expected everyone except the Caesar clan and the Aurelius clan were on-time.
Everyone flooded towards him to greet him and ask him questions, and after exchanging a few pleasantries they began popping him questions about Max's words as to how his request for aid was denied and how the actual situation on ground zero really was.
Vega was very pleased with Max when he heard the direction of the chatter, as he did his best to add fuel to the fire, just like he intended.
" Lord Vega, we spend so many resources to support the war on the three frontline planets, the hero Captain Ravans confession this time is most concerning I'm afraid " Ron Evra of the Evra clan ranked 11th on power scale said to Vega
" I know, I've been critical about this situation for a while now, although we spend billions of coins and send hundreds of thousands of troops to the frontline planets we are still understaffed.
Such misappropriation of resources, it's a grave issue.
No wonder we made no progress over the years, seems like the upper management doesn't want to make progress on the battlelines
If I didn't know better, I'd say they deliberately did so, to keep the war ongoing and the coffers of the various clans bleeding…. " Vega said, as although he played innocent, everyone knew that his words were just a facade and he was really throwing allegations towards Regus Aurelius.
According to Vega, this was entirely Regus's ploy to let all clans bleed strength for the betterment of the crown so that they could never rise in rebellion against it.
Although he explicitly did not say so, his words hinted towards this possibility.
" NOW ENTERING - The leader of the strongest clan amongst all vampires, the powerhouse and right hand man of the vampire king Regus Aurelius, Julian Caesar! "
All chatter regarding Vega's allegations stopped once Julian entered the room, just how the hostility between Vega and Regus was not hidden from anyone, everyone similarly knew that Julian was Regus's guard dog.
Nobody wanted to talk ill of the royal clan with him around as he was famously known for biting anyone who was critical about Regus Aurelius.
After greeting the various gods that came up to him, Julian looked at Vega with open hatred and disgust as the two shook hands in the most awkward way possible while staring into each other's eyes.
" I suggest you restrain your aura, there are children in this banquet " Vega said as he reminded Vega to not go overboard and spread his aura across the room to suppress everyone.
" I suggest you restrain your mouth, it's been yapping too much lately " Julian said in response as he retracted his aura completely.
Vega did not take the comment to heart he was used to this hostility from Julian, as although both of them were tier7, Julian was not as formidable of a fighter as Vega.
" I suggest you restrain your nose then, It's too far up the king's ass " Vega said as the awkward handshake turned into a contest of who could break whose bones and tolerate most pain.
" Surely such hostility is unnecessary darling…. Lord Julian, please enjoy this evening " Vega's wife said as she interjected to make the madness stop.
" If the lady says so, I shall obey " Julian eventually said as he stopped applying force to the handshake and let go while giving dirty looks to Vega.
Vega wanted to make a sly remark but he felt his back being pinched by his wife, so he wisely decided to shut-up and let the matter go.
" Look honey, Captain Ravans here, doesn't he look absolutely stunning? " The lady Titus said as Vega turned his eyes to throw a glance at Max and said " Not bad, you look like a hero from the Titus clan "
Vegas comment brought Julian's attention on Max as he threw an inspect spell on Max only to be shocked when he could not see his stats.
Julian tried again, and then yet again but failed all 3 times as he realised that something was definitely fishy.
" Captain, would you mind removing your mask? I really want to take a look at the hero's face " Julian said as he went over to where Max was standing and offered his hand to be shaken.
" I'm humbled that the lord wishes to see my unremarkable face, but If possible I'd humbly like to decline this request, I've decided to not show my face in public till I've got revenge for a dead family member " Max said politely as he gave a well thought reason as to why he did not wish to show his face.
Max knew if he said that his face was burnt or hideous or scarred, it would not serve as a deterrent for high ranking lords, who did not give a fuck about such things
But now that the reason was emotional, if Julian pushed him too much about it he would come off as a dick, hence he had no choice but to restrain himself.
Sebastian silently clapped for Max looking at his performance, his brother was getting better and better at lying through his teeth, he was becoming a true despicable aristocrat!
" I see…. Well we all have our own circumstances don't we. But would you mind explaining as to why I'm unable to check your status bar? I'm tier7, no matter how strong you are or what abilities you have you should not be able to hide from my gaze.
It worries me that I can't inspect you " Julian said as his words brought the entire room's gazes on Max.
Many tier5 powerhouses and tier6 gods had tried to similarly scan Max, however, everyone returned empty handed.
While it was a buzzkill, they did not have the balls to call Max out on it like Julian did, but now that the ball was rolling, they were interested in the results as well.
" What are you worried about eh Caesar? Everyone joining the Titus clan military has to sign a system contract and reveal everything about their personal stats.
You think I will let a suspicious person be the receiver of a red velvet banquet?
Do you look down on the Titus clan that much? " Vega said as his questions forced Julian into a corner, he had no option but to back off now.
" Very well, u guess everyone has their secrets " Julian said as he let out a deep sigh and then faked his congratulations towards Max for making great contributions for the crown.
Max felt uncomfortable talking to Julian, every question the other party asked was a trap, every movement he made was threatening, he was giving Max a hard time, but just when Max thought the evening was tough, the announcement from the doorman sent goosebumps down his spine.
" ALL KNEEL! NOW ENTERING! THE SUN OF THE UNIVERSE, THE KING OF KINGS, THE VAMPIRE MONARCH, THE PROTECTOR, THE ANNIHILATOR, THE WISE, THE WICKED, THE MAN WHO RULES IXTAL
KING REGUS AURELIUS "
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/// Bonus chapter for hitting the GT target, good job everyone! ///