" So let me get this straight, because I can't wrap my head around it properly- " Rhea said as she stared Regus Aurelius dead in the eye in her human form which was no less intimidating than her dragon form.
" You want me to give the responsibility of defending my disc to the elves who have already failed to defend theirs, just so that I can rally the righteous dragon forces and help you raid Satan? " Rhea asked in a sarcastic tone as Regus felt tongue tied.
When she phrased the question in such a manner his idea did not seem all that appealing.
But it was precisely because she was focusing on all the wrong aspects that the plan sounded so redundant.
" Tell me vampire monarch, why can't you take the elves with you to help in your raid?
The elves don't even have a disc to protect, they are wandering scoundrels anyway.
Take them on the raid, bolster your numbers, heck even take the elf monarch with you, have a little tag-team action.
Why must you need the help of my kind? " Rhea asked as she backed Regus into a difficult corner with this question.
Rhea knew that everything that Regus was suggesting uptil this moment was sophistry and that he was attempting to sugarcoat a bad vegetable and offer it to her as a muffin, but she saw right through it.
Left with no option, the vampire monarch had to come clean as for the first time in his life Regus bowed his head and said " Yes, you're right….
I can take the elves with me to battle, and if you don't agree to this arrangement that is probably what I will do.
I also understand that for your clan the better option is to fight a defence focused fight than to join us in a raid.
That way less dragon's would die and you would have the advantage of having already set up retreat channels and reinforcement centres, however, I'm still asking you to join us because I know for a fact that only dragon's can take down dragon's.
The elves can try poking a dragon's hide with a thousand arrows and we both know they won't flinch.
For nothing else, but to reduce the losses on my end, so that my people don't die in vain, I request your kind to suffer and join me in battle "
Regus came clean about his intentions and Rhea's eyes widened in disbelief.
Of Course she knew this was the exact reason behind Regus coming to her for help, however, she had never expected him to admit it.
What was more was that Regus even bowed a little before her after accepting that his request was for the benefit of the vampires and not the dragon's.
The action of a tall, proud monarch bowing for the betterment of his people was not something Rhea saw everyday, but it just went to show how much Regus cared about his people and how the lives of his underlings mattered to him more than his own pride.
Rhea pursed her lips when she saw this as she fell into deep contemplation.
Initially she had already made up her mind to reject the vampire proposal, however, Regus's demeanour made her reconsider.
Her blood still boiled at the dark faction defectors of the dragon clan as although Lucifer was the one to eventually kill her husband, it was the defectors that invited the devil into the dragon household.
Her hatred for the defected clans was even more pronounced than her hatred for Lucifer himself and she could not wait to slaughter every last one of them.
She understood the demerits of the vampire proposal, however, it was undeniable that if she teamed up with them she would be able to get a taste of revenge.
Moved by Regus's sincerity, she decided to make her final decision after talking to the other elders as she told Regus that she needed time to think and would let him know of her decision after one day.
********
( Meanwhile Sebastian )
Sebastian was sleeping soundly in his tent when a gentle breeze tickled his ears and forced his eyes to open.
" Who? "
Sebastian jolted into action, worrying that he was going to be assassinated, however, before he could even draw his sword from his inventory he found his hands tied and his face forced into the ground.
" Only two skeletal guards of tier4 outside your tent for security as you sleep so soundly with your way of the wind senses turned off…..
Is this how I've taught you? " A familiar voice said as Sebastian brightened up listening to it and said " mwster? "I think you should take a look at
His voice sounded a bit muffled since his face was planted firmly in the ground, however, Kremeth could still hear the elation behind it.
As Kremeth let Sebastian get back to his feet, he felt something wet dripping down his leg as instead of standing up Sebastian began crying and violently kissing Kremeth's feet as he showed him heartfelt affection.
The warrior and the man inside Kremeth was disgusted at this show of emotion, however the kind teacher inside him felt all mushy inside.
Of his three students, two were broken ability users and extremely competent, while one was the weakest and his favourite.
" I've missed you masterrr…. The battlefield is extremely scary, I- I can't- *blows nose* it's soo hard " Sebastian said incoherently as Kremeth not wanting to deal with the snot kicked him off.
" Way of the coward, the lesson for today- Never sleep without proper protection, else you shall never wake up to see the light " Kremeth said as Sebastian nodded profusely and seemed to be enlightened.
He had already posted two guards outside his tent, however, it was clearly not enough.
Thankfully his master was here to educate him and correct his mistakes before they became fatal.
" Why are you here in such a dangerous place, master? " Sebastian inquired once he regained his senses a bit as Kremeth sighed at the question as it hit a nerve.
Kremeth had internally turned into a softie and after Angakok's attempt at Max's life he could not help but think that he had not done enough for his students to keep them safe in the universe.
This feeling was especially strong towards Sebastian, as Kremeth felt that with how dangerous the universe was slowly becoming he needed to groom the boy better.
He had secretly decided that he was growing old and no longer needed the ' Vayu-Astra ' and had decided to hand it over to Sebastian, however, to not make it obvious he made up a bullshit reason and said
" There are some duties that a coward can't avoid my boy, sometimes there are fights that can't be avoided and it is precisely for those fights that we train and grow stronger.
This dimensional battle is one which can't be avoided by me.
Even Though it's the second great war I'm seeing in my lifetime, for the light faction, I need to fight and come out of my retirement.
Naturally, I'll do it my way. The coward's way and the right way…. " Kremeth said as listening to his words Sebastian's eyes sparkled like he was mesmerised.
Kremeth was the only individual Sebastian aspired to be like and it showed in his idolisation of the god.
Seeing those big sparkly eyes, Kremeth fumbled for words as he felt mushy all inside once again as he said " So I'm here so that you don't slack and become a god faster.
Come on let's go destroy some orbs so that no bastard can say I did not train my disciple…. I mean did not contribute to the war.
You are 90 levels away from reaching the tier limit, hmm, hmm that's two days worth of constant farming.
Come on-
Tier6 is important ".
Kremeth's words made no sense at all, however, Sebastian never had any aversion to whatever his master said, hence he was ready to follow him at a heartbeat's notice.
As the turtle- dwarf duo exited the tent with the intention of training, Kremeth paused for a moment as he looked at a peculiar old man who was smiling as he looked at his direction.
There was something about the faded blue eyes of this old man that gave Kremeth the chills, however, a quick scan of the old man revealed him to be only a tier1 warrior.
Sebastian, who saw his master making eye contact with the old man got on his tiptoes as he whispered into his masters ear
" Master, that old man is a wackjob, just yesterday I caught him staring into the distance and laughing like a madman.
It's best not to make eye contact with such people, what if his madness is contagious?"
Kremeth who heard his disciples whisper looked away from Rudra and began to walk off with Sebastian, however, what he did not tell his disciple was that his back was drenched in sweat from this brief period of eye contact as if he were looking at a celestial rather than a mortal.
Kremeth knew the identity of the old man wasn't simple, however, he did not have the guts to even begin to explore what it really was.