'Yeah, well, there goes that idea,' Kyle thought as he looked at the Second Advisor of Winterfire.
The Second Advisor of Winterfire and the First Advisor essentially had the same power. They were both just "normal" Transcendents.
Yet, even that was too much for Kyle.
Was it absolutely impossible to win in a battle?
No, but it was practically impossible.
The difference in their powers was about the same as the difference in power between a regular dog and a lion.
With a good and perfectly timed bite, the dog might be able to sever a lion's arteries or crush their trachea. Then, the dog just had to run around until the lion died.
But did that actually happen in real life?
It was a theoretical possibility, but it actually never really happened.
"Why are you hesitating?" the Second Advisor asked Sebastian, the silver-haired man.
Sebastian looked at Kyle, who looked back.
He didn't immediately answer.
"Hey, I'm just on my way through," Kyle said. "I'm going to join the Duchy. I'm neutral."
The Second Advisor looked at Kyle like he was an insect.
"You have just killed over 10% of our most powerful people, and now you claim to be neutral?" she asked with a cold voice.
"Eh, want me to do the same thing to the Skysand people?" Kyle asked, pointing back. "I can totally do that."
Sebastian blinked a couple of times in surprise when he heard Kyle.
The Second Advisor looked at Kyle with narrowed eyes, trying to see whether or not he was joking.
Kyle seemed to be serious, and yes, he also was actually serious.
Why not?
Just killing a bunch of random people he didn't know in exchange for survival was a favorable trade in his mind.
When the Second Advisor realized that Kyle was serious, her demeanor became even colder.
A traitor.
Somebody who would kill their countrymen to save their own skin.
Deplorable and despicable.
"Sebastian," the Second Advisor said with a warning tone. "I gave you an order."
Sebastian furrowed his brows in annoyance before looking back at the Second Advisor. "You know, you're giving me a lot of orders without giving me anything in return."
"This is not the time," the Second Advisor said. "We already promised you an Ether Essence as soon as the war is over."
"Oh yeah?" Sebastian asked with a snort. "You, as in you personally, told me that I only needed to break the fortifications, which I have already done. In exchange, I would get an Ether Essence."
Sebastian pointed at Kyle. "A True Battle was not in our agreement."
The Second Advisor looked at Sebastian with annoyance, but she didn't look at him in the same way as she looked at Kyle.
There was still some camaraderie in her eyes.
"I realize that I am asking more than what you are supposed to do," she said. "However, you must keep in mind that today is not a normal day. We have to work hard today so that we don't have to work hard tomorrow."
Sebastian didn't look appeased. "And before you gave me this order, you told me that I just had to kill the Lieutenant General of the Skysand Kingdom and a couple of people in the Third Realm. As a reward, I would get an Ether Essence. What happened to that?"
"This is not the time, Sebastian!" the Second Advisor reprimanded.
"No, this is exactly the time," Sebastian said. "Remember one year ago? You told me that I would be chosen as the next Transcendent during the next great battle! In essence, you promised me an Ether Essence."
"You owe me three Ether Essences! If you are going to promise me another one for killing him, you owe me four!" Sebastian said.
"Ridiculous!" the Second Advisor said with a snort. "You are getting the one Ether Essence you asked for! You have to remember that every Ether Essence is important to the Winterfire Empire. With our old number of Ether Essences, we couldn't have-"
"Couldn't have what?!" Sebastian asked with a shout. "You had one to give away! You told me it's mine! Then, you handed it to fucking Harald! Fucking Harald!"
Sebastian grandly gestured in the direction of the central landmass. "Harald can't fight his way out of a paper bag! Hell, send Harald to me right now, and I will still tear him to shreds! I don't care if he's a Transcendent already!"
The Second Advisor took a deep breath while Kyle and Selene were just waiting awkwardly at the side.
'Kinda weird to listen to an office argument that decides whether you die or not,' Kyle thought.
"Harald is the Third Advisor now!" The Second Advisor reprimanded with a very annoyed tone. "Whatever difference you might have had in the past no longer matters! He is your superior now, and threatening your superior is the quickest way to the afterlife."
"Wait, you guys believe in the afterlife?" Kyle asked.
"Silence!" the Second Advisor shouted, her icy wind pushing Kyle and Selene back a couple of meters.
"Harald?!" Sebastian shouted in shock. "My superior? Are you actually for real? "
"Of course!" the Second Advisor said with a snort. "He is a Transcendent. You are not a Transcendent."
"Hooooo," Sebastian breathed and looked to the side as if he had just heard the most offensive thing.
Kyle glanced at Sebastian.
'This Harald guy doesn't seem very powerful, but Sebastian still claims that he can kill him, despite Harald being the new Transcendent,' Kyle thought.
'Sebastian doesn't seem stupid. Is he talking out of his ass, or is he serious?'
As Kyle looked at Sebastian, he realized something.
Sebastian felt extremely dangerous.
As in, appropriate-for-a-True-Battle dangerous.
This guy was essentially just as powerful as Kyle.
It had been forever since Kyle had met someone who could be a danger to him without a level advantage.
'That's actually impossible, unless…'
"Hey," Kyle said. "You got four sparkly bits in your body?"
Sebastian quickly turned his head to Kyle with raised brows. "Wait, you too?"
"Brah, I thought I was smart by following my instincts," Kyle spoke in English.
"Wait, you followed your instincts?" Sebastian asked. "I just did a bunch of calculations and experiments and came up-"
"THIS ENDS NOW!" the Second Advisor shouted, shaking the world.
Kyle and Sebastian looked at the Second Advisor, who glared back.
"Hey," Kyle spoke in English.
"Up for a Gank?"
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