After an hour, the guardians finished the funeral. Then, they left the graveyard except for Noah, Alicia, Xanali, Tanulia, and a blue-haired youngster with a tattoo of a tiny fish on the center of his forehead.

Noah hadn't seen the youngster before and was certain the youngster wasn't a guardian. So Noah wondered why he was there. He looked so young in Noah's eyes. If Noha had to guess he would say the youngster was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Despite the heavy downpour, the youngster remained dry and kept a calming smile on his face.

After everyone left, he approached Tanulia,

"I am sorry for your loss Alpha Guardian Tanulia Valren," the youngster had a melodious voice. It was so soft and soothing,

"Thank you and you are" Tanulia's voice trailed off as the young man smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth,

"I am Mutrad. Member of House of Haldir. I am here on behalf of the elders,"

Noah saw Tanulia's eyes open wide as though she was completely taken aback by surprise,

"Your kind haven't stepped onto the land in centuries," Tanulia was shocked,

In return, Mutrad just smiled,

"Dire times Alpha Guardian,"

"What's your purpose here Mutrad and how can the Guardian Guild be of your assistance?"

Noah creased his brows, wondering why Tanulia was acting so polite and courteous towards the young man. He had never seen Tanulia like this. Even when she met the elders of Awor Empress, she remained dominant.

"Guardian guild can stay away from our way and let us take care of the Dark Lord,"

"What?" Tanulia was stunned. Not only Tanulia but everyone who heard Mutrad's words was both surprised and startled.

Mutrad's smile was still on his face and although he looked friendly with the smile on his face, Noah sensed the dominance in his words.

"No offense Mutrad. But your kind has no right to meddle in our affairs," Tanulia's voice became cold,

"It's no longer your affair," Mutrad flicked his wrist as a golden parchment materialized in his hand,

"Read clause eighty-eight," Mutrad handed over the parchment to Tanulia.

While she was eyeing the contents, Mutrad began to recite what was on clause eighty-eight,

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"House of Haldir will have any and all rights to operate in any continents under Guardian Guild if or when they fail to protect a member of House of Haldir,"

Noah had a bad feeling in his gut listening to Mutrad,

"Additionally, the House of Haldir is allowed to use any and all of its resources to neutralize the threat and avenge the deceased however it sees fit,"

Tanulia could see each and every word on the parchment as Mutrad continued,

"The Guardian Guild will provide any and all assistance the House of Haldri requires. In case the House of Haldir requests the Guardian Guild to remove themselves from the investigation, they must agree,"

Mutrad's gaze swept across everyone standing in the graveyard. He stopped reciting the contents for a moment to build silence and let his words sink into their brains,

"In case of party A, the Guardian Guild failed to comply to the clause, House of Haldir and three halls of the proud Sea Folk race has all the right to wage war on party A and use any and all resources available to them,"

When Mutrad finished his last words, Tanulia looked flustered. Her hands slightly trembled,

"Peyton is a Guardian, not a member of House of Haldir," Tanulia growled,

Yet again, Mutrad flicked his wrist, taking out another golden parchment.

"When Peyton Colewin went missing, Stefan Colewin requested Peyton to be admitted into House of Haldir. This is the confirmation of her membership,"

Tanulia snatched the parchment from Mutrad's hand and opened it to see the truth about Peyton's membership in the House of Haldir. Tanulia couldn't believe her eyes. According to the navy blue sparkling letters on the parchment, Peyton was granted membership to the House of Haldir,

"How can you admit someone into your house without their consent?" Tanulia questioned Mutrad but looking at his smile, Noah knew he had an answer for that too.

"In case the requested party is not available to sign the contract, his or her blood relatives who must be a member of the House of Haldir can sign on their behalf,"

Tanulia didn't even think of going through the contract signed between the guardian Guild and House of Haldir as she knew Mutrad wasn't lying.

"Stefan Colewin signed the contract on Peyton Colewin's behalf,"

Tanulia looked at the parchment to see Stefan's signature on the contract.

Everything seemed to have been done legally by the House of Haldir, but Noah couldn't h

elp feeling like the House of Haldir had planned to step on their territory for a long time.

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It seemed to Noah that the House of Haldir was using Peyton's death as an excuse to spread their influence throughout the land. Apprehending the Dark Lord would definitely put them on top of the Guardians and also receive unprecedented support from the nobles and the Holy Church.

"Teacher,"

Noah called for Andreas in his mind as he saw no way to prevent the House of Haldir from taking away the case of the Dark Lord from them.

"You have to become a member of the House of Haldir Noah. That's the only way we can find the Dark Lord without facing the full wrath of Haldir and starting a war against two great clans," Andreas's grave voice sounded in Noah's mind,

"We will give you a week of time to hand over everything you have on the Dark Lord and sort out your affairs," Mutrad waved as the two parchments disappeared from Tanulia's hands,

"I assume we will get your full consent Alpha Guardian?"

Tanulia burned in anger as she felt like chopping Mutrad to pieces. But deep down she knew he was just a messenger. The last thing she needed was to cause a war between the Guardian Guild and the House of Haldir.

Hence, she had no way but to accept their terms.

"Yes you will," Tanulia nodded,

"Wonderful,"

Mutrad clapped his hands together excitedly before ascending to the sky. But unfortunately, the guardians could only stare at Mutrad disappear into the dark clouds in a few moments.

When he finally disappeared from their sight, Noah turned his gaze to Tanulia. He didn't utter any words, but Tanulia could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"You think it's my fault?" Tanulia asked, looking at Noah's expressionless face.

Noah remained silent,

"We can't let them bully us. Peyton is a guardian. I don't care what they say," Xanali stomped the ground like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. Still, Noah remained silent. His silence irked Tanulia more than anything.

After all, she couldn't bear the thought of disappointing the future Supreme Guardian.

"Noah" Xanali turned her bloodshot eyes at Noah,

"Say something. What's your plan?"

"Why bother?" Noah snickered,

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"I am not the one running the show here. We should follow our Alpha Guardian's lead," Noah was so disappointed in both Xanali and Tanulia to the point he didn't even want to talk to them.

He might be the god of light but even he had his limits. To be honest, Noah didn't want to blame anyone, but deep down, he couldn't help blaming Tanulia. Because of her rash decisions, they lost Peyton, Tiriana, many guardians, and their headquarters in Dradel.

The Dark Lord played them like they were kids. Noah lost count of how many times he told Peyton, Tanulia, and Xanali not to underestimate the Dark Lord. Still, they tried to capture the Dark Lord with their half-baked plan.

Thanks to them, Noah had lost the one advantage he had over the Dark Lord as now the Dark Lord learned that the guardians knew about the Spycams.

"We are not here as guardians Noah. We are here as Peyton's friends. You can speak your mind," Tanulia sighed,

"You want me to speak my mind?" Noah slowly walked toward Peyton's grave,

"One of the best is lying under six feet. The gravediggers are digging fifty-plus graves out there as we speak. The House of Haldir is pushing us aside. And last but not least, The Dark Lord learned that we know about the Spyders in your ship. So next time, he will come up with a new way to spy on us and we won't have a clue," Xanali saw Noah losing his calmness for the first time,

Suddenly, Noah slapped himself on the forehead,

"Pardon my mistake. There won't be a next time. Because we are not the one dealing with the Dark Lord anymore,"

Although Noah didn't raise his voice, his anger was apparent to everyone.

Tanulia was speechless as Noah took a deep breath and brushed Peyton's headstone gently. Meanwhile, Tanulia was shivering inside what Noah might do if he knew that Sabrina was taken hostage by the vampires and it was a part of her plan to get the key first.

Only Cat knew about Sabrina's whereabouts except for Tanulia. But she had no idea Cat was coming to her bearing serious bad news about Sabrina.

After his outburst, Noah felt kinda bad. So he turned his gaze back to Tanulia but when he saw Tanulia's silence and the deep concern within her eyes, he frowned,

"Do you have something to share Alpha Guardian?"

Tanulia was too concerned about Sabrina's InMoment in her plan as she didn't even hear Noah calling her,

"Alpha Guardian," Noah slightly raised his voice, and finally, Tanulia sna

pped back to reality,

"What? Go on," Tanulia mumbled, having no idea what Noah just said,

"Why do I feel like you're hiding something Alpha Guardian?" Noah asked. On the other hand, Alicia too felt the same just as Noah.

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"Don't waste time talking to these idiots Noah. Let's get out of here. We have more important things to do," Andreas snickered,

"You don't know everything Noah," Tanulia coldly cut off Noah so he wouldn't ask any more questions. At that moment, Tanulia could only pray that Sabrina would lead them to the key and come out alive.

Otherwise, she may have to pay with her own life.