After the Valrens left the Inn, the Thusians had the place to themselves. Except for the girl the king sent with them, they all remained in the hall, enjoying their hot beverage and the fireplace. Unknowing to them, a fifth figure entered the tavern through the roof.

"What do you think we'll get tomorrow?" Freddy asked Reidar and the others.

"I have no idea. The Aqua Palace keeps a tight lid on the items for the upcoming rounds. We can get information about the warm-up items, but it's impossible to get something about the others. But whatever they are, his majesty gave me full authority to buy whatever I see that would make Thusia stronger, " said Reidar with a tinge of pride in his voice. Not every day the king trusted Reidar with an important task such as acquiring rare and valuable items for Thusia.

"Don't be too haughty Reidar," Seeing the grin on Reidar's face, Freddy rolled his eyes.

"The king doesn't trust you. If he did, he would have given the coins to you instead of her, "

His words drained the smile on Reidar's face. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew that was the truth deep down. The king trusted the girl more than he trusted his ministers.

"Speaking of? Is there something else going on with the girl?"

"What do you mean?" Freddy turned his gaze towards the bald man.

"The queen is awfully chummy with the girl. I get that she is princess Victoria's best friend and all that. But it seems like she is more than that,"

Reidar, Freddy, and the red-haired man who remained silent the whole time creased their brows.

"Oh come on, we are all thinking about it. There is no one here listening to us," the bold guy once again rolled his big eyes.

"Then speak your mind, Baldy," Freddy said.

"I think the king has a soft spot for her," Baldy whispered to the other four,

"Rumor has it King Maxim loved her big sister but couldn't get her. Instead, the king had to marry queen Valeria,"

"Really? But who was she? If King Maxin was in love with her, she must have been something else," asked Freddy.

In THusia, everyone knew Edith as Victoria's best friend. However, none of them knew about Edith's family background, including the ministers and prominent figures, except a few. Since Baldy mostly worked with the thieves and underground criminals in Thusia, he was able to get juicy rumors about everyone in Thusia, including the king.

"I don't know. Princess is keeping her identity tightly shut for some reason," said Baldy as he leaned closer to them.

"There might be a chance King Maxim is looking to marry her as his second queen," Since kings marrying several girls was a normal thing, they weren't surprised as Michael, who listened to their conversation through a Spyder.

"So he wants to get the little fish since he couldn't get the big one?" Reidar chuckled. They knew about King Maxim's thirst for power and stubbornness to get whatever he wanted no matter the cost. So it wouldn't surprise them if King Maxim married Edith despite their age difference. Yet again, the age difference wasn't a big deal among the cultivators.

"If I am right, Edith's sister might be a prominent figure somewhere. Suppose King Maxim married Edith, her big sister would be obliged to aid Thusia in the wars. It's a win-win for the king," Freddy said as the others gave him a slow nod.

"Wars? They are coming to an end in a few months. General Booth is literally killing thousands out there," Reidar raised three fingers.

"I'll give you three months. In that time, Thusia will annex all those who stood against us and become the largest kingdom in Ozer. After that, General Booth will be named the Duke of Valeria,"

Michael, who heard the name, clenched his fist. Two years ago, General Booth destroyed his sanctuary and massacred the people who raised him. The man was a devil incarnate who loved the suffering of others. Michael remembered the grin on his face when he slaughtered everyone regardless of gender or age. He could imagine how powerful Booth is now with Cosmic energy coursing through his veins. The only reason King Maxim Barnes wanted to build an empire was to hide the Cosmic Stream. If any kingdom left standing against Thusia, they might eventually find out about the Cosmic Stream. Michael knew Maxim would go to any length to prevent that from happening.

"That's what they are calling it?" asked Freddy. There was ridicule in his voice as though he would have chosen a better name than that.

"Yes Freddy, that's what we are calling it. Don't forget you are a part of Thusia, the first empire to have vessels across continents," Reidar deepened his voice. Initially, Kingdom Thusia was a part of the Elon continent. But King Maxim Barnes waged war against Kingdom Nalia and erased Nalia from the map. Soon, Nalia became the new Thusia as King Maxim transferred his capital to the Ozer continent. Fortunately for King Maxim, Nalia was ruled by a dictator who couldn't care less about the citizens. So when King Maxim achieved a glorious victory as the citizens welcomed King Maxim with bright smiles and parades.

To this date, there wasn't a single protest against King Maxim for decimating Nalia. Although King Maxim was a treacherous power-hungry man, he was a great king. Citizens prospered under his rule. As a result, he received undying loyalty and adoration from his people.

Freddy nodded and leaned back in his chair. The burning logs crackled in the fireplace, breaking through the silence. Finally, they all just decided to stop gossiping and enjoy the moment. However, the four friends had no idea someone was standing around the corner, watching them and waiting for them to inhale more and more poisonous air.

"(cough)" Freddy coughed.

At first, it was a simple short cough. But as minutes passed, Freddy's coughing became rough and loud.

"What the?" Freddy closed his mouth while coughing. When he pulled his palms away, he saw blood covering his inner palm. He was shocked, and so were the others. Before they could react, they all began to cough, just like Freddy.

"Whatishappening?" Reidar stammered. He couldn't control the urge to cough. The more he coughed, the more pain he felt all over his body. Soon, blood sprayed out of their mouth. Suddenly, the chandelier began to flicker. Howling wind entered the hall, shaking the chandelier and everything in the room. The flames violently danced inside the fireplace, trying to fight the strong gusts of wind. They all tried to pick themselves up from the sofas.

Cling!

Baldy dropped the glass in his hand. Glass shattered into pieces. They kept coughing harder and harder until their faces turned pale. Little by little, their vision became blurry. To their astonishment, the room slowly grew darker and darker. A strong gust of wind snuffed out the chandelier, turning the place as dark as the midnight sky. The only light the four friends had was the weak flames swaying inside the fireplace. They dimly lit the place, hardly revealing anything.

Since Reidar was the strongest among them, he was able to pick himself up with great difficulty. The others looked exhausted by coughing up blood. Although Reidar stood up, he didn't know what to do next. In fact, he didn't even know what was going on. One moment, they were sitting in front of the fireplace and enjoying their drinks, and the next, they were coughing up blood. He tried to spread his senses throughout the room, only to realize he simply couldn't.

"Arggh," Reidar growled, trying to feel the Celestial energy in the atmosphere. But no matter what, he couldn't feel anything except the excruciating pain in his lungs.

"How does it feel?" All of a sudden, a demonic voice resonated in the area, followed by the sound of doors shutting around them.

Reidar turned around,

"AH!" He screamed as a tall, dark menacing figure stood before him. Reidar could see the glowing red eyes under a dark hood even in the dim light.

Reidar stumbled backward, falling to the ground on his butt. His entire body shivered as though he was trapped in a snow mountain.

"Youyou" Reidar stammered. He was immediately flooded with everything he heard about the Dark Lord from the spies. Even though he currently lived in Thusia in Ozer, he hailed from Elon. Everytime he traveled to Elon through the portal in Thusia, he would hear something about The Dark Lord. The nobles were terrified of him while a group of commoners worshiped him. Everything he heard from his relatives and friends in Elon flashed across Reidar's eyes. Many nobles left Elon fearing the wrath of the Dark Lord.

Without even Michael introducing himself, Reidar recognized him as the Dark Lord thanks to his menacing suit of armor. Reidar would have wet his pants if Michael wore his Dark Suit version 2. This one he currently wore was the old suit, with full dark robes, hood and a cape. There were no intricate details, silver linings, metal plates or runes engraved onto this armor. Rather, it was a plain black suit of armor. Nonetheless, his legend made Reidar shiver at the simple sight of him. Thanks to the molten plague, Michael did not need any armor to protect himself.

Michael saw Reidar crawl back in fear. But before he could deal with the Thusians, Michael waved his hand as the crystal containing the Ice Dragon's heart flew straight to his hand from the table beside. Michael didn't even check the ice crystal as he put it into his system storage. Nightmare advised Michael to kill the Thusians later after they bought a few items. This way, not only Michael would get their lives but also their items. However, Michael didn't go with Nightmare's plan although it was a great plan. Instead, Michael wanted to kill the Thusians as soon as possible. He might not get an opportunity like this ever again. No matter what he wanted them dead. Every single one who helped King Maxim would die by his hand.

After all, he promised himself he would destroy Thusia piece by piece.

"Leaveusalone" Reidar managed to utter these words. He wasn't going to beg the Dark Lord for mercy as he would rather die than beg him. But no amount of begging would save them. Just by serving King Maxim loyally ensured their deaths in Michael's hands.

"You are going to have a long painful night," Michael exclaimed. Black lightning crackled around his wrist. Michael was about to strike Reidar with the lightning bolt when he heard Gaya's voice in his head.

"Michael,"

"Are you in danger?" asked Michael.

"No,"

"Good. Whatever it is, it can wait. I am busy murdering these thusian pigs," Michael didn't hide the cold killing in his heart.

Hearing Michael, Reidar's heart skipped a beat. He tried to conjure a spell, only to fail.

"Let's begin," said Michael.