'Sh*t!'

Esmond cursed internally as he activated the strongest defensive artifact in his possession, blocking the brunt of the Crystal Dragon's attack.

This was his life saving item, and it could only be used once before it disappeared completely. He knew that right now was the time, so he didn't bat an eye and endured the powerful blow that had turned the other soldiers, who were not behind him into crystal statues.

"Stop! Don't you care if the daughter of the Saint dies?!" Esmond asked as soon as the Crystal Dragon finished its breath attack.

"As a matter of fact No," Keoza replied. "I don't care about her."

The Crystal Dragon's reply made Esmond's blood turn cold because he didn't expect that creature before him didn't care whether their hostage lived or died.

"Y-You!" Esmond gritted his teeth as he tried to think of a way in order to get out of this situation. "Treasures! That's right! I will give you treasures! My Master is a Prince. He can give you the treasures you want!"

Using his quick-wittedness he decided to use something that worked on the majority of dragons as a way to preserve his life, as well as the members of the Prince's entourage.

"Oh?" the corner of the Crystal Dragon's mouth curled up. "Treasures you say? I am indeed very fond of treasures so, what treasures do you have?"

"What do you want?"

"Everything you, that prince, and his subordinates have. If you don't give me what I want, I will end all of you, right here, right now."

Keoza took a step forward and the ground trembled. He then lowered his head until it was mere inches away from Esmond's face.

"I'll count to ten. If I don't have all the treasures in your possessions, I will kill all of you," Keoza declared. "One Two"

"Give him everything you have!" Esmond roared. "Don't even think about hiding any valuable items in your possession! A dragon is very sensitive to treasure. Even if it's inside storage items, they can tell if there is a treasure inside!"

"Oh my, how perceptive of you, Human:" Keoza chuckled. "Three Four"

The young man with dark-blue hair, who was about to lower Iris on the ground, found himself staring into the glowing eyes of a Death Knight.

"Give her to me," Diablo ordered. "Or else"

A poisoned blade rested on the young man's neck, as Ishtar positioned herself behind him.

The young man knew that he was stronger than the Death Knight, and the Nightstalker behind him, but the Crystal Dragon in front of him was something he couldn't fight at this point in time.

He begrudgingly handed the blue-haired beauty in his arms to the Death Knight who checked her condition before turning away to return to his Master's side.

Lux was awake, but he couldn't even move a finger. It was as if all of his anger, strength, and stamina had been sucked out of him, rendering him unable to avenge the baby slime, who the Ranker had killed right in front of his eyes.

The sound of trinkets falling on the ground echoed in the surroundings as Esmond, the Initiates, as well as all the soldiers, threw their storage rings, weapons, and even armors, at the growing pile in front of the Crystal Dragon.

"Your Highness, please, don't make things difficult for us," Esmond pleaded. "Surely, the things in your possession are not more precious than your life, right?"

"Kuh!" Prince Lowell glared at the Crystal Dragon, and the latter glared back at him, making him experience the full power of a Dragon's Fear in its concentrated form.

"AkhKah"

Gurgling sounds escaped the Prince's lips as foam oozed out of his mouth. Esmond hurriedly grabbed the storage rings on Prince Lowell's fingers and threw them onto the stockpile in front of the Crystal Dragon before grabbing him and running away.

He didn't know if Keoza would abide by his words, so he decided to run away as fast as he could before the dragon changed his mind.

"Take it all," Keoza said to Diablo.

The Death Knight nodded and used its own storage space to take the storage rings, and storage bags that littered the floor.

As for the weapons that the army had thrown as well, the Skeletons under Lux's command took them into their personal storage to upgrade their own weapon and armor sets.

Keoza shifted his gaze to the Half-Elf who met his own gaze steadily. The two stared at each other for a while before the Crystal Dragon chuckled. The truth was, the power of the Abyss he gathered from Lux couldn't sustain him for long.

If he did attack the enemies using his full power, his body would dissipate in less than ten seconds, which would be detrimental if he the Ranker has another life saving item to endure an all out attack from him.

Also, he didn't decide to finish off Lux's enemies for one reason.

He wanted the Half-Elf to take vengeance using his own hands. Relying on him to do things would only hinder the red-headed teenager's growth, so he wanted the latter to have a goal that he could pursue with every fiber of his being.

"This is just a one time thing, Lux," Keoza said. "Know how to control the Power of the Abyss in your heart, and don't let it control you. If you fail, you will not only hurt those around you, but those who are important to you as well."

Lux nodded. "Thank you, Keoza. I owe you one."

Keoza then lowered its head to whisper something in Lux's ears. The amusement in its expression disappeared and was replaced by a solemn one.

"If you don't do something soon, your grandma is going to die," Keoza whispered. "Because she is a ranker, her body is able to resist the poison that coated the Ranker's spear. However, I'm afraid that she only has a day to live."

Lux's eyes widened in shock as he hurriedly glanced at his side.

His grandma was no longer there, and only a pool of blood remained.

"Diablo! Take Iris!" Lux ordered. "We're going back! Asmodeus collect all of Eiko's"

"Already done, My Lord," Asmodeus replied as he held a vial in his hand. "I collected everything."

Inside the transparent vial was a blue liquid, which were Eiko's remains when she exploded after getting hit by Esmond's spear.

Lux gritted his teeth as he remembered the Ranker's face, which made his heart burn in anger. However, right now, he knew where his priorities lay.

Once he was done with it, he would make Prince Lowell and his entourage pay for what he did to his family members.

"Rowan Tribe, we're going back!" Lux shouted. "Everyone, move out!"

--

Barbatos Academy

"No good, this is a poison we have never seen before," the High-Cleric said as she tried to use her ability to help cure Vera's injuries. "Based on its rarity, I'm guessing that it is a new poison especially made to fight against Rankers. If this keeps up, I'm afraid Lady Vera will not see the sunrise tomorrow."

Alexander stood beside the bed with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Do whatever you can for her," Alexander said coldly before turning around to leave the room. "When I return, I only want to hear good news. Do I make myself clear?"

"But, Headmaster, the poison"

"... Don't make me repeat myself."

Without another word, Alexander left the treatment room and closed the door behind him.

As soon as no one was around him, he clenched his fist so hard that the air around him started to crack. He stood still for a two-full minutes before walking towards the exit of the Infirmary.

Vera had told him everything that happened before she collapsed and lost consciousness due to her injuries.

'Mother, don't worry,' Alexander vowed after leaving the Infirmary. 'I will make them pay. Since they dared to hurt our family, I will make them regret it from the bottom of their hearts.'

Several minutes later, the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy appeared in Elysium. He only had one thing in mind and that was to go to the Ashina Kingdom, and make them understand the consequences of their action.

After entering dozens of Teleportation Gates, he walked towards the peak of a mountain top overlooking the Ashina Kingdom.

There, an old man stood with his back facing Alexander.

Maximilian, the Chief of the Rowan Tribe stared down at the borders of the Ashina Kingdom with his arms behind his back.

"I thought you weren't coming," Maximilian said without turning around to look at Alexander.

"What are you doing here, old man?" Alexander replied as he stood beside Maximilian, staring at the territory of the Ashina Kingdom from on top of the mountain.

"Someone bullied my granddaughter, as well as the kids of my Tribe," Maximilian replied. "It is only natural to bully them back, right?"

Alexander narrowed his eyes in the direction of the capital of the Ashina Kingdom.

"The Ashina Kingdom has one Saint protecting it," Alexander stated.

"What a coincidence," Maximilian sneered. "There's two of us. You take care of the Saint, while I destroy their capital city. Sounds fair, right?"

"Good. Let's go."

"Don't drag me down, boy."

The two Saints disappeared from the mountain top as they made their way towards the capital city.

On that same day, news spread that the Capital City and Royal Palace of the Ashina Kingdom, were razed to the ground by two Angry Saints, whose might had surpassed the boundary of humanity.