"Well then… I believe you can take it from here."
Eldros spoke casually, and Ashkarion responded by stretching out his arm.
Swoosh!
A large box materialized before him, and the mont he opened it, a burst of blinding light flooded the room. The Archdukes swallowed nervously as the light faded, their stares drawn irresistibly to what lay within.
"Vein root!"
But it wasn't just one.
Nurous vein roots were stacked together inside the box, each one unclaid and brimming with dense, concentrated energy.
Greed flashed instantly in the Archdukes' eyes. This was a resource so rare that even gods of their standing possessed fewer than four across their entire territories.
"In addition to that, there's also a decade's worth of life stones."
"!!!"
Their eyes widened in disbelief. A decade worth of life stones was an absurd amount, enough to reshape entire territories. Unease crept in as they exchanged wary glances, nothing in this world was ever given freely.
"I want Atticus Ravenstein's head."
At Ashkarion's words, the hall plunged into deathly silence.
"He's participating in the resource wars. Your opportunity will co then. Band together, move separately, use foul play, it doesn't matter. Fulfill the task, and the reward is yours."
With that, Ashkarion lowered his arm, and the chest vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
…
Minutes later, after every Archduke had departed, Eldros approached Ashkarion with an amused smile.
"Ahh… they were adorable. Rember when it was our turn?"
"Don't talk like we're friends. What do you want?"
Ashkarion's voice was cold as his gaze hardened on Eldros.
"Damn… still that serious, huh? You really haven't changed. You should loosen up a little."
"What business do you have here?"
Though Ashkarion had co solely with the intention of killing Atticus, Eldros's presence remained a mystery. Eldros had been the one to inform him of Atticus' arrival, which ant he had been here even before Atticus himself had appeared.
'He's unpredictable.'
Trusting a Nature's Spawn, especially this particular one, would be a grave mistake.
"Hmm…"
Eldros scratched his chin casually, a lightly unsettling smile spreading across his face.
"You really want to know?"
"Talk."
"Alright, alright. Honestly? I ca here for one of my sons… but I ended up finding sothing much more interesting."
His scarlet eyes glowed with a savage light.
"I think it's about ti I properly welcod my little brother."
…
'That bastard…'
Rhexan Virex ground his teeth as he reached his estate, striding through the gates and into his mansion with scarcely restrained fury.
The eting he had just left had been nothing short of humiliating. He was the ruling Redfla of the mid parts, yet the Grand Sovereign had gone over his head and openly placed a bounty on Atticus Ravenstein, as though his authority ant nothing.
It was a direct insult.
'Just because you have a few million worlds more than mine… I'll fucking show you…'
It was far more than a few. An astronomical gap, in fact, and Rhexan Virex knew that better than anyone, but he had already allowed his anger to drown out reason.
"Archduke! You're back."
His butler rushed down the grand staircase and bowed the instant Rhexan stepped inside. Around them, guards and servants halted whatever they were doing and dropped to their knees, yet Rhexan barely registered their presence as his gaze swept through the hall.
"Where is he?"
"The young master Orvain is in his chambers, Archduke."
"Summon him to the throne room. Now."
"Yes!"
Monts later, a slender man hurried into the throne room. Blazing red hair frad his face and his orange eyes were filled with unease as he struggled to pull his robe into place before kneeling.
"What were you doing?"
"I-I was training, fath—"
"Don't lie."
Orvain stiffened, swallowing hard.
"I… I was with my playthings…"
"Fool!"
Rhexan's aura slamd Orvain flat against the ground. He stared down at him with open disgust.
"I invested so much into your growth, and this is how you repay ? Do you want to end up like the others?"
"N-no, father… please…"
As Orvain trembled beneath him, Rhexan clicked his tongue and drew in a sharp, asured breath.
The resource wars were ant for those newly entering the mid parts. Rhexan himself, along with the other family heads, had long since passed that stage, standing firmly at the peak of the Archduke rank.
But the rewards were simply too great to ignore.
That was why they had resorted to creating successors, individuals who would stand in their place when they no longer could.
That was why he had poured countless resources, and lives, into pushing his fifth son to the Archduke rank.
And yet, to think all of that effort might still be wasted…
'There's still hope.'
Recalling the information he had recently received, Rhexan forced himself to calm down. His aura receded, and Orvain shakily pushed himself back to his knees.
"There's been a change in plans. During the competition, resources are no longer your priority. You're hunting soone."
"Hunting…?"
Orvain's confusion was plain as Rhexan raised his hand. An image of a white haired boy with a katana held loosely at his side ford in the air. "Atticus Ravenstein."
"!!"
Orvain's eyes widened. This was the sa person he had watched during the ascension gas just months ago, the one whose na had echoed through the Span?
"B-but how is that possible? Didn't he just reach the Span months ago—"
"He's here."
"What?"
The blunt interruption only deepened Orvain's shock, but Rhexan showed no interest in explaining further.
"And he's participating in the resource wars. Your job is simple. Find him. Kill him."
"I-I won't fail you, father! I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Tch."
Rhexan gazed at his son with disgust.
As if he would entrust sothing this important to such a useless fool.
Though the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the Grand Sovereign still burned fiercely in his chest, Rhexan Virex had not completely lost his composure. With that amount of vein root and life stones at stake, it was inevitable that the other leading families would also set their sights on Atticus.
The thought of their so called genius descendants filled him with a quiet, simring hatred. Still, Rhexan remained calm.
He possessed sothing the others did not.
Access to information.
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