The guards had already recognized Max, but the fact that he was with a demon made them frown.
When they saw him rush in alone, they wanted to stop him but hesitated. He was City Lord's guest, and even though he was with a demon, he didn't seem to be under his control.
"Let's just inform Lord Ryan and Lord Raku about it." Eventually, one of them said and decided not to stop him. Others nodded in agreent.
Swoosh!
By the ti they ca to an agreent, Max had rushed in and disappeared from their sight.
Left there standing alone, Ashroth awkwardly looked at the guards staring at him with caution in their eyes.
"Um, can I also go in?" He asked in human language, innocently pointing at himself.
"Heh! You must be dreaming, demon." The head guard sneered. "You should be grateful you ca with Sir Max; otherwise, we would have already killed you. Now, shut up and stand aside."
Though Ashroth had expected this, the disrespect angered him. However, not to ntion he couldn't kill them even though they were weaker than him because powerful divine senses were discreetly scanning the area from ti to ti, his precious little sister was in the city, and he didn't want to cause trouble for her sake.
He took a breath and closed his eyes, ignoring them.
On the city wall, the head guard shivered for a mont, which made him frown and glare cautiously at Ashroth.
…
Ignoring the divine senses sweeping over him, Max rushed to the now destroyed Garfield Mansion.
When he arrived at the place, his expression turned ugly because he felt the faint lingering energies. Though because it was very faint, he couldn't accurately determine the strength of the people who destroyed the mansion, he could tell they were emperors at the very least.
Then he looked at the bloodstains and had to forcefully stop himself from coming to any conclusions.
If he hadn't felt the presence of Maria, Ella, and Amara, he might not have been able to keep his calm, but thankfully he could. And because they were alive, he guessed his family should be safe too because they were staying together. There wouldn't be soone who would target his family but leave them be after all.
Ba-Dum!
Just as he thought this, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat and his face paled.
'Calm down!' He roared in his mind.
Swoosh!
Just then, two figures fly over toward him.
Without even looking, he knew one of them was Amara because the mont he arrived here, he had felt her rushing in his direction through their connection.
This was also the reason why he hadn't contacted anyone through communication crystals. He wanted to know what happened in person, and since she was coming, there was no need to contact anyone else.
Shua!
Tap! Tap!
A few monts later, Garima, holding Amara by her waist, gently landed in front of him.
"My Lo– Max, you finally returned." Amara softly said, her eyes turning a little misty.
Seeing this, Max was surprised because the Amara he knew wasn't so emotional.
'Maybe the unfamiliar environnt didn't suit her, and she missed too much.' He thought. Although Anna and others might have kept her company, they were eventually unfamiliar people, and she must have felt alone.
Not in the mood to think too much about why she was so emotional, he nodded at her and Garima, who was looking at him with a hint of astonishnt and… guilt.
He frowned. Astonishnt he understood because, compared to the last ti she saw him, she was quite a bit stronger, but what was she feeling guilty about?
Once again, his thoughts started churning, but he once again suppressed them and glanced toward the ruins of his family mansion as he asked,
"What happened here? And… is everyone alright?"
Despite him trying his best to sound calm and composed, his voice broke slightly.
Amara glanced at Garima, who took a breath and said, "Why don't we find so place to sit down? It's a long story."
His heart feeling heavy, he waved his hand, causing three chairs to appear.
"Let's sit and talk then." He said, taking his seat in the chair.
Amara's expression turned wry, and she looked at Garima, telling her to not mind him with her gaze. Garima, knowing what his ntal condition might be, sighed and sat down. Amara followed suit.
After staying silent for a mont, Garima was about to start speaking when Max furrowed his brows and said out loud, "You all won't mind leaving us alone for a while, would you? We are talking about sothing personal here."
Garima broke out in a cold sweat when she heard this. Though he didn't say anything wrong, those experts whose divine senses were lingering around them might think he was being disrespectful because there was no respect in his voice.
The lingering divine senses paused for a mont as if startled by his words.
Then…
Hmph!
A cold snort sounded, and Garima and Amara's breaths hitched while Max's frown beca deeper, anger flashing in his eyes.
But when the divine senses vanished a mont later, he shook his displeasure away and looked at Garima. "You can start now, Miss Garima."
"Ah, yes!" Garima said, hurriedly regaining her composure. Taking a deep breath, she began.
"The dicine you sent to heal your father was wonderful. Not only did it completely heal him, it also awakened his hidden ancestral bloodline…"
Max wasn't surprised to hear this because even though that [Drop Of Life] was diluted, it was a wondrous treasure of high grade.
A look of awe appeared on Garima's face as she continued, "The bloodline he awakened was really powerful. Even I, a King mage, felt suppressed in his presence. Though I didn't test his strength, I suspect it increased his strength by at least one fold, and maybe it was because of that dicine or maybe because of his bloodline or maybe it was due to both. Your father's cultivation started increasing rapidly, which made him even stronger. However…"
Speaking till here, her expression turned somber, "As mystical as his bloodline was, it… heavily influenced his personality. He beca apathetic, and he no longer treated his family as family. In fact, he started acting like everyone was nothing but his servants and he was their lord."
Max wanted to argue and say this could not be true, as Ashton was a very loving and caring person, but recalling the slight change in Emily's behavior after her bloodline awakening, he knew Garima wasn't lying.
'Why didn't Emily beco apathetic like Ashton then?'
Right as this question surfaced in his mind, he got his answer—Nascent Energy.
The nascent energy he fed her when she was cocooned must have suppressed or negated the side effect of her bloodline. If that wasn't enough, when they cultivated together, she had absorbed even more Nascent Energy, suppressing the side effects even more.
Garima then continued and told him how he killed Mark and crippled Noah.
After Max heard her, he couldn't help but frown and say, "I will hear about how much he changed and what else he did later. Tell what I want to know."
Garima frowned in displeasure. She was trying to be considerate, telling him all this so he wouldn't be too hurt when he found out just what had happened an hour earlier.
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