Chapter 88 – The Beginning of a Change

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask, just who is he?”

The kneeling woman asked in a confused tone as she raised her head.

Although her face greatly resembled that of a human woman, it was clear from her light blue skin complexion, sea-green colored hair, and the gills on the side of her neck, that this woman was definitely not of the human race.

Seeing the hesitation on her King’s face, the woman continued.

“You had one of the Nobles monitor his every movement before he even entered the city. Your Highness, we are at war right now, and assigning this babysitting task to a Noble seems rather unfitting, especially given our present circumstances.”

The woman seriously conveyed with traces of anger hidden within her words.

His subordinate’s harsh tone did not seem to infuriate the silver-scaled figure, as his ice-blue eyes calmly gazed at the woman.

“I do not know, Laris… but there is something bizarre about that golden bird. I felt his soul near our city yesterday, which should be impossible unless he was in the Saint stage. However, he is not.”

The scaled humanoid figure whispered, as he rubbed his cheek with his metallic claws.

“Wier, we have more important matters to deal with than figuring out what this beast’s real cultivation is. We are fighting a losing war, and if we do not recruit more mercenaries, then I don’t think we’ll even have a slight chance of victory.”

Laris softly addressed the scaled figure, as she slowly stood up and walked up to his throne. With concern in her eyes, she lightly placed her hand on Weir’s shoulder.

“He also managed to effortlessly block my soul probing.”

A small gasp burst out from Laris’s mouth while her hand on Wier’s shoulder started to tremble.

Although Wier was only at the fifth rank of the Saint stage, due to his beast bloodline, his soul power was closer to that of a Beast King at the eighth rank. To be able to so easily block his soul attack, this Calron must be a hidden expert.

“Is he an enemy?”

Laris worriedly asked.

If a hidden expert that was capable of resisting their Beast King was now amongst them, then they would need to summon the entire ranks of the Nobles to eliminate the threat at once.

“No. For the fraction of a second that I was able to enter his mind, there was no hate or enmity within his thoughts, only a certain curiosity towards our city. I do not think he is here to infiltrate our defenses, and I would rather not anger a potential ally.”

Weir calmly stated as he sat back down on his throne with a loud clink.

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Wier. We grew up together, and I can tell when you are trying to hide something from me.”

Laris let out a slight smile, as she patiently waited for the silver-scaled beast to open up to her.

“Haha, nothing gets past you, Laris.”

Wier chuckled but immediately turned serious a second later.

“This Calron… when I probed him… he had the form of a human!”

Weir exclaimed as his gaze sharply pierced into the blue-skinned woman.

“A Beast Emperor!”

Laris blurted out while tightly clenching both of her fists.

“No, that is not the case. If he truly had the cultivation of the Heavenly stage, then the moment I probed him, my soul would have been instantly vaporized after coming into contact with his mind. However, it was the last thing which I saw that made me feel fear for the first time in countless years.”

Weir continued as his metallic claw shakingly grasped the armrest on the throne.

“It was an ancient bird… unlike anything I’ve ever seen before… I only saw a glimpse of its wings and they seemed to cover the entire sky… then I saw lightning… omnipotent and wrathful bolts of violet lightning… “

The Beast King muttered as his nails nervously tapped the side of the throne.

Hearing every single word of her King, Laris felt her heart pounding faster and faster as her breathing rapidly accelerated.

Within the entire Desolate Mountains, there was only a single Beast Emperor, and the power he wielded was enough to shatter the very sky above them!

When a beast successfully breaks into the Heavenly stage, it will be the moment when they will finally gain the ability to transform into a human.

Regardless of the truth about this golden bird, it is clear that he has some strange power, so if we can get him to fight for the city, then we would finally have another powerhouse comparable to Weir within our ranks.

Laris fervently thought, as her mind started calculating some strategies.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it won’t work. He has no reason to help us, and inciting his anger will only bring a catastrophe to our city. Let him have his temporary stay here, and then he will leave soon.”

Wier said firmly, as he leaned his head back against the throne.

“I think you are making a wrong decision here…”

Laris murmured while turning around and snapping her fingers, causing all the lights in the room to light up.

“I might lose this war, Laris, but at least Xardoth will not kill the beasts within the city once he takes it. We cannot be so sure that this Calron will have the same principles if we try to force him to fight against his wishes.”

Wier tranquilly conveyed, as the newly lit up room revealed his silvery body.

With mesmerizing silver scales covering his skin, Weir was adorned in a regal black robe with golden patterns etched onto the fabric. Placed on top of his head was an ornate gold crown with a single obsidian gem placed in the center.

“I wonder how things are going on Georan’s end…”

Weir whispered, as his draconic head gazed outside the massive windows.

…………………

“I hope you enjoyed the little tour, Calron. If you need to contact me again, simply send out your thoughts into this crystal, and I will immediately be able to communicate with you.”

Georan conveyed as a small red crystal appeared in front of his mouth and slowly drifted into the metal bracelet on Calron’s claws.

The metal bracelet was a gift given by Georan a few hours ago when he saw that Calron did not have a storage device of his own. As a beast, things were rather hard to carry around, so Calron was more than happy to accept the metal bracelet.

Throughout the day, the large reptilian had acted as a guide for Calron and shown him various places within the city, including armories, fighting arenas, and other specialities of the city. Since Calron was flat broke, Georan suggested for the golden bird to try enlisting himself as a beast carrier for transporting goods within the city, as a way to earn some money.

“Haha, thank you, Georan. I must say, though, this city is a lot more exciting than I thought! I think I will visit that bard’s shop early tomorrow morning.”

Calron cheerfully thanked the large reptilian, and the little wolf pup did the same by letting out happy barks.

“No need to worry about it, it was all my pleasure. I hope this inn will provide a decent accommodation. I will see you later then, Calron. Faro, say goodbye.”

Georan bade them farewell, while gesturing the little reptile seated on his head to do the same.

“Kekeke~”

Faro laughed out, as he happily waved his leathery wings.

Calron waved back, while Avi completely ignored Faro with a harumph.

Soon, the father-son duo disappeared from their sight. The moment the large reptile left, Calron’s face immediately turned serious.

Teacher, did you sense it?

Calron inquired, as his eyes gazed into the direction that Georan just departed.

He did a good job at hiding it, but it became obvious when he kept on constantly trying to glean information out of you about your home and beast bloodline. I’m guessing the Beast King has not forgotten about you, kid.

Ezkael responded back in an amused tone.

Sigh… things are about to get complicated from now on, aren’t they?

Calron thought dejectedly, as he began walking into the inn.

With you… there’s never a doubt about it.

Ezkael’s laugh echoed within Calron’s mind, bringing out a slight smile on the boy’s face as well.