Davis reacted as his expression produced a grimace. He pointed at Merkel Ethren and yelled, "You idiot! You want esteemed senior to explain to my lowly-self? Quickly apologize!"

He instantly turned around and bowed his head towards the empty air, and feeling Merkel Ethren do the same behind him while kneeling, he had the urge to laugh again, but he suppressed it.

Using his avatar, he echoed: "Seems like I have been too lenient and reasonable with the Ethren Empire... I stayed my hand as a guest, but it seems like that I have to..."

"Esteemed Lord! Please forgive this lowly one for his transgressions! I was wrong and didn't think my words through before they left my ugly mouth! Please forgive this lowly one!" Merkel Ethren completely kowtowed as he screamed for forgiveness.

The guards who had cleared the area of roaming people and were currently guarding the streets no longer dared to look at the Imperial Protectors at this point. They were half-sure that they would be put to death for just witnessing this scene.

"Hmph..."

After a snort filled with disdain, the suffocating presence disappeared, and Davis finally stood straight as he released a sigh. He turned his body to look at Merkel Ethren before his expression looked as if he were looking at a fool.

"Do you really think 'that' person is someone whom you can talk to whenever you want? With people like you, no wonder the Ethren Empire is weakening at a fast pace..."

Merkel Ethren still didn't stand up. He tremblingly shook for a while before he lifted off his face and realized that the suffocating presence had disappeared. Only then did he realize that his face was covered with a huge amount of sweat.

He slowly wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeves before he kneeled back in place. The other two Imperial Protectors didn't dare open their mouths as they kept their heads lowered.

The pressure they experienced in their souls completely left them unable to think of retaliation.

After a while, Merkel Ethren calmed down and felt that hiding such a thing was already useless since the Alstreim Family seemed to know about it; hence, the anger and retribution on their Ethren Family.

He started to explain, "That existence in the Sunset Tear Mountain was something we were not sure of before, but in any case, we knew that it was something of value like any magical beast carcass, so we sent people to the other Territories and gathered information on enormous plant lifeforms that possessed thousands of vines."

"There were many plant lifeforms that fit the description, so we weren't sure which one was it and what kind of strength it possessed, so until we get another High-Level Law Sea Stage Cultivator like our Ancestor, we shelved the idea to disturb it."

"Those vines in the Sunset Tear Mountain is present even before the founding of the Ethren Empire, so we felt that it is only capable of slow growth, and besides, we didn't dare to disturb it anymore after we lost an Imperial Protector to it who was eagerly investigating it a long time ago, around three thousand years ago."

"After that, we came to learn that as long as we don't disturb the vines deeply, the vines wouldn't disturb or harm us..."

"However, after... Esteemed Lord dragged that plant lifeform's main body out of the mountain, we saw it and reached a consensus among the four of us that the plant lifeform resembles the Million Emerald Vines Calamity more..."

"Calamity? What's that?" Davis asked as he noticed the dangerous word.

Merkel Ethren sighed and explained about the rampage of the Million Emerald Vines Calamity that occurred in another Territory in the past.

Davis became shocked as he heard its slaughter that numbered in the billions!

...Did he prevent a calamity from happening in the future? So it was just as he thought!

Somehow, he felt that he did a good job of getting rid of it in its early stages. Otherwise, wouldn't the plant lifeform have erupted in the future and massacred billions while he was away in some other place a few centuries later?

Merkel Ethren further explained the differences between the two plant lifeforms before finally telling about the nectar's fabled effects.

"... And the Peak-Level Law Rune Stage Powerhouse who defeated it said to have used its nectar to grow from the Low-Level of Ninth Stage to the Peak-Level of Ninth Stage in Body Tempering Cultivation... Sigh..." Merkel Ethren couldn't help but lament their fate when he learned that they lost a heavenly treasure like this...

Davis's pupils dilated for a moment before his eyes imperceptibly flashed... He had been using Misdirection all this time to relay his intent and get the truth out, so he didn't doubt their information but only doubted if the information itself is significant and genuine.

However, to think that the nectar he had collected from the plant lifeform possessed such a magnificent effect on humans!

To skyrocket in one's Body Tempering Cultivation? He, Evelynn, and Princess Isabella didn't easily encounter a bottleneck since they ingested the Blood Essence of the Earth Dragon Immortal!

If both of these treasures were combined...

What kind of concept was this!?

Davis experienced a faint tremor in his mind before he came out of his reverie.

Sadly, he recalled the fact that the nectar he collected was only at Low-Level Emperor Grade, which meant that it would be difficult to raise a person's Body Tempering Cultivation in the Ninth Stage or even to the Ninth Stage.

Nevertheless, since the plant lifeform was at the Eighth Stage, the Eighth Stage should be possible. This fact didn't put him down because he was still energized that such a heavenly treasure fell into his hands!

Indeed, this was truly a pleasant surprise! He became thankful to his past self, who was daring enough to fight a battle to the death with the plant lifeform. He had been staying low and constantly tried to avoid trouble so that he could cultivate and grow in peace along with his family, so he was thankful to his past self for making a rash decision.

Without that, he wouldn't have been able to obtain this heavenly resource.

"I see, I see... So senior is in possession of such a heavenly treasure..." Davis muttered as if he understood as his doubts became clear.

Everyone possessed envious expressions on their faces, and even Alexi Ethren wasn't an exception. On the other hand, Arianna Woller only seemed to display her astonishment through wide eyes since a black veil concealed her expression.

"Now that I have explained the identity of th-"

"Of course..." Davis cut short Merkel Ethren and instead said, "Seal yourselves with a sound barrier..."

Merkel Ethren narrowed his eyes on displeasure before he did as he was told. His reputation and face were completely ruined, and he didn't even know if the Conferred Queen's Protector was still here, so he did as he was told.

Once the sound barrier was erected, Davis turned to look at Alexi Ethren with a smile on his face.

"I won't become the Emperor of the Ethren Empire..." Alexi Ethren clenched his teeth as he uttered.