Dyon raised an eyebrow. It was normal for his assistants to call him Venerable Sacharro, but usually peers of the same level or higher would call their lesser counterpart by their name. At best, he was expecting to be called Venerable Dyon.

Another humble immortal? And this time it was a Higher Venerable? How rare.

Only lower Venerables like Dyon received quotas for half-immortal pills. Higher Venerables were kept in reserve in case a Lower Venerable pill needed to be concocted.

What was even rarer was that this Higher Venerable before him was just a sliver away from entering the Immortal Saint Realm as well. Unlike Taline, he was a true Higher Venerable.

Curious. Definitely curious. .𝒎

Dyon reached out a hand to shake Vargas’ own, his demeanor showing that it wasn’t at all a big deal.

As the two settled their disputes, the rumbling of the city grew fiercer. It seemed the Immortal Saints had come out to battle as well.

The larger the battle became, the deeper Dyon’s internal thoughts sank. Every battle had to serve a purpose. Territory, resources… Something to this effect. Not only did it have to serve a purpose, but the gains couldn’t lose out to the losses, or else it would be meaningless.

But this gang was putting so much on the line due to the death of one person? Dyon probably wasn’t the best person to be thinking such a thought considering how he’d react if one of his own died at the hands of an unknown enemy. But… Something made it obvious that this wasn’t what Skull cared about.

So what was going on?

**

“Old Bear died?”

A baleful aura filled the underground base. A man with a towering presence sat on a throne forged of beast bone and covered in their furs.

“… Yes, Commander. We found their corpses strewn in the Wasteland…”

“And the sand serpents?”

“… Dead.”

A skull Commander clutched in his hand shattered, a gloomy expression practically coagulating. He didn’t need to ask to know that the shipments were also stolen. But, he really couldn’t think of who could have done this. He had hush deals with Blazen and Metodei City.

Of course, there were some who weren’t fond of these deals, but they shouldn’t have dared to act so brazenly. Especially not with his temper.

“Comm –”

“Call me Skull.”

The subordinate giving the report shuddered. There was only one particular circumstance their commander asked to be called by this moniker.

“Commander Skull… I don’t think this enemy is simple. The remains show that there was only one of them, but no one lasted more than a single strike. Even a Middle Immortal Essence expert wouldn’t be able to do this, they would have to be at least of the Higher Immortal Essence realm.”

“…” Skull looked toward his subordinate dully. “Gather up the men. The target is Zaneta City. It seems that those on the sidelines have forgotten how dangerous I am.”

Just as the subordinate feared, those words came. Launching an assault on a city as a mere gang was something only a madman would do. Yet, whenever Commander insisted on being called Skull, this was precisely what happened. It’s just unfortunate that Dyon didn’t have enough mental energy to check the situation underground, or else he would have realized that though Zaneta was a puppet state just as he deduced… There were still three centers of power in this place.

“… B-but Commander Skull…”

“Do you want to die? Go and execute my commands.”

The subordinate gritted his teeth and managed to stop himself from falling face first into the ground for but a moment before his cheek was firmly plastered to the coarse floor.

“I…. I don’t mean to refute Commander Skull… I only want to remind Sir Skull that the next shipment will be due soon. If Zaneta’s economy is halted, it may not be possible to recover the quota. If we fail even once, there won’t be anyone to protect us from the Void Creatures for another hundred years…” .𝒎

“You know nothing. Piss off and go prepare.”

With a wave of his hand, Skull’s subordinate had half his body destroyed into a bloody pulp.

“Trying to lecture me. I’ve been around since before you were born, how can you know things that I do not. The tributes will soon be obsolete. Mount Volare is about to erupt.”

Skull coldly glanced at his subordinate crawling out in a trail of his own organs.

“Shadows.” Skull suddenly spoke. “Go make sure they’re preparing properly. I want to be laying siege to Zaneta by tonight.”

**

“What’s the matter, Taline? Why are you in such a state?”

Taline actually looked just as refined and arrogant as she usually did. As the vice deputy, she was used to her lofty status, so of course she wouldn’t allow herself to sink too deeply.

However, what this unknown man was referring to was the gloomy expression on her face and the deeper frown lines that now made it difficult to hide her true age.

“Hubby, you’re sitting here without a care in the world while your woman is having her face slapped in public by a mortal rat. Are you very comfortable?”

“What?”

This man was obviously the Head of the alchemy guild, Venerable Zabel, a lofty Immortal Saint. With his status, there was no need for him to personally oversee a certification exam. He spent most of his time in seclusion, refining his craft. Occasionally, he would indulge in some woman like vice deputy Taline.

After hearing Taline’s story Zabel was both enraged an apprehensive. It was only after a long while that he spoke again.

“… Don’t provoke him again. In fact, it would be for the best if you could make amends.” His tone was serious and brokered no path for refusal.

Taline was stunned. A moment later, a deep grievance welled up in her heart and she began to cry. It didn’t seem fake, but actually seemed to be her true feelings.

𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮