Chapter 259: Chapter 34 The Escalation of the Event

“Alright, both of you, listen to me.”

Talina was helpless as well, the way the Aslade Family handled things always gave her a headache.

“Lord Hall, this time it is indeed your fault. No matter how prepared the enemy was. But as a Supervisor, not only did you fail to protect the Trial World, but you also failed to detect the enemy’s presence, which is really indefensible.”

Having said that, without waiting for Hall to make any further remarks, she turned to Carrot.

“However, Lord Carrot, although Hall is at fault, as he said, the enemy must have been fully prepared for this attack.

Blurring the destiny trajectory of an entire independent world, and using a Ninth Rank Limit Time Stop Hourglass, indeed, exceed his capacity to respond. Therefore, the blame shouldn’t entirely be placed on Hall.”

After hearing Talina’s words, Duke Carrot gave Hall a cold glance, and eventually, he slowly nodded.

“Alright, you arrogant Golden Dragon, since Lady Talina has spoken, I will not pursue your dereliction of duty further for the time being.”

“But as compensation, I need ten thousand units of Ninth Rank Giant Dragon Blood, fifty thousand pieces of complete Ninth Rank Dragon Scales, ten main Ninth Rank Dragon Horns, thirty secondary horns, and three Ninth Rank Dragon Crystals!”

The Aslade Family has connections with the legendary Dragon Island; this is a semi-public secret among the Empire’s upper echelons. This is a good opportunity to ask for a sky-high price and strike a hefty bargain on dragon materials.

“Impossible! Do you think Ninth Rank dragon materials are as common as broad-leaved lettuce?! At most one hundred units of dragon blood, a thousand scales, one main dragon horn, three secondary horns, and not a single Ninth Rank Dragon Crystal! We might as well have a fight!”

Startled by Carrot’s asking price, Hall retorted unceremoniously.

A unit of dragon blood is roughly five liters; ten thousand units of Ninth Rank dragon blood could dry up an ancient giant dragon of the same rank, not to mention requiring three Ninth Rank Dragon Crystals.

However, even though his tone was still tough, there was a cunning look in his eyes, akin to that of a wild beast.

In reality, he always maintained a tough stance precisely for the sake of the impending negotiation.

The problem had occurred, and as a Supervisor, he indeed had some culpability, and he couldn’t avoid paying a price.

But showing weakness would only make Carrot slam harder; it was better to maintain a tough attitude from beginning to end, letting fists do the talking.

Anyway, Aslade’s relationship with the other Three Great Families was already not that great, even with his poor attitude, it wouldn’t cause any additional adverse effect.

Though he seemed all muscles and no brains, as a Ninth Rank Professional, no one is truly foolish.

“Lord Hall, this matter is indeed your fault, please do not be too perfunctory.”

Talina noticed this and couldn’t help but shake her head slightly.

“Hey, five hundred units of dragon blood, two thousand dragon scales, one main dragon horn, five secondary horns! This is my limit! If you still want more, I might as well fight both of you!”

Hall crossed his arms and raised his head, expressing a stance that he was not to be trifled with.

“Impossible, at a minimum we need six thousand units of Ninth Rank dragon blood, thirty thousand pieces of complete Ninth Rank dragon scales, seven main Ninth Rank dragon horns, twenty secondary horns, and two Ninth Rank Dragon Crystals!”

Carrot re-clenched his Magic Wand, Hall also reached again for the hilt of his Great Sword.

“How about this, you both take a step back? I’ll suggest a number—two thousand units of dragon blood, ten thousand dragon scales, three main dragon horns, ten secondary horns, and one Ninth Rank Dragon Crystal.”

Talina simply offered a compromise herself.

“Impossible!”

“Not enough!”

Both of them rejected Talina’s proposal, and at the same time, a translucent shadow of the Frost Crystal Bird appeared beside Carrot, while a golden dragon’s head faintly emerged behind Hall.

After the momentum had gathered to its peak, the two suddenly collided in mid-air, creating a circle of transparent ripples in the void. After repelling and conflicting with each other for a while, they eventually dissipated simultaneously.

No winner, no loser—

“Hmph… For Talina’s sake, let’s agree to the quantity she mentioned!”

Surprised by the outcome of this test, Hall gritted his teeth in secret, speaking somewhat grudgingly.

“Ha, if it weren’t for Lady Talina being here today, this amount of resources would have been absolutely insufficient!”

Carrot also sneered, providing a way out for both evenly matched sides.

“Alright, thank you both… Now the others are already waiting in the Council Hall. If your issues are resolved, let’s set off.”

Talina was no longer surprised by their reactions; every time she mediated, the result was more or less the same.

After returning to the Yar Continent, Carrot suddenly discovered an additional message on the Crystal Ball, sent by Anvis.

Anvis indicated that he was currently safe, but was temporarily unsure of his exact location, and reassured that there was no need to worry too much about him.

….

Eventually, when Carrot and his two companions arrived at the True Knowledge Society’s Council Hall, four people were already waiting inside the hall.

Upon seeing the trio’s arrival, everyone nodded in greeting to each other, and the meeting officially started.

Only seven people were participating in this meeting, but each participant was Ninth Rank.

One person from each of the Four Great Families, one from the Royal Family, one from the academy, and one Ninth Rank not affiliated with any of the groups mentioned.

Instead of cloaks, each person wore a Mithril True Knowledge Society pin on their chest.

Since the main victim in this affair had already reached a settlement with the responsible party on their own, Hall’s supervisory dereliction was covered up by the group and no longer pursued.

Accordingly, the main issue discussed by the group centered on the Mysterious force that stealthily orchestrated everything.

The direct destruction of the Trial World for new members was akin to slapping the face of the True Knowledge Society.

Feeling a severe provocation of their authority, this enormous organization began to mobilize. Prophecy Magic, Mysterious rituals, time-space secret techniques… they started to investigate the truth of the matter by all possible means.

Meanwhile, taking this as their reason, factions led by the Olivendi Family and the Alfred Family began extensive investigations.

For a time, the upper echelons of the Gloria Empire were on tenterhooks. Countless secretive organizations were uncovered and then eradicated root and branch.

The various powers behind these organizations could only swallow this bitter pill, not daring to make any rash moves.

Several days later, a document bearing the True Knowledge Society’s insignia was laid upon the expansive desk in front of Duke Carrot.

The document recorded some information about the ancient organization “Door in the Pupil”.

Ultimately, no matter how well-hidden by the power of High-Rank Prophets to mask the lines of fate, the True Knowledge Society still detected traces of their activities.