The King of Gold enjoys having everything within his grasp, the feeling of ruling over all; he loathes the uncertainty of battle.

When the scarlet moon rose, Crowley suddenly changed his mind.

Perhaps this wasn't a new game designed by the King but a real threat felt by the King of Gold from Ethan.

As an early follower of the King of Gold, Crowley had seen similar scenes.

Merlin had also once made the King of Gold so fearful, causing him to tremble and dare not meet Merlin personally.

Although the guild won that battle, it was almost due to sheer numbers. At that time, the Goddess hadn't yet distanced herself from them, and the guild was at its peak, calling the Goddess for help in the final confrontation. Crowley felt the victory carried a sense of borrowing power.

At least to him, Merlin lost to the Goddess, not the King of Gold.

Ethan could discern, as a brave man, Crowley despised the King of Gold, believing him to be a person with weak will.

He couldn't explain the source of the King of Gold's power, nor did he know why the Goddess granted her power to him. Having immense strength without the matching will and courage, to Crowley, this was the King of Gold's weakness.

He was used to overwhelming victories, lacking experience in battles with evenly matched opponents.

This means once situations develop into stalemate and uncontrollable directions, the King of Gold's mindset becomes unstable, leading to errors in judgment.

Crowley's description of Merlin confirmed Ethan's judgment.

Before becoming a traitor, Merlin was also one of the guild's leaders, equal to the King of Gold. He had a major disagreement with the guild on a certain issue, left in anger, and took several key divine artifacts with him.

He also subtly hinted that within the guild, there were still several figures equal to the King of Gold.

This is an existence beyond imagination.

The King of Gold governs up to 17 realms, all thoroughly dominated, encompassing not just humans but all living beings shackled by bonds created by him. Within the guild, these governed realms are equivalent to "territories."

The King of Gold was never the strongest; his territories weren't the most numerous.

Crowley mentioned that among the guild's higher-ups, there are figures stronger than the King of Gold, invincible and formidable, true war maniacs who love personal involvement in battles.

This serves as a warning.

Even if Ethan somehow managed to surprise everyone and defeat the King of Gold, the guild would certainly not let it slide.

It was a pleasant conversation—if not for what happened afterward.

At that time, Ethan was inspired by the conversation atmosphere, drinking several glasses of fine wine from the city hall with Charman and Crowley. He wasn't known for his tolerance, feeling dizzy after a few drinks.

Charman and Crowley noticed his state change, and as the banquet was about to end, Charman suddenly struck, using an excuse to open the door, then suddenly clamped his arm from behind, embracing him with a determined expression. Master assassin Crowley didn't miss the opportunity, flicking his right hand, he sent two foul eggs hitting his body like hidden weapons.

Ethan, hurt by the concealed weapons, was covered with the "foul egg smell" debuff.

However, the ones plotting against him were obviously not just Charman and Crowley; amid chaos, he noticed the yellow little potato laughing uncontrollably.

Afterwards, little potato insisted that everything happened too quickly for her to react, affirming she wasn't among those thinking someone should be pelted with rotten eggs.

Charman, who shared his fate, stated that it was separate from their intentions.

Even though he and Crowley had put their bets on Ethan, it didn't mean they could tolerate the actions attributed to the King of Ban Shi, regardless of being residents of the Golden Kingdom.

They decided to sanction the King of Ban Shi, Ethan, with their own identity and free will.

He couldn't find anywhere to wash along the way, enduring all the way to the capital of Siwalant.

This was Duke Stan's residence, a manor with a classical aesthetic, adhering to Ancient Gallog Dynasty's architectural style, but when they arrived, the mansion was vacant.

Last night, "hunters" who received intelligence from Oak City through mental links stormed the manor, capturing Duke Stan hiding in the capital. From the posted wanted notices in the city, it seemed Xiangwei and her subordinates escaped with Ethan's interference; wanted notices for "Diablo" and "Dio" appeared.

This shows they couldn't actually distinguish the informers' identity.

After losing the mental links, the remaining Six-Person Council members had to resort to traditional methods they considered outdated.

"Senior sister, do I still have a foul egg smell on me?"

Thinking of this, Ethan asked the figure outside the mist.

Once this affair was over, he felt he ought to learn some water element magic.

"No more."

"That's good."

Ethan, in his bathrobe, walked to the mirror, tidying his hair.

This was Siwalant's capital, he didn't want to face the King of Gold bearing a foul egg smell.

The mirror reflected his face, and the ice element approaching him in the mist, with a clear cold expression identical to Lindong's. If ignoring the "outbursts," the ice element was quite a good senior sister, and after conversing with Crowley, Ethan suddenly understood the reason for the ice element's special training requests months ago.

"Do I look like Merlin?"

Ethan studied himself carefully in the mirror.

Merlin was once one of the guild's leaders, equal to the King of Gold, and also among history's greatest elemental shapers. Ethan guessed he must have had deep ties with this world's elemental elves.

But he eventually failed in the war.

History books recorded Merlin's end.

He was pierced through the heart by a specially crafted spear from a time traveler, taking away his immortality. Afterward, the time travelers swarmed him, attacking after his demise, decapitating him and hanging his head on the city wall of the Land of Gold, leading the Gallog Dynasty, under his protection, to decline.

Afterward, internal and external woes plagued the Gallog Dynasty, without the protector, this land was eventually split into two countries.

Adhering to Gallog's glory, Siwalant, conquered by foreign enemies, and ceded East Valentin.

For the elemental elves of this world, that must be an unpleasant memory.

Elemental elves hope he won't repeat the same mistakes.

"No, you don't look alike at all."

Ice element came to his side, also carefully examining the mirror's reflection, "You don't need to imitate him, you're much better."

The abnormal noise outside the manor was growing closer, it was the sound made by "hunters."

Throughout the journey, Ethan hadn't deliberately hidden his whereabouts, even without mental links, the Six-Person Council should have known he arrived at the Land of Gold.

The massive "hunters" body settled outside the window, spotlight-like "eyes" locked onto him.

He heard the sound of the door being forced open downstairs; a presence apart from "hunters" invaded the manor.

The hunters' sharp limbs lifted the window, causing the whole room to shake.

The forward-bending sharp claws tore through the water curtain, striking directly at Ethan.

Outside the manor was becoming increasingly bustling.

The residents of the Golden Kingdom were gathering here constantly, regardless of their combat skills, all currently holding weapons.

The next moment, the "hunter"'s sharp claws were blocked by a frozen red ice layer at the other end.

The ice element's lips curved slightly.

"And, you will win."