Silence filled the treasure room as people, on both sides, stared at each other. Not able to bear the silence, Alexander's daughter screamed with all her might and demanded, "ANSWER ME!" Her emotions took the better of her. She wanted to say so many things to Ed, but no words could come out of her mouth.
Ed had a reason for not answering her. He realized how much pain she was going through. Due to his own experience of losing his beloved ones, and from saving Emilia, he knew that no answer could appease to her.
Before Ed could speak, one of the other women that entered the room said, "Helena, I understand what you're feeling, we all do. However, the man in front of us is the current sect master. The fact that the room opened up confirms the authenticity of the insignia."
The lady that spoke was also quite young, but not as much as Helena. She seemed to be a little over 30 years old, but no one could ask her to confirm her age.
"So you're telling me to accept him just because he has the insignia?!" Helena turned her head around at such a speed that made it look like it was twisted off. She couldn't believe what she heard and was afraid that her own allies were betraying her. But, her fears were unfounded, as the lady continued, "Not at all. All I'm saying is, you should keep calm, so if there was a need for a fight, you'd be at your best…"
The lady monitored the reactions of Ed and the others. Seeing no change in their expression, she frowned, since she couldn't even confirm their stance towards the sect.
However, a sudden surge of energy caused everyone to shield their eyes. Gold coins fell on the ground, and the walls shook. Some of the less powerful cultivators were blown away, while some of the capable ones managed to hold their ground. Ed's group was unaffected, and it was only normal since the energy's source was Ed himself. He secretly contacted the system, asking him to activate the Berserk skill. This gesture alone answered Helena's previous question.
"Impossible…So young, yet so powerful…" an old man with an impressive white beard said as he opened his previously shut eyes. Everyone, young or old, couldn't help but gasp after feeling Ed's current power. Immortal Establishment level 6. Inside of that room, Ed was the one with the highest cultivation currently.
"I won't ask for your forgiveness, nor will I lie to you. If you want me to answer you with my own mouth, then I only ask for you to wait, at least until the situation permits it. For now, I have been entrusted with the fate of this sect, and I plan to see through my promise until the end. If you want to fight, then I will gladly oblige!" Ed's words reverberated around the room as his KI started to calm down.
"You have to be kidding me…Do you know how much we've suffered because of the absence of our sect master? Do you know how many lives were lost because we weren't strong enough?! All of this happened because you killed my father!" Helena shouted once again as her tears overflowed out of her eyes.
"I see…Your blaming of me is showing me that you didn't truly understand your father." Ed's words seemed to send Helena over the edge, causing her to withdraw a long katana, much similar to her father's, and rush towards Ed.
"Helena, stop!" The others shouted as their hearts started to beat, almost breaking their ribcage. They were afraid of losing another one of their sect's family.
However, nothing happened. Helena stopped in the middle of her rush, surprising those that called for her. They knew how much determination she had, and how she would pursue her goals until the end. The very fact that she stopped in the middle of attacking Ed, came as a surprise.
However, they didn't realize that it wasn't out of her will. Ed used his Telekinesis to bind her and stop her movements. He didn't want any bloodshed to happen anymore inside of this sect.
"Right at the climax of out battle, both your father and I fought to prove one thing, and that was which one of us was better. Nothing else mattered. At that moment, I believe your father felt the highest degree of freedom he had ever achieved. I won't allow you to sully his last action by your useless thirst for revenge!" Ed's words would have sounded hypocritical to anyone. And he himself realized that. However, those of the sword sect seemed to acknowledge what he said.
They knew just how much freedom loving Alexander was. And how his freedom was stolen ever since he took over the seat as sect master.
"Hmm?" Ed turned his head to the east, where the gate of the city was. Something entered his range of En, which was enhanced by his Berserk skill, and he noticed it. Ed frowned a little as he released Helena out of her binding.
"Merry, I need you to hurry towards the gate. Sieg, Raikou. You guys are responsible for protecting the citizens, but, don't fight anyone. Actually, you can kill anyone that doesn't follow your orders. Sieg, I'll entrust you with leading our uninvited guests." The members of Sword sect were confused. Ed's sudden orders caused them to look at each other out of confusion. Those that received orders moved immediately.
"I would like us to move to another hall, I hope that is possible," Ed spoke to Helena and the other members as he walked towards the door. The members, somehow, couldn't find the will to disobey him. They lead him to a wide hall, where at the end of it, a throne existed. Ed walked over, and sat there, while everyone else stood by his side.
"What is this about?" Helena asked while showing her resistance against Ed's current actions on her face.
"You'll see in a bit," Ed answered her. And, soon enough, the hall started to overflow by cultivators. The last one to enter said with a smug face, "I've been hearing about a new master. So who is it that sent a damned skeleton to me?!"
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The man that entered was accompanied with more than thirty cultivators of varying levels. They carried an arrogant air around them as if they believed they were better than the others. The room turned silent, with only the man's voice being heard. Ed didn't fail to notice the faces of Helena and the others turning ashen in an instant.
"You? You're the new sect master?! HAH!" The man pointed at Ed who was sitting on the throne. Ed looked at him with a non-interested look, all while resting on the golden armchairs. The man stared a little at the red and golden chair behind it as if eyeing it for himself, before continuing, "What a disappointment! This is a new low even for you, Sword sect. you should've conceded the sect to us, instead of going through such a humiliating process."
This time, the man looked at the remaining members of the Sword sect as he spoke. He was relentless, as he kept bashing the dignity of Sword sect in front of its members. But, his greatest mistake was failing to notice who the new master was.
"You chose to rely on such a young, man? No, he's no man. He's nothing but a child! Hiding behind monsters…Did you scam Sword sect into buying them for you? Pathetic! You probably wouldn't survive in the outside world for even a second!" the man seemed to be enjoying his time. Twirling around while pointing his fingers at people.
Unlike him, the cultivators that came with him were shaking. Their bodies turned cold due to the strangely dense amount of sweat they produced. Their eyes were unfocused, each time darting into a direction. They did their best to try and avoid the throne. They did their best to avoid the gaze of the one sitting atop the throne.
"I guess you bankrupt this sect to try and buy that damned skeleton, right? A mere skeleton that can speak, should be quite expensive. No wonder Sword sect was having financial trouble lately. You're the reason, I guess?!" the man started to jump to conclusion, creating scenarios that fulfilled his fantasy. Due to his current state of extreme arrogance, he failed to notice the killing intent directed at him.
"Still…Sword sect, I feel sorry for you," he said as he looked at the ceiling. "Had Alexander not been slain by a kid, this wouldn't have happened. There was no way he could have let us enter his sect without a fight. And yet, this time, we were welcomed, by a damned skeleton. What a joke."
Helena and the others bit hard on their teeth as the man reminded them about the death of Alexander. But, somehow, they found themselves looking at Ed, the very man who killed Alexander, hoping he could change something about their situation. His previous words, about the promise of taking care of this sect, played back in their minds. They didn't believe him before, but they wished to see how he would act now that was plunged into action.
"That damned skeleton was rather polite, how-" as the man was trying to talk, even more, he was interrupted. Ed had finally spoken.
"Elder Lich."
"Huh?" an annoyed look appeared on the man's face. He was not happy about being interrupted.
"He's not a 'damned skeleton'. Sieg is an Elder Lich." Ed explained to the uncultured man.
"So what? You bought him, what difference does it make? He's still nothing compared to us!"
"You see, that's not right." Ed stopped leaning on his hand as he intertwined his fingers together and leaned forward a little. His dark eyes seemed to pierce through the souls of those in front of him.
"Had it not been for my orders, none of you would be standing in front of me. As a matter of fact, if you had been even the tiniest bit of rude towards him, you would be nothing more than mere puppets, dancing to the tune of his commands."
"Hah! What a load of crap. If he could have done such a thing, then I'd say Sword sect invested correctly. But I can see him as nothing more than a mere servant, good for nothing except delivering news!"
"Pfft!"
"What's so FUNNY?!" The man howled, as he noticed the little Bella laughing at what he said.
"Don't shout at my little sister, I'll kill you. Also, you'll know soon enough, Sieg. Make an example out of one of them."
The cultivators in the room were perplexed. Ed seemed to be talking to Sieg, but they couldn't see him anywhere. Just then, a sense of anxiety filled the hearts of those present, as a cloaked figure appeared behind an unlucky, unsuspecting, unfortunate, cultivator.
"Your orders are my commands, your superness." Sieg undid his invisibility as he tapped the head of the cultivator with his finger. People had no time to question Sieg's new nickname for Ed, as the man he touched fell on the ground. He was dead. And, the next instant, the cultivator got back up as an undead.
The cultivators broke into a run. The funny thing was, they were running towards the throne. Their fear of the sudden development caused them to think irrationally. They didn't stop until they noticed a black wolf emerge out of Ed's shadow. The next instant, they all stopped. Their bodies couldn't move.
"What did you do?!" the man started to shake, so hard that the gold coins he had on him rattled.
"Which sect are you from?" Ed asked him.
"The Poison sect! And I'm an inner disciple!"
"…" Ed opened his eyes wide as he heard the answer. The man noticed this, and a smile emerged on his face.
"So, do you regret what you did?! The fact that you challenged the Poison se-" Before the man could continue his words, he felt an immense pressure. As if a whole planet was dropped on his shoulders.
"What a coincidence. I planned on visiting your sect after a month, but to think my plans would change so abruptly," Ed said as he started to walk towards the man. He was releasing so much KI, that he was crushing the man, who could only look at him with half an eye.
"The fact that you bullied this sect. The fact that you're from the Poison sect. The fact that you stood in front of me this day. Regret them deeply." The pressure being released from Ed intensified to an autonomous degree. The bones of the man were heard cracking, and his innards turned into much. He let out a groan before dying, turning into a splat on the ground.
"As for you, you regret your life choices. Mehen." Ed tapped the drowsy serpent on his shoulder as he spoke to the unmoving cultivators. Mehen turned into a gigantic serpent, though much smaller compared to his full size, he gobbled all the cultivators in one go.
"Ed! I found some guards on the verge of death and healed them!" Merry returned back to the room, fluttering her wings. The members of Sword finally understood why Ed asked them to move to this room, and why he asked Merry, Sieg, and Raikou to follow his orders. 'He knew everything…' all of them thought the same thing.
"Our job is still not done, the city is starving. For now, we will hunt!" Just as Ed finished speaking, his companions had formed a smile and disappeared from his side.
Hello everyone! Sorry for not updating this past couple of days. I had a cold and many projects to prepare, so I couldn't write at all. I'm better now, and I will try to publish as many chapters as I can this weekend!
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