Chapter 29: 029-Mess
"Your Majesty, I think a Chimera Ant King has appeared," a voice came from the side. All the goblins—Zephorix, Tokiyori, Ariana, and Lyrael—looked toward the speaker.
"Who said that?" Tokiyori asked.
Zephorix and Ariana's eyes widened as they saw the figure standing there.
"Mother?" Ariana said, shocked.
"Huh? Your mother?" Lyrael was taken aback.
"Alzard! You made it here safely. I'm glad!" Ariana exclaimed.
Alzard ran and jumped into Zephorix's arms, kissing him. Everyone was stunned.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Ariana stepped in between them, separating the two.
"What did I miss, Your Majesty?" Alzard asked.
Lyrael stepped forward and asked, "You are Ariana's mother, am I right?"
"Oh, Spirit Queen, yes, I am Ariana's mother," Alzard replied.
Lyrael, confused, then asked, "What's your relationship with Zephorix?"
"Are you an idiot? I just kissed him, and you're asking what kind of relationship I have? Of course, it's a romantic one," Alzard replied.
Lyrael was shocked, as if lightning had struck her. "You both, mother and daughter, are after Your Majesty? Shameless!" Lyrael said.
"Don't get the wrong idea. She's not my real mother; she's my aunt. She adopted me when I was a child, so we're not blood-related," Ariana clarified.
"Why are you getting jealous, Spirit Queen? This has nothing to do with you," Alzard said.
"Nothing to do with me?!" Lyrael's vein popped out in anger. "I am in love with Zephorix!" she shouted.
Silence fell. Lyrael's face turned red. "Ahh... What have I done?" she muttered in a low voice.
"You burglar! How dare you try to steal my man!" Alzard yelled, drawing her sword.
Lyrael responded by drawing her spear.
"Stop it, all of you!" Zephorix commanded. Silence fell over the room.
Zephorix sighed and said, "All of you, stop this. Let's talk about how the goblins are evolving, so we can figure out who is behind their evolution."
Alzard and Lyrael withdrew their weapons, and the meeting resumed.
"What do you know, Alzard? Tell us everything," Zephorix asked.
Alzard began, "A century ago, when the Chimera Ants invaded, we faced a similar situation. When a Chimera Ant King attacked us, the creatures nearby began evolving. Further research revealed that the Chimera Ant King's powerful aura was responsible. When the aura enters the bodies of weaker creatures, it triggers their evolution. That's all I know, Your Majesty."
"This explains how the legendary Goblin King appeared—an impossible occurrence," Ariana remarked.
"What do you mean, Ariana?" Alzard asked.
"We are being attacked by the 20th Chimera Ant King, named Grim," Ariana said.
"Is this real? What happened? How did you escape?" Alzard asked, shocked.
"Escape? No, we didn't escape. Zephorix defeated Grim," Lyrael said.
"What? Your Majesty defeated a Chimera Ant King?" Alzard was astonished.
She pondered in her mind, *Your Majesty defeated a Chimera Ant King? What happened while I was away? How much stronger has Your Majesty become? Is he now strong enough to take down a Chimera in such a short time?*
Alzard knelt before Zephorix and said, "Your Majesty, congratulations on your victory! As expected from you."
"Raise your head, Alzard," Zephorix said.
Alzard raised her head and stood.
"Now that I have dealt with the goblins, how shall I deal with the ogres?" Zephorix said
In the dark prison cell, Icaris sighed in annoyance.
Kiwi asked, "What happened, Icaris?"
"That guy, the king... He was strong," Icaris replied.
"Yes, he was indeed strong," Kiwi agreed. "But he looked quite young. What do you think, old man Juko?"
"Hoo, he was indeed strong for his age, and probably wasn't even fighting at full strength," Juko said.
Carrion sighed, and Alice looked at her brother in worry.
Suddenly, the giant door to the cell corridor opened. Zephorix and Tokiyori entered, walking in front of the cell.
"You! Why did you come here? Are you here to execute us?" Carrion asked, his lip curling slightly.
"Please, don't do anything to my brother. Listen to me!" Alice pleaded.
"Alice, don't beg them for forgiveness. We did nothing wrong!" Carrion said.
"Uhm, you all did nothing wrong," Zephorix said.
All the ogres' eyes widened.
"I asked Alzard..." Zephorix's mind flashed back to a memory.
"Alzard, did you encounter any ogres?" Zephorix had asked.
"Ugh, ogres? Yes, Your Majesty. When I was coming here, I discovered an ogre village and invited them to become your subordinates.
But they refused, and their young lord bad-mouthed you, so I destroyed their village," Alzard had said.
Zephorix's vein popped in anger. "So, it was you who did bad things under my name?"
"Haaaaah..." Alzard muttered.
"Don't 'haaaah' me! Come with me!" Zephorix commanded.
Zephorix called Alzard.
"You can come in now."
Alzard walked in, and all the ogres' eyes widened in shock. Carrion couldn't suppress his rage and moved toward Alzard, but the chains stopped him.
"Calm down," Zephorix said.
"Release me! I'll erase you!" Carrion shouted.
"Calm down," Zephorix repeated.
Carrion tried to break the chains, but suddenly, Zephorix released a menacing aura. Under its pressure, Carrion's feet trembled, and he finally calmed down.
"Hah, you've finally calmed down. Now we can talk," Zephorix said.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone