While Lux was dealing with the Monsters that came to attack them, an uproar was happening in the cavern where the representatives of the different factions watched the battle through the projections in front of them.

All of them thought that the Half-Elf, as well as the other teenagers, would suffer a painful defeat against the Winged Serpent and the Wyverns.

None of them anticipated that the situation would be the opposite of what they were looking forward to seeing.

They gaped at the Half-Elf single-handedly dealing with the situation with ease. A moment later, one of the Initiates of the Crystal Palace snorted.

“So what if he defeated an Argonaut-Ranked Monster?” the Initiate stated. “Our Master dealt with dozens of them. In the end, when he is faced with the Dreadnaught World Boss, he will realize just how short-lived his victory is.”

“That’s right!” another Initiate from the Crystal Palace seconded. “If he can’t even handle this much then what was the point of going back into the Dungeon? Something like this isn’t a big deal.”

Soon, more voices of agreement came from the youngsters of the Crystal Palace, making the place lively.

“Silence!” Piccoro growled, and immediately, all the youngsters shut their lips tightly, not daring to offend the Saint, who was known for having a bad temper.

Piccoro then flicked a storage ring towards Hector that contained the 100 Million Gold Coin bet between him and the Rankers of the Skystead Alliance.

There was no need to wait until Lux finished dealing with the monster before the outcome of the match was decided. The moment the Winged Serpent fell from the sky, everyone knew that the battle was over.

It was at that moment when Aur took a step forward and confronted the Saint, who was one of his bodyguards.

“Piccoro, I am going,” Aur suddenly declared, which made the Dragon Born Saint frown.

“Are you sure about this?” Piccoro asked. “Although he managed to defeat an Argonaut Monster, the two Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses are still a threat. Let’s say that he will be able to deal with one of them, but both of them at the same time? That’s impossible.”

Aur smiled as he walked towards the Gate of the Fallen.

“Don’t forget why we are here, Piccoro,” Aur stated. “This is not about Pride. This is for the glory of the Crystal Palace.”

Piccoro sighed before giving Aur a respectful bow. “It is as you say. Please forgive my short-sightedness. May fortune be in your favor, Your Highness.”

The three other Saints also bowed their heads as their acknowledgement of Aur’s determination.

“All of you, protect his Highness,” Piccoro ordered the Initiates whom they had brought to escort Aur to the Domain of the Fallen.

“””Yes, Your Excellency!”””

Aron, who was struggling internally, also sighed and glanced at teenagers that represented the Skystead Alliance.

“All of you go as well,” Aron ordered. “Make sure to protect Prince Cyrus, and follow his orders.”

“””Yes! Sir!”””

Soon, the representatives of the Crystal Palace and the Skystead Alliance entered the Gate of Fallen.

Their goal was to join up with Lux’s group and do their best to survive until the Dungeon had been cleared.

—————

Inside the Gate of Famine…

“You want me to tame this beast?” Lux asked Shax, who was stepping on the head of the Argonaut-Ranked Winged Serpent that it had successfully subdued.

The Nightgaunt nodded. The Winged Serpent had pleaded for its life, and Shax decided that there was no merit in killing it.

Lux rubbed his chin as he cast a glance at the Argonaut-Ranked Monster who didn’t show any signs of aggression towards him.

Out of the twelve Wyverns, four had died at the hands of the Hecatoncheires that belonged to Eiko.

The remaining eight had been pinned down by Lux’s four Giant Abominations, giving them no chance to escape.

After giving it some thought, Lux glanced at Cai who was standing next to him.

“Do you want this Winged Serpent to be your pet?” Lux asked.

Cai thought a bit before asking for another opinion.

“Hmm… what do you think, Fei Fei?” Cai asked the golden slime perched on top of her head. “Should we tame this Winged Serpent?”

“Wei~”

“I guess you’re right. Fine, I’ll take this Winged Serpent. I like how colorful its wings are.”

Lux nodded and motioned for Shax to look after Cai and ensure that the Winged Serpent wouldn’t do anything silly, while the taming process was happening.

Basically, anyone could tame a Beast to make it their Beast Companion as long as the Beast approved of it.

Since the Winged Serpent didn’t want to die in the hands of the faceless Creature that was pinning it down, it didn’t resist Cai’s Beast Contract, allowing it to become her Beast Companion and mount.

“How about you, Keane, Gerhart, Xander, and Cethus?” Lux asked. “Do all of you want a Wyvern each?”

“Can I have that bronze-scaled Wyvern?” Keane asked as he pointed at one of the Wyverns that was being held by one of the two Hecatoncheires.

“Sure,” Lux replied. “It’s yours.”

“I’ll take the green-scaled one,” Gerhart commented.

Lux nodded “Okay.”

“Mine will be the gray one,” Xander stated.

“I’ll take the black one,” Cethus declared.

“Go.” Lux made a gesture, letting the four of them tame the Wyverns. “How about you, Henrietta? Do you want one?”

The Half-Elf glanced at the Guildmaster of Serenity, who was part of his Father’s faction.

“… Lux, Deimos-Ranked Wyverns are not cabbages that you can easily give away as if they are bought on sale,” Henrietta said in a disapproving tone.

“So you don’t want one?” Lux arched an eyebrow.

“I’ll take the White one, please.”

“Okay. It’s yours.”

The other three members of Serenity, who had come with Henrietta to clear the dungeon, were all left speechless.

They didn’t expect that their proud and steadfast Guildmaster would fold after a Deimos-Ranked Alpha Wyvern was offered to her as a Beast Companion.

Truth be told, they would have done the same in her shoes. Having such a strong Creature as a companion would give them enough bragging rights when they returned to the Academy.

“Einar, Val, you want one too?” Lux asked his two steadfast companions who were loyal to him when it came to conquering the Sacred Dungeon.

“Since you offered, then why not?” Einar grinned as he walked towards the Hundred-Armed Giant to choose one of the Wyverns that were left.

“Thanks.” Val gave Lux a brief nod, before he, too, followed behind Einar.

Val could transform into a Giant Spider, but he couldn’t fly in the sky. Because of this, he decided to not hesitate and accept Lux’s offer.

There was still one Wyvern left unclaimed, and Lux thought that it would be a waste to kill such a fine beast.

Even if he killed the Wyvern and revived it, he would only get a Rank 5 Alpha Monster because its rank would degrade after it had died.

It was not cost-effective, so he decided to let it live.

Besides, after the battle in the Kingdom of Zangrila, he had no shortage of flying Abyssal Monster corpses, which were all stored inside his Bounty Rings.

“Malcolm, are you interested?” Lux asked as he looked in the direction of the blonde-haired boy, who had been his subordinate in their previous dungeon expedition.

“Are you sure?” Malcolm didn’t expect Lux to extend some goodwill in his direction, allowing him to own a Deimos-Ranked Wyvern for free.

Malcolm’s father, who was a Great General, was one of the handful of people that had a Wyvern Mount in the entirety of the Vahan Empire.

Having a strong monster as his Beast Companion would drastically increase his prestige among the members of the nobility, making his effort to go with Lux into the Gate of Famine worth it.