Three days after the battle at the City of Peyton, an army composed of ten thousand soldiers arrived at the city.

Leading this army was none other than Great General Sherlock. He had received General Fahad’s letter, telling him of the battle that had transpired a few days ago.

“It’s good to see you again, Great General,” Lux said with a smile.

“Lux, why is it that everytime I see you, our Kingdom is always just a few steps away from complete destruction?” Great General Sherlock asked in a teasing tone. “Death God of the Battlefield. That is what we call you, but I think Herald of Death is a more apt title, don’t you think so?”

Lux smirked because he could tell that the Great General was just joking.

“Thanks for giving me such a cool title,” Lux replied as he gave the Great General a thumbs up. “I like it.”

This time, it was Great General Sherlock’s turn to chuckle.

“I’ve read General Fahad’s letter, and I’m quite shocked by what he wrote to me,” General Sherlock said. “Can we talk about it in more detail after my men have been given their temporary quarters?”

“Of course. I’m staying at the Mayor’s Residence, along with my Mercenary Group. You can find us there, Great General.”

“Understood. I’ll see you later.”

After bidding his goodbye, Great General Sherlock led his men to the city’s center.

“Are we really going to waste our time here?” Prince Cyrus asked with an annoyed look on his face. “It has already been three days since the battle ended. How long do we have to stay here?”

Lux glanced at the Second Prince of the Vahan Empire and arched an eyebrow.

“No one is stopping you from leaving this place, you know?” Lux stated. “If you really want to leave then you can go. I’m not going to stop you.”

“Y-You!” Prince Cyrus wanted to tell the Half-Elf that he should stop wasting his, and everyone’s time. But, after hearing Lux’s reply, he was unable to come up with words that could force the Half-Elf to go to the Ammarian Kingdom with him.

What the Second Prince of the Vahan Empire didn’t know was that Lux had already sent Zagan and Shax to scout the borders of the Ammarian Kingdom.

Gaap was still sleeping, and Lux didn’t want to leave him behind if it was possible.

However, Carol, who was guarding her Master, informed the Half-Elf that he could just leave his safety to her, and do whatever he needed to do.

Because of this, Lux no longer felt too worried and sent his two fastest scouts to check on the current situation of the Ammarian Kingdom.

He didn’t want to rely on his Master to solve all of his problems for him, and he had a feeling that Gaap had no intention of helping him again on this expedition.

Although no words were spoken between them, the Half-Elf understood that his Master did what he did for a reason, as for whatever that reason was, they would have a proper talk when Gaap regained consciousness.

He was also very curious about Antero’s background.

A being such as that was simply too memorable to ignore.

———

“Your Highness, are we really going to follow that Half-Elf for the duration of this expedition?” one of the members of the Crystal Palace asked.

“Yes,” Aur replied as he nonchalantly flipped the page of a book. “You have already seen what he and his Master are capable of. If we want to clear this dungeon, and have all of you gain the ability to bring more people to enter the Gate of the Apocalypse, we will need his help.”

Aur then glanced at the remaining members of his entourage in a calm manner.

“I know that all of you are dissatisfied with my decision,” Aur stated. “But, I am not here to cater to your petty pride and arrogance. Even if all of you attacked Lux at the same time, I can guarantee that all of you will die before any of you can even touch a strand of his hair. Now, I understand why our Steward’s Grandson, Cethus, is following him.”

The members of Aur’s entourage no longer said anything because none of them had the ability to surpass what Lux had done in the short period of time he had been in the Gate of Famine.

During their first try, they only lasted for several days before they had all been annihilated by the Monster Army that had overwhelmed them in both quality and quantity.

No one blamed them when they failed because even the Saints, as well as the High-Rankers who saw everything that happened, deemed that there was no possible way that mere Initiates could defeat the gate.

But, after Lux made his appearance, the seemingly impossible hurdle was now easily solved.

This shocked all the Rankers that were currently outside the Gate of the Fallen, making them see the Half-Elf in a new light.

“I’ve already made my decision,” Aur said in a tone that would not allow any kind of opposition. “Do not try to dissuade me again. Anyone who does will not be allowed to accompany me on the next expedition. Do I make myself clear?”

“””Yes, Your Highness!”””

Aur shifted his gaze back to the book he was reading.

This was one of the records that belonged in the library of the Crystal Palace pertaining to the Golem of Destruction that had wreaked havoc across the land during the first invasion of the Abyssal Race.

Originally, he didn’t think much about the history of what had happened in the past. However, after seeing Antero, he realized that being ignorant of the past might come to bite him in the present.

As the future King of the Crystal Palace, he should know more about the powerhouses of the world.

People whom he should form connections with, and those he couldn’t afford to offend.

‘Mother, out of all the visions you have seen about the future, did you also see this scene?’ Aur thought.

Before he left the Crystal Palace, his mother told him that he would meet a red-headed Half-Elf on this expedition in the Domain of the Fallen.

She said that whatever happened, Aur should not antagonize this person even though he didn’t look that special.

Just as his mother said, Aur had been paying close attention to whatever Lux was doing. He even asked the Vahan Empire for every bit of information that they had of him.

Although Lux had done many amazing things, he wasn’t that impressed by it. He was certain that if he faced the same trials as the Half-Elf did in the past, he would have also won the war against the Ammarian Kingdom, even if the odds were against his favor.

But now, he had to correct this mindset.

Even though he could also fight a Dreadnaught-Ranked Monster alone, he was unable to fight against a Dreadnaught-Ranked World Boss.

An ordinary Dreadnaught-Ranked Monster was nothing compared to its World Boss counterpart.

If the Giant Earth Turtle hadn’t appeared, Aur was certain that Lux would have been able to defeat the monster that none of them could defeat at their current Rank.

‘Still, why do I feel like someone has been observing me ever since I came through the Gate of Famine this time around?’ Aur thought. ‘I didn’t feel this way in the past.’

He understood that everyone was watching what was happening inside the Dungeon through the artifacts they carried. However, the pair of eyes that had been watching him was different, and it made him feel as if he was truly in danger.

‘I hope I’m just overthinking things.’ Aur sighed.

He wasn’t aware that the feeling he had was on point, and even at that moment, the silver-haired Devil was looking at him, even though they were miles apart from each other.