Chapter 47: Affirmation from the Dragon King

"The people from Cassell College have already arrived?" In the intensive care unit of the Shugenja, Gen Yasuo was still wrapped in bandages, yet he abruptly bolted upright. "Where are they then?"

"They were taken away by Miss Erii," Inuyama贺 said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

The amiable family head, who usually greeted everyone with a smiling face, looked thoroughly wretched at this moment. Soaked to the skin and pale, presenting himself to the acting family head in such an unseemly state was a serious breach of protocol for which he could even be held accountable.

However, he had no time to change his clothes, because the events of this past night had been utterly bizarre—so much so that he scarcely knew where to begin.

"What on earth happened?" Gen Yasuo yanked the IV needle out of the back of his hand, ignoring the dissuasions of the surrounding medical staff, and commanded straight out, "Notify the other family heads. Prepare for a family council."

This council was convened in extreme haste; several family heads who were genuinely too far away to make it did not even have time to wait. The sole agenda of the meeting was to listen to Inuyama贺's report, and his opening words dropped a massive bombshell.

"The Kanto Branch has rebelled."

"I knew it!" Fuma Kotaro's eyes widened fiercely, and he snorted coldly, "Those lawless madmen were bound to defect to the Dokuro-kai sooner or later!"

"No, they didn't defect to the Dokuro-kai. They are... following the Family Head."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. The Family Head? What Family Head?

Meeting everyone's gaze, Inuyama贺 took a deep breath and enunciated every syllable clearly, "Tachibana Masamune is not dead. I saw with my own eyes that he has returned."

"He was the one who personally sponsored the Kanto Branch, which is why they so easily betrayed the family to follow him. When he discovered my suspicions, he attempted to silence me directly, but Miss Erii stopped him. Miss Erii killed him once again."

"Later, a man riding a horse appeared—he looked precisely like Odin from mythology. His target seemed to be Miss Erii, and I only managed to escape by sheer luck."

Inuyama贺 recounted everything that had happened point by point. By the time he finished, everyone's expressions were a complex mix of shock and disbelief.

"It was on my way back that I saw the people from Cassell College. There were three of them, and they all left with Miss Erii."

After a prolonged silence, Sakurai Nanami slowly asked, "Are you certain you didn't mistake them? The college's notification stated they would arrive today."

"I am not mistaken. I have seen photographs of all three of them; I couldn't possibly misidentify them," Inuyama贺 said with absolute conviction.

"So... you are telling us that the imperial commissioners dispatched by the college, whom we haven't even had the chance to meet, have already gone over to the Dokuro-kai?" the Gamoto family head remarked. "It doesn't seem likely that the Dokuro-kai will keep secrets on our behalf."

Dead silence fell over the room—an absolute, heavy stillness. For a moment, no one spoke. At so crucial a moment, misfortunes came in clusters, and the atmosphere was as oppressive as gathering storm clouds.

"We cannot sit here and wait for our doom," Gen Yasuo finally said in a deep voice. "We must take the initiative."

"At the very least, we cannot remain so passive any longer."

...

Meanwhile, at the Elysian Pavilion.

In the lavishly decorated room, several people stared at one another in mutual dismay, the atmosphere instantly turning supremely bizarre. The reason for this awkwardness could be traced back to a single person—a girl.

Ivena's appearance exceeded everyone's expectations.

Aside from Erii, who did not know her, whether it was Caesar, Chu Zihang, or even Tang Xi, a single thought flashed through all their minds simultaneously—

*Why is she here?*

Tang Xi, in particular, had read the original story and knew that no such character existed in the source material. An S-class bloodline wasn't something you picked up off the street, especially not in this era.

In the original work, aside from Lu Mingfei—that monster who started out as an S-class—everyone else, even Chu Zihang who had unlocked the Blood Rage technique, topped out at A-plus at best.

Even Jörmungandr in the disguise of Xia Mi was merely an A-class, though of course, that was because she was deliberately keeping a low profile.

In any case, an S-class bloodline remained exceedingly rare in this day and age. It wasn't that none existed, but to be officially rated as such was tantamount to telling the world that this person's bloodline harbored anomalies.

Even when Chu Zihang was rated S-class, he was suspected of having draconic ties; as for Ivena, there was no telling what Professor Angel was thinking inside. Not only Angel, but Tang Xi herself harbored a degree of suspicion.

Especially upon discovering that Ivena happened to be on that very street, her suspicions reached a fever pitch.

Why did Odin suddenly choose to leave instead of continuing his pursuit? Was it because he didn't want to retrieve Gungnir? Or because he was forced to leave?

It was highly probable that had Odin not departed at that moment, someone else would have reaped the benefits of their standoff. Thus, he chose to retreat; otherwise, he had no reason to spare Tang Xi, seeing as the damage Tang Xi had inflicted on his plan was immense.

And the only force capable of compelling a Dragon King to retreat would be another Dragon King.

*Could it be her?*

Gungnir had shrunk once again into a pocket-sized version no larger than a palm, hidden by Erii within her sleeve. Tang Xi peeked at Ivena from the edge of the sleeve opening.

The girl wore a black trench coat and was exceptionally tall, appearing to be at least 178 centimeters. Her striking figure could not be concealed even by the coat, and her eyes held an unmasked, towering arrogance.

She sat there in silence. Even though she said nothing and wore virtually no expression on her face, her aura was oppressive enough to make Caesar—a true noble scion—feel the pressure.

*Could she be a Dragon King? But aren't Dragon Kings supposed to keep a low profile? To act this conspicuously without the slightest fear of suspicion—*

As Tang Xi was pondering this, a peculiarly bizarre sensation suddenly welled up in her heart—an ineffable sense of crisis, as if she were being watched by something terrifying.

She instinctively looked over and caught Ivena casually retracting her gaze, as though she had merely cast a passing glance.

*Was it my imagination? Or was I discovered?* Before Tang Xi had time to dwell on it, she heard Caesar speak, shattering the stillness.

"Can you tell us now? What organization are you with? What on earth has happened in Japan? We've followed you all the way here; surely you can tell us now?"

Erii nodded, extracted a note that Tang Xi had prepared beforehand, and handed it to the three of them.

The note read:

*Our sect is called Yggdrasil. The moment you agree to pledge your faith and become believers, I will tell you everything that has happened in Japan.*

Upon reading the contents of the note, the expressions of all three changed to varying degrees. Chu Zihang reacted the most violently; he jerked his head up and fixed a piercing stare on Erii, but the girl merely blinked back at him with innocent, almost bewildered eyes.

Caesar didn't think much of it and stated directly that he had no objections. Ivena's reaction, however, was quite strange. She suddenly laughed, as if finding it immensely amusing, and chewed over the words:

"Yggdrasil? Somewhat interesting."

Her gaze swept over Erii's sleeve with ambiguous intent. Casually tossing the note aside, she said with unconcerned nonchalance, "Very well, I accept."

Almost the exact instant her voice trailed off, the interface in Tang Xi's field of view shifted.

[Lord skill triggered. A half-blood has been subjugated. Experience +2, spear-owner bloodline slightly enhanced, durability +1.]

[Lord skill triggered. Acknowledgment of a Dragon King obtained. Experience +3000, spear-owner bloodline vastly enhanced, durability +300. Current durability is at maximum.]

Tang Xi: " ?"

*You said how much?!*

*Wait, whose acknowledgment did I just obtain?!*