171 Orita Town. (1/2)

He had sensed that the man was a Rank-8 Mage. And he remembered that the High Priest was actually a post only below the Bishop. It spoke volumes of how strong the Church was since there were quite a few High Priests in total. This meant that all of them could be Rank-8 Mages!

However, Ozul's focus was not on that. Instead, he was thinking about what this man wanted with him.

'He knows? Hm...' Ozul could only reach such a conclusion since Garth showed extra enthusiasm towards him.

But this single fact made him sure of a lot more possibilities. If the Emperor had really told the Church about him, then it could only mean that he had left everything for the Church to deal with!

'... Of course, they are allies. Indeed, the Silverbird Kingdom really hasn't been sitting back all this time.' Ozul concluded in his mind.

Many of the big powers in the continent seemed to have not been taking any part in the struggle over the Neutral Lands, but the reality was actually quite the opposite. All those powerful organizations had instead allied themselves with the ones actively taking part in it.

Anyways, after realizing what the Emperor was thinking, Ozul knew what these guys would want from him. And from the friendly smile on Garth's face hiding those ill intents, he understood that they would never ask for his cooperation first.

'Fine by me...' Ozul shrugged inside his mind. He did not mind teaching a few brain dead people their place.

It had been a few seconds while Ozul hadn't moved from his place. It was quite awkward for Garth to pull his hand back after getting ignored.

”Ozul,” he simply said his name.

The few men standing behind Garth showed displeasure on their faces.

Noticing the atmosphere turning a little awkward, Garth heartily laughed again and spoke, ”So, it must have been a tiring journey-”

”No,” Ozul interrupted him in the middle of his sentence.

”Huh?” Garth looked at him, dumbfounded. Even the men standing behind him were stupefied.

'At least follow the basic courtesy!' they were cursing him in their mind.

”It wasn't tiring. I took proper rest,” Ozul replied while keeping his face expressionless.

”Cough... It's fine. Follow him; he will take you to the treasury. You have all done a great service to the Church. On behalf of the whole Church, I would once again like to thank all of you. Of course, the payment will be separate, haha!” Garth quickly changed the topic.

Even as a Rank-8 Mage, Garth kept up his image as the High priest and showed his kind side.

Though Ozul knew that it wasn't the case as he felt those corrupting emotions bubbling inside Garth.

At the same time, Rufus whispered something to his subordinates, who left the place as well.

After all the others left, silence descended around the area. Both disguised, Cyril and Mark stood quietly behind Ozul while Rufus and Garth stood opposite to them.

Cyril and Mark were observing the two men standing opposite to them, while Garth only had his eyes fixed on Ozul.

He and Rufus knew that there was something wrong about the two lean men standing behind Ozul, but they were not so important right now.

Even when all four of them were Rank-8 Mages, Rufus and Garth could not gauge the duo's cultivation, which spoke volumes of their expertise in stealth.

”So... how long will you be staying here?” Garth asked, seemingly trying to dispel the awkwardness but with hidden motives.

”Depends,” Ozul replied.

”Depends? On what?” Garth asked confusedly.

”On you people,” Ozul again gave a brief reply, but this alarmed Garth.

'Does he know? Hm... He probably does. But it wouldn't change anything now, heh.' Garth thought inside his mind while keeping a small smile on the outside.

He was just about to continue their talk when Raven and Blaze came back. They had already received the payment and stored in their Spatial Rings.

Ozul looked at Raven, who nodded her head.

”Let's go then,” he said before the group turned around, without minding Rufus and Garth.

Garth kept up his smile even while watching them walk away. To his side, Rufus spoke, ”I don't know what you plan to do with him, but I can only advise you to be careful.”

”No matter how I look at him, he feels dangerous.”

Listening to his words, Garth's smile disappeared for the first time that he had made his appearance.