Chapter 1076 - An Invitation on The Day of Three Moons (1/2)

“Are you sure that is what the Void Territory wants?”

Upon hearing his younger sister’s report, Ion’s expression remained unchanged. Erin nodded in response, gazing at Ion through the magic illusion anxiously. She reported all the progress and result of the earlier negotiation to her big brother and was, in fact, feeling somewhat depressed deep down in her. It was due to the fact that the Country of Darkness had as though suffered a double loss: among the four legendary generals, one was dead and another gravely injured. Not only that, but the Country of Darkness also had to hand over the ‘Astral Telescope’, known as a national treasure. On the other hand, what did the Void Territory contribute? Nothing. At the very least, they would stop looking into the matter of the Country of Darkness invading the Void Territory earlier on. But the problem was that the incident didn’t cause any huge damage to the Void Territory apart from the uninhabited forest being destroyed and becoming a total mess. There was neither any building in the Land of Atonement damaged nor civilians implicated or dead due to the ‘accident’. On the other hand, the Country of Darkness ‘sacrificed’ several squads of elite troops and even Balende’s arm was left behind… This didn’t seem like a fair transaction at all. The Country of Darkness had suffered a huge loss.

If this were to happen in other places, perhaps the ruler would be forced to step down from office soon. If it happened in the Country of Light, maybe the people would start protests on the streets, holding up banners to rebuke the ruler, before staging a sit-in in the plaza and eventually landing themselves in a clash against the guards that arrived to maintain order. Then, the opposition party seized the opportunity to wantonly criticize the foolishness and incapability of the ruler and gather all people together to overthrow the weak, useless ruler… But it was a pity that such scenarios were rare in the Country of Darkness. Perhaps some undead creatures were also discontent, but they would never sway the prestige of Dark Dragon Ion.

This was the case, at least for now.

“… What made you make that decision?”

Ion didn’t express any emotion to Erin’s report and one couldn’t decipher if he agreed or disagreed. However, Erin didn’t have many choices as she was pressured from both sides. The prestige on the other side was tough for her to manage, but what about here? Erin knew that her big brother was an unyielding man. Even though Erin felt like the result of the negotiation wasn’t unacceptable, she wasn’t the Dark Dragon, after all. She wasn’t confident if Ion would accept the suggestion wholeheartedly. After all, apart from substantial losses, the most unbearable was the damage to Ion’s ‘reputation’ and her big brother was one who regarded reputation highly. Even though he wasn’t that on edge about reputation, Erin felt like he wouldn’t be able to accept this result so easily after being ‘slapped on the face’.

“This was what happened, Big Brother. There was an important reason that affected my decision-making and that wasn’t due to His Majesty Rhode…” Erin said and quickly read the intelligence she gathered about the young lady. She had no intentions of flattering or belittling the young lady but instead, she stood on her own point of view and told everything she felt about the young lady to her big brother. After hearing her narration, Ion’s expression changed slightly for the first time. He blinked, gazed at Erin, and asked, “Are you sure? Erin, based on what we know, there couldn’t possibly be a second Creator Dragon in the Void Territory.”

“I’m sure, Big Brother. I don’t know if she’s a Creator Dragon, but I’m sure that she exudes a massive aura stronger than His Majesty Rhode’s.” This time, it was rare that Erin didn’t speak the truth. Perhaps it should be said that she was smart enough to not compare the young lady to her big brother. Of course, this wasn’t a lie either. The young lady’s dragon’s prestige was indeed stronger than Rhode’s. But… Erin didn’t mention before that Rhode’s dragon’s prestige was weaker than Ion, that is.

“Couldn’t that young lady be him? You know it, Erin. If it were him, it wouldn’t be strange that he dresses up as a woman.”

It seemed like Rhode’s certain ‘rumor’ had spread all over the continent. No one knew what sort of expression Rhode would display when he knew about this.

“Their temperaments were entirely different and besides, it was obvious from their body figures. This young lady was slightly shorter than Rhode. Even though there was a chance that he used illusory spells, those spells aren’t effective on me. Moreover, I don’t think this would benefit him in any way.” It was apparent that Erin had already made such guesses. Although illusory spells existed in the Dragon Soul Continent, they were meaningless in the face of one of Erin’s caliber. After all, they were high-level beings who grasped the rules. Perhaps illusory spells were able to deceive the eyes and senses, but they couldn’t trick the rules themselves. Furthermore, for Rhode to purposely turn himself into a woman just to negotiate with Erin… Erin didn’t think that it was too possible because she was clear that Rhode hated it when others treated him as a woman. It would be bizarre if he were to turn himself into a woman.

“So where’s Rhode then?”

“I haven’t met His Majesty Rhode recently. According to Miss Marlene, he left to run some errands, which was why the young lady took his place to negotiate with me. I didn’t feel anything strange at first because His Majesty Rhode often does such things.” Erin didn’t feel like anything was out of place regarding this matter. In the past, she personally witnessed the difference between Rhode and her big brother in the Deepest Labyrinth and learned that Rhode was a ruler who enjoyed roaming about. Therefore, she didn’t suspect Marlene’s explanations too much. If there was anything worthy of being doubted, that would be the appearance of the young lady being too timely. This was because in the past, no one had ever heard of her existence around Rhode, and not even his closest subordinates were aware of her. However, the thought of another formidable person suddenly emerging around Rhode and no one knowing about her seemed too mysterious.

“…”

Ion didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he shut his eyes and pondered in silence. Upon seeing his expression, Erin solemnly waited for his response. No matter if he agreed or not, this perhaps would be an extremely challenging task to her. But after a few moments, she witnessed her big brother opening his eyes gradually which glinted with determined gaze. Erin tensed up instantly. She knew what this meant. He was about to make a decision that would never change.

“I agree.”

Erin heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing his reply. A few moments ago, she was worried that he would object. If that happened, Erin would need to mention the other condition despite its chances being even higher, that is. But now, since her big brother had agreed, she didn’t need to worry about things that wouldn’t happen anymore. However, she didn’t expect him to continue speaking.

“But I have a condition.”

“Condition?”

Erin’s expression changed slightly, gazing curiously at her big brother and sighed in her head. Big Brother sure is competitive.

Even though Ion had agreed on the surface, he definitely wasn’t feeling great inside. Perhaps he was about to come up with ideas to vent his frustrations. But even so, Erin didn’t have any solution to deal with it and could only helplessly let him be. Upon hearing his younger sister’s query, Ion nodded.

“Yes, I can give them the Astral Telescope since they want it. But, they have to come here and get it themselves!”

“This…”

Upon hearing Ion’s response, Erin knitted her brows. But shortly after, her eyes glinted in a flash and the corners of her lips perked up to form a gentle, yet cunning smile because she understood why her big brother mentioned this condition and his intention behind it.

“Okay, Big Brother. I will be sure to pass the message for you.”

Of course, Erin knew what Ion was plotting. He wanted to personally take a good look at the young lady and confirm her true power, which Erin would also be glad to see happen. Once Ion and the young lady met, he could sense her powerful prestige and through this way, he would surely reconsider his plans. Although Ion was unyielding, he wasn’t foolish. If he knew that there were two powerful Creator Dragons in the Void Territory, he would definitely hold back. In this aspect, Erin felt rather confident. If not, Ion would have started a war with the Country of Law a long time ago. It was due to this reason that with the intention to watch a good show, Erin was spontaneous in handing the ‘invitation’ over.

***

“… Is that so? Alright, I understand now.”

After hearing Erin’s message, the young lady maintained a calm, gentle smile, quietly gazing at the moon princess. After a few moments, she nodded slightly.