Chapter 538: The Wooden Tavern
Chapter 538 of "Extra's Path To Demon King" kicks off revealing: {Seekers Note - The last parts of the previous Chapter were edited a bit, please... Find out whatās next!
{Seekers Note - The last parts of the previous Chapter were edited a bit, please check it once more, if you had read it yesterday...}***
Zeledin frowned, though the Ghost race was naturally not afraid to face off against their arch nemesis, the Titan Ogre Tribe, but it was still not the right time for that to happen, and that clash also could not occur within the confines of the Ghost Island.
Because the Seal of the Elven race, which is on that island, not only confines the undead race members, but it also severely suppresses the power of anyone with the Dreadborn aspect. Even the Ghost Emperor is no exception to that suppression.
Zeledinās eyes flashed coldly. If not for that sealās suppressive feature, the Emperor would long since have burned that seal to cinders with his current Might.
All of these thoughts passed through his mind in a fraction of a second.
His gaze returned to the King of Suncrest, and the middle-aged man merely scoffed, "If youāre implying the threat of the Titan Ogre Tribe, then those damned Giants will first trample over the lands of humanity to expel us before anything."
"In the end, it shall be the Human race who suffers the most casualties," revealed Zeledin with a pleasant smile.
Yet, when he saw the vicious and uncaring gaze of the Sun King, an uncontrollable rage almost erupted from the Mighty Death Knight, an anger that he could barely control.
"HUMAN KING!!! HAVE YOU GONE MAD??" his voice came out as a bone-grinding growl, no longer that of a human.
At this moment, Leonidas leaned forward, as he proclaimed in a challenging tone, "FEEL FREE TO TEST IT, ZELEDIN ULPRANAK..."
Even greater fury bubbled up within the commander of the Third Ghost Legion. It was as if he were dealing with a crazed madman who could not be reasoned with in any way. A sense of wariness bloomed in the mind of the powerhouse.
In all honesty, the threat made by Leonidas in itself was of no concern to Zeledin; at worst, a large amount of Oathbreaker stones could be used to break that racial contract.
But the problem is that the amount used for that breach of oath would still be excessive and a complete waste of the priceless resources.
Zeledin was naturally unwilling to do that, but he also lacked the authority to make that decision. Besides, once he thought about the matter deeply, killing the valkyrie was perhaps a good thing for them as well.
But there was a third fact to this conversation: Leonidas was fishing for information from him.
Something that Zeledin knew very well, for example, if he did not take Leonidasās threat seriously. The Sun King would easily guess that the Ghost race might be capable of breaking even the racial agreement made by Prime Nexus.
So, Zeledin had to put up this subtle act.
The middle-aged man sighed to himself in a defeated tone, "I truly fail to understand how humanity is still standing with a Demented King like you sitting on its throne."
His voice became human once more, and their conversation did not affect the people around them in the wooden tavern, who continued to talk, cheer, and drink.
Not knowing that the very survival of humanity was being determined by the conversation of the two calamitous existences right beside them.
Sometimes... Ignorance is truly bliss.
Seeing the 6th phase Death Knight backing off, Leonidas chuckled and leaned back on his seat, as he stated with a subtle smile, "In fact, if you help me with this. I can even personally erase all the traces that the Ghost race was here."
"Even if envoys of the other race come to investigate, they will find nothing."
Zeledin sipped his wine once more; his expression did not change, but a subtle understanding had formed in his mind, for someone of his level.
It was not hard to guess that Suncrest King was never truly worried about the Ghost race occupying the Human lands; rather, Leonidas had his own goals, one of which was to kill the Valkyrie, who was growing stronger at an unprecedented speed.
He was also scheming against the other two great kingdoms. The Sun King wanted to take over all of humanity once the Ghost race left, Zeledin surmised with a dark chuckle.
Zeledin spoke only after emptying the current Mug of wine on his hands, "Hmm, considering the Valkyrieās horrendous might, it would be extremely difficult for anyone below 5th phase to kill her, but itās not entirely impossible."
Leonidas added at this moment, "That Demon of yours, he is quite strong as well."
Zeledin smiled. He understood that Leonidas already thought that Osiris could perhaps do the job, and it spoke volumes about how exceptionally powerful Osiris was, enough so that he could catch the attention of two mighty 6th-phase beings.
Because the 6th phase existences were so disgustingly strong that even peak-5th phase seekers could be squashed under their might, akin to bugs, and with effortless ease as well.
Though Zeledin found Osiris somewhat suspicious, as sometimes Osiris feels like a true demon in his senses, while the gray flames wielded by Osiris clearly possess a scent of the Dreadborn aspect.
In the end, Zeledin felt it beneath him to keep an active eye on a mere 2nd phase existence, no matter how powerful he may be, and since his strategist, Zoromir, was already keeping an eye on Osiris. He did not need to concern himself with this matter any further.
Zeledin said in a melancholic tone, shifting the topic, "Do you know why I keep sipping this wine made of human blood and flesh? Even though I cannot truly taste it, in the same way humans can...."
Leonidas did not answer, only gazing at him silently.
Zeledin did not mind and continued, as if he only wished for someone of his equal status to listen, "Because what I am tasting is not really this drink itself. But the emotions that are being generated from the heart of this human whom I am possessing at the moment."
A dark smile bloomed on the lips of Zeledin, "Because the blood and flesh which were used to make this wine were actually the children of this mundane old man. I have not destroyed his pitiful soul after possession, only suppressed it. And let him feel and see everything."
"In fact, with every sip I take, the one who is truly tasting this drink is not me but the real owner of this body, and he naturally knows whose flesh and blood I have made this wine from. Since I made him see the whole process of it," chuckled Zeledin.
"With every sip I take, his soul explodes with such raw and beautiful emotions...."
"Rage..."
"Anguish..."
"Despair..."
"Wrath..."
"Love...and Hate..."
"My dead soul can feel it all, these feelings, they are so majestic...." As he said those words, tears started sliding down the cheeks of the middle-aged dirty man; his eyes were filled with boundless agony, and yet the grin on his face only widened.
It was as if those eyes were not the eyes of Zeledin, but of the soul that was being suppressed. At the same time, the dark smile on the manās face became even more vicious, for Zeledin controlled his lips.
The Sun King saw the immense pleading look on those eyes of the pitiful soul who was unfortunate enough to be selected by Zeledin to be tortured by him, since the possessed middle-aged manās soul heard their conversation from start to finish.
The possessed one knew that the young man sitting opposite was the mighty King of Suncrest. At that moment, to that tortured soul, Leonidas was the only hope of being freed. The poor soul of the man did not even hope for any revenge; he wanted to escape or even die.
But the look on Leonidas was apathetic as ever; there was not a hint of mercy or any other emotion in his eyes, as if this act of immense cruelty did not even bother him. Leonidas simply stood up, straightening his clothes for a moment, and walked out of the tavern without saying a word to Zeledin.
Gradually, the tears falling from the eyes of the old man stopped. Zeledin took control once more. He resumed drinking and savoring the emotions generated by the mundane old manās soul.
After an unknown amount of time, another figure walked into the tavern and sat opposite Zeledin. He spoke aloud, "Too noisy...."
His voice reverberated throughout the tavern, something that echoed in the ears of the cheering crowd. A deadly silence fell over until shrill screams replaced it.
The waiters who were delivering food and wine just moments before started to kill all the humans without the slightest bit of mercy. Within a minute, everyone was killed except for five women.
The man cast a glance at those five and pointed his finger towards one female. When he spoke, his words came out like a serpentās hiss, "She is passable..."
Except for that one pretty-looking, simple woman who was taken away, the other four women were killed just like the rest. The unknown man eventually turned his gaze towards Zeledin, who continued to drink. Unbothered by the carnage.
Zeledin also looked back at the person after emptying his Mug.
He looked at the entity, who was handsome but with a wild air, and whose features indicated the figure was not human. But he was a Serpentkin of equal status as Zeledin himself.