After a meeting that lasted about 4 or so hours, Dyon and Veles had finally hashed out everything they needed for the coming war. According to Dyon's estimations, the Moon Clan would act 3 days earlier. However, that was when Veles let him know that they haven't changed their speed of preparations.
Hearing this, Dyon laughed to himself. He knew that Jabari was an arrogant King, but he didn't think he would be so arrogant to give him, Dyon Sacharro ample time to prepare. He must have been tired of living!
Dyon was already planning on teaching Jabari a lesson for daring to have designs on a woman he called his own. But, to insult him like this brought Dyon's anger to a new level. Maybe it was because, deep inside, he had yet to place Luna on the same pedestal as his other wives, or else how could such a petty incident make him more angry than he already was?
In the end, Dyon reclined in his chair, closing his eyes and sighing inwardly. He knew that this was the last chance he'd give Luna. She now stood at a road forked in two. Whether she'd be by his side for life, or thrown aside by him would be decided today.
Seeing Dyon close his eyes like so, Veles waited patiently. Eventually, Dyon awoke from his thoughts, standing up.
"Now it's about time to go." Dyon said, getting ready to leave.
Just as both men were about to reach the door, an outer elder of the Viserion clan burst in, an agitated and angered expression on his features. For a man of his cultivation to be breathing so hard, and for him to forget his place and burst into a private meeting, one could imagine how important the information he carried was.
Veles frowned when he saw this, but he said nothing.
Seeing his King's dissatisfaction, the elder immediately realized his error. While he might be an elder, that was only because he had managed to reach the celestial level. As for his true authority, it was piss poor when compared to the true powerhouses of the clan. For him to burst into the King's study, what right did he have?!
Bursting into a cold sweat, the elder dropped to his knees, slamming his forehead against the marbled ground.
"King, please forgive this lowly servant. If it wasn't important, I wouldn't dare to act in such a way!"
Veles paused, before nodding. He understood this as well, so he didn't react immediately. Plus, his meeting with Dyon was finished anyway. If it wasn't, it would have been impossible for the elder to burst in even if he was a hundred times stronger.
"Speak."
Dyon remained silent by his friend's side, a deadpan expression on his features. But, in reality, his heart was in turmoil. The feelings he had been burying for Luna came rushing to the top, boiling over and searing his veins with a heat even he couldn't handle.
His breathing became shallow, and the mere split second it took the elder to answer felt as though it was stretching out to hours, even days. With Dyon's speed of thought, the fraction of a second was agonizing beyond belief.
He remembered the words he spoke to himself just moments ago. He repeated them, again and again…. 'This is your last chance…'
"Replying to his majesty," the servant didn't stand, continuing to respectfully bow. "The Barbarian Clans we assimilated a few months ago have suddenly started stirring up problems. They've sent a few of their celestials and even their dao formation experts to conquer the towns around them. We've received word of their pillaging! If we don't act soon, a good portion of our periphery territory will be eaten away!"
While Veles was so angry that steam started to mat his long black hair with sweat, Dyon inadvertently took a deep breath, almost collapsing in relief. He thought that he had finally jumped the hurtle of the emotion stamp Luna placed on his heart after he conquered her, but that moment of pain proved otherwise.
The swirling emotions of betrayal and bitterness threatened to overwhelm Dyon's senses, making him, a man who usually had the utmost control of his body, nearly give up on everything entirely…
"ARE THEY TIRED OF LIVING?!" Veles' Roar shook the clan, causing the citizens to fall to their knees in worship for the second time that day.
In truth, Veles couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought he had a mutual agreement with those barbarians. Sure, it was a slight risk to accept them into the fold, but he had had a certain level of assurance in doing so. He had even married their chieftain's daughter and accepted her as an Imperial Concubine! Knowing well how much that man doted on her. And he dared to initiate an attack of his Viserion Clan? Veles was thoroughly enraged!
The elder trembled on the ground, unable to withstand Veles' pressure despite being of higher cultivation.
In the moment, Veles' anger agitated his body, causing his blood to roar to life. For the second time that day, he broke through again, causing a rush of celestial energy to spiral through the skies, crashing into the Viserion King in a rush akin to a water fall.
His body bulged to another side, adding a half meter to his height that he immediately controlled into a dense power before shortening himself to a height about two inches taller than his original. Now he stood even taller than the 6'6" Dyon and his third stage battle form was finally consolidated!
Dyon smiled when he saw this. It should have taken Veles a couple hours to do this, but hadn't a couple hours passed already? Even while he was speaking with Dyon, his cultivation was slowly being adjusted. He only needed one more push to breakthrough, and that came in the form of anger. It was a well known fact that emotion was an important tool to cultivation, which was why your temperament made such a big difference in the paths you should or shouldn't take. It was clear Veles was perfectly suited to his Dragon bloodline.
That aside, Dyon could understand why Veles was so angry. He understood, from the memories he had unlocked, that despite how Veles may come off, he wasn't a reckless person, that was proven by how long it took Dyon to convince him to join him. This all meant one thing: He wouldn't trusted the barbarians so easily, and for him to do so, he had some sort of insurance.
As for who the barbarians were, there was no set definition for them all. Rather, they all fell into a similar umbrella of life.
Barbarians, also known as Rogue Cultivators, were often criminals ostracized from their former clans for some reason or another. After managing to escape having their cultivations crippled, they made their way to often remote planets, taking up refuge and starting their own communities. Often time, so as to remain lowkey, they continued to commit crimes. After all, if they started their own clans, if they grew too large, their old clans would find the similarities and thus chase them down again. So, they usually remained relatively small and lawless.
When a cultivator betrays their clan or sect, it was almost guaranteed that said cultivator would have their cultivation stripped of them. In the eyes of the clan, how could they allow a traitor who knew their secrets to roam about and potentially spread them? It couldn't be tolerated.
Understanding this, one thing was obvious: all barbarians were either ridiculously lucky, or powerful beyond belief! In order to escape the ire of an entire clan, just what kind of talent did you need to be?
Of course, there were some that just had dogshit luck, but the vast majority were simply too powerful to die under the hands of their clans. This was why, despite being barbarian clan, they had plenty of celestial and dao formation experts.
From Dyon's understanding, there were at least a few hundred high level celestials, and a couple dozen dao formation ones, with their leader being at the 5th stage! Such cultivation was almost unheard of, especially on this small planet.
How Veles corralled them? Dyon had no idea. But, it was clear his former friend thought he had succeeded where he hadn't.
Veles stormed out of the room, stepping over the still kneeling elder and no longer bothering with him as he stomped through the castle, roaring for the elders to meet him now.
Hundreds of men, ranging from young men to older codgers flashed through the skies, ironically using the hole Veles had blasted through the castle earlier in the day when he rushed to fight Dyon to descend into the main hall.
"My King." A chorus of voices rang outward as they all kneeled. Yet, despite the showing of respect and reverence, Veles' anger wasn't quelled in the least.
"That damned half-baked, sorry excuse of a man has incited trouble in my Kingdom! The nerve of that bastard after I gave his criminal past the benefit of the doubt!
"Did I not treat them well? Did I not marry his daughter? Do I not treat her well?!
"The one thing I, King Viserion will not stand for, is betrayal! I want his decapitated corpse before me within the day.
"I want his skin torn from the bone! I want the meat of his flesh to be scarred beyond recognition! I want his eyes gouged out and his manhood crushed! I want him with salty streaks of tears mixed with blood, kneeling before me!
"Do you understand?!"
Veles' voice roared through the city, his rage resounding through the ears of everyone present. Maybe only Dyon was truly unaffected. No one knew how Veles managed to nurture and half-step King Reverse Scale, but one could imagine that he had fought a lot of bloody battles. A man like that wasn't one to be trifled with.
At the same time, how could Dyon not tell that this was a partial warning to himself? Who else had the possibility of betraying Veles? Was it not himself?
However, Dyon had 0 intentions of doing so. While Veles might be skeptical, Dyon was firmly against the Moon Clan despite what his past might suggest. His only true path to survival was with Veles by his side, and that also required his full trust.
Suddenly, as Veles was raging, the awkward, yet quick steps of a lady holding up the hem of her dress could be faintly heard. She was a delicate beauty, and while she wasn't otherworldly, any small city would likely have someone of her stature take the helm as top beauty. However, right now, that delicate beauty had tears streaking down her face as she ran, stumbling with every other step. For a cultivator to be uncoordinated, Dyon had never seen it. But, that was when he noticed that this poor beauty was at the mere foundation stage.
Why was such a fragile beauty here?
