"Y-You… Did you really conquer the Gate of Death?" Henrietta asked as she walked towards Lux in disbelief. "You've managed to beast the thirteen Monstrous Terror Death Tyrants?"
"I didn't beat them myself," Lux replied. "I beat them with Einar, Vall, their guild members, and the Rowan Tribe. It was us who fought those Death Tyrants and won against them."
"Impossible!" Enlil shouted. "Don't f*cking joke with me you Half-blood! How can you possibly win against those monsters?!"
Before Lux could even answer, Cai stepped forward with her snout raised up to the air in arrogance.
"How did we win against those monsters?" Cai snorted. "Isn't it obvious? It is because I am there! Ask Einar, and Spidey Boy. They will tell you that I am the MVP!"
Enlil glanced at Einar and the latter just shrugged.
Vall, on the other hand, glared at Cai.
"I'm not Spidey Boy, you filthy boar," Vall replied in annoyance.
"Um, I forgot t o ask, are you interested in becoming part of my secret organization?" Cai inquired. "Although you are a little shabby, you are qualified to join the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."
"Like hell I want to join your stupid organization."
"Awww, I didn't know you wanted to join this badly. Fine, I'll make a special exception and allow you to join. Congratulations! You are now one of us!"
"Don't stop me!" Vall roared in anger as he was held back by his guild members with everything they had, preventing him from shredding Cai, who had gotten into his nerves, to pieces. "I'm going to beat up this pig!"
"Please, don't! The Saint of the Rowan Tribe will find trouble for all of us!"
"Young Master, please, stay your hand. Staining your hand with this filthy boar's blood is not worth it. Besides, its Grandpa would definitely come looking for us after this. It's just not worth it."
"Please reconsider, Guild Master!"
While Vall was getting held back by the members of his guild, Einar, who had his arms crossed over his chest, wanted to laugh out loud. He had never seen the handsome narcissist, so enraged, making him have a good impression of the boar, who had glanced in his direction."
"Um, Sorry, Einar," Cai said as he looked at the Barbarian with an apologetic look. "You're not handsome enough to join my organization. I'm sorry, but let's just stay as friends, okay?"
"Who the f*ck wants to be your friend, you bastard?!" Einar shouted.
Whatever good feelings he had for Cai earlier completely disappeared after the latter ridiculed his looks.
The Boar ignored the Barbarian who was also being held back by his comrades in order to prevent Einar from chopping the annoying boar into pork chops.
"The reason why all of you failed to clear the Hell Mode of the Sacred Dungeon is because you don't have the Great Me on your teams!" Cai declared. "Next time, make sure to politely ask me for help. Maybe, just maybe, I will lend my assistance to you guys because I am such a magnanimous person."
After saying these words, the Boar laughed arrogantly as if belittling everyone for being unable to beat the Gate of Death like they did.
'Damn Cai, you really know how to annoy people don't you?'
This was the thought that came to Lux's and Keane's minds as they listened to the shameless boar's laughter which irritated those who heard it, friend and foe alike.
"Do you have to deal with this everyday?" Lux asked Xander who was looking at Cai with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Yes," Xander. "You don't have any idea how much we've suffered keeping Cai safe from those who want to mob h… it."
Lux and Keane both patted Xander's shoulders in understanding. If they were in his shoes, they would have surely kicked the Boar's bum in order to teach it a lesson for being annoying.
One by one, several more people respawned at the entrance of the Hidden Domain. Just like the others, they had failed in their missions, but they were able to gather some resources during their expedition.
Not everyone who went into the Sacred Dungeon targeted the Gate of Death. Some went to the Gates of Conquest, War, and Famine, bringing with them resources that were exclusive in those dungeons.
The rulers of the Six Kingdoms knew that the possibility of getting the Sacred White Lotus was small, so they didn't want to use all of their forces on a suicide mission. Instead, they asked half of their forces to scout the other Gates and gather as much information as they could.
They planned to use the data they gathered for the next expedition that they would launch when the Hidden Domain opened once again.
While the Guild Masters of each Guild were treating their injured, and checking the inventory of the resources they acquired, a faint rumbling sound was heard in the distance.
Soon, the sound became louder, and the ground under their feet started to tremble.
Lux, and Enlil, whose eyes could see clearly, even though the end of the passage was barely visible due to how dark it was, saw an unknown group of armed individuals headed in their direction.
"Battle formations!" Enlil shouted. "We have company!"
At first, the guilds were surprised after hearing the Elf's announcement, but soon, all of them were gripping their weapons and had formed ranks according to their respective Guild Master's orders.
The Six Kingdom knew that the possibility of being discovered while they were tackling the Hidden Domain existed. Because of this, they had already drilled into their representatives that, if such a case happened, they should do their best to work hand in hand in order to repel, or even subjugate, the forces that had come across the entrance of the Hidden Domain.
Lux stood in front of the Rowan Tribe, with his Named Creatures standing by his side.
Iris had returned to her Guild, Serenity, and assumed her role as the support and Vice Guild Master of her guild.
All of them stared at over a thousand Apostles mounted on Forest Wolves, whose ranks were all at the Apostle Grade.
"Well, well, well…," a playful voice said. "What do we have here? I see familiar and unfamiliar faces. It seems that we hit the jackpot this time."'
A handsome teenager with short blonde hair and blue eyes scanned the surroundings atop his Forest Wolf.
After a while, his eyes landed on Henrietta before shifting her attention to the blue-haired beauty behind her.
"Henrietta, Iris, fancy meeting both of you here," the blonde teenager said. "Hah, that annoying Nero is here too. Good. This certainly is a big haul."
Henrietta and Iris who saw the face of the blonde teenager immediately became grim because both of them recognized who he was.
"What brings you here, Prince Lowell?" Henrietta asked. "This is quite a distance from the Ashina Kingdom."
"My dear Henrietta, would you believe me if I said that I smelled your and Iris' fragrances from far away and followed you here?" the Fourth Prince of the Kingdom of Ashina, Prince Lowell replied with a smile.
"Gross." Henrietta almost spat on the ground after hearing the Prince's words.
Among the members of the Ashina Royal Family, Prince Lowell was known to be the most debauche among them. The King had almost given up on this son of his, so he kept him away from the capital city to prevent him from sullying their family name.
Because of this, Lowell had no choice but to wander around the neutral territories, meeting the Solaians that belonged to the Six Kingdoms.
As someone who liked beautiful ladies, there had been more than one occasion when he had tried to court Henrietta, Iris, and some of the beautiful ladies from the other guilds as well. However, they didn't like his advances, making him resort to a different kind of tactic, which involved the use of brute force.
Some of these ladies had fallen into his hands due to schemes, and ambushes made in the neutral areas. Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to find a good opportunity to target the beautiful Guild Master and Vice Guild Master of Serenity because they rarely wandered too far from the territories that belonged to the Six Kingdoms.
Even so, the stories of Prince Lowell's villainy had reached their ears, making them hate him to the bone.
"Sir, I have checked all of the people here," one of Prince Lowell's aids whispered in his ear. "Although there are a few strong ones, none of them threaten our army."
The smile on the blonde prince's face widened after hearing his subordinates' report.
'Finally, something good came about on this trip.' Prince Lowell smirked as he gazed at the ladies whom he had his eyes on for a very long time. It was not only Henrietta and Iris whom the prince wanted to capture.
He wanted to capture all the ladies in front of him, so his men could enjoy themselves while he picked the most beautiful among the bunch.
"Meeting all of you here must be fate," Prince Lowell commented. "May I invite all the ladies here to have dinner with our group? Don't worry. All of us are gentlemen, isn't that right, everyone?"
The soldiers accompanying the prince all laughed and cheered at the same time. It had been a while since they had been to the city, and most of them were already feeling bored. Seeing a couple of beauties among the hundreds of teenagers in front of them was enough to make the sinister thoughts in their hearts come to the surface.
"Who would want to go with you?!" one of the ladies who knew Prince Lowell shouted. "A close friend of mine was captured by you a few months ago. After you had your way with her, you just tossed her aside and let your men ravage her. She's now pregnant and has no idea who the father of her child is! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"Oh dear, did such a thing happen?" Prince Lowell rubbed his chin. "Well, don't worry. Since you are a beauty, I will take you as my personal bed warmer. If you get pregnant, at least you will know who the father is. Aren't you glad?"
"You scoundrel! I'll kill you!"
"Come down, young lady. The one doing the stabbing will be me, and I will assure you that you will not be disappointed."
Prince Lionell then shifted his attention to Henrietta and Iris, and licked their bodies with his eyes, as if savoring the prize that was hidden under their clothes.
"Henrietta, Iris, come with me and I promise that both of you will not get hurt," Prince Lowell said. "I will treat you properly as my wives, and give you the happiness you deserve. You no longer need to risk your lives going into dangerous Dungeons, and clearing missions from the Adventurer's Guild.
"Isn't this the life that all ladies should aspire to? I am willing to give this life to the two of you, as well as the other ladies who are smart enough to understand… that the only way to leave this place alive is to come with me peacefully."
Lux frowned after hearing the Prince's words. Clearly they had come across a hateful character, and they were completely outnumbered in terms of numbers. There was also one thing that bothered him.
Among the Princes' entourage, there were five people worth noting.
Four of them were of the Initiate Rank, while one of them was a Ranker.
These were Prince Lowell's personal bodyguards that ensured his safety. As long as they were around the Prince, he could get away with his wanton acts, using force to get his way if he had to.
"This is bad, like seriously bad," Cai muttered as it gazed upon the five people that Lux was paying close attention to. It knew that if those five made their move, none of the people who'd joined the alliance of the Six Kingdoms would be able to stop them.
It was not only Cai who had this thought. In fact, all the teenagers belonging to the Six Kingdoms were thinking the same thing.
If they didn't do something soon, all of them, with the exception of the ladies in their guilds, would be killed to ensure no witnesses were left to reveal Princes Lowell's bastardly act.
They were no longer inside the Sacred Dungeon, which meant that if they died fighting against the elite army of soldiers in front of them, their deaths would be permanent, which was something that they wanted to avoid at all cost.
