"That thing you've shown me was very interesting, Lux," Baronar said as he poured a cup of juice into his jug. "To think that our past struggles were shown inside a Dungeon, truly fascinating."
The Half-Elf fished out a cup and a drink for himself from his storage ring. After what Baronar did, he was having trust issues in regard to whatever the Great Orc Shaman would give him.
"I was also surprised when I found out that the Blackrock Clan existed in the real world," Lux commented. "I never expected that we would have this kind of reunion in the Wanid Kingdom."
Baronar nodded. Now that he had seen Lux's past struggles and how the latter interacted with his clan, his impression of the red-headed teenager changed considerably.
"Still, I don't understand how or why that dungeon came to be." Baronar rubbed his chin. "You said that if you challenge that dungeon normally, it will just be a typical dungeon with Orcs, right?"
"Yes," Lux answered. "The Leader of the Stronghold of Norria, Commander Thoram, attested that what we experienced was very different from how the usual Dungeon operated. Also, after clearing the hidden quest, Barca never appeared in the Dungeon again."
Baronar drained the content of the cup into his mouth and let out a loud burp before shifting his gaze back to the Half-Elf, who had also finished drinking.
"Well, this matter is outside of our understanding, so let's not dwell on it," Baronar stated. "Perhaps only the Gods know how this incident came to be. Now, let's tackle your agenda by visiting our Clan. You want the Transcendent Flame, right?"
Lux's expression immediately turned serious after he heard Baronar's words. The Transcendent Flame was the main reason why he visited the Blackrock Clan. If possible, he wanted to acquire it before leaving the Wanid Kingdom.
"That's the only reason why we came to the Wanid Kingdom, Your Excellency," Lux replied.
Baronar rubbed his chin as if he was mulling over something very important. Lux remained silent and waited for the Great Orc Shaman to give him a reply.
A few minutes later, Baronar fixed his gaze on the Half-Elf's face and spoke.
"Actually, our Clan has two Transcendent Flames in our possession," Baronar explained. "But, the two of them can't be separated because they are Twin Flames."
Lux's jaw almost dropped after hearing Baronar's explanation. He only came for one Transcendent Flame, and it so happened that the ones that the Blackrock Clan kept were Twin Flames.
"Having the Twin Flames is both a blessing and a curse," Baronar said with a sigh. "The good part about them is that, even though we haven't made a contract with them, we are able to use a bit of their powers because they allow us to use them. Are you familiar with the relationship between the Ants and Aphids?
Lux nodded. "Aphids provide Ants with sugar-rich honeydew as a source of food, and in turn, the Ants protect the Aphids against various natural enemies and improve the hygiene of the Aphid colony."
"Right," Baronar gave Lux a nod of acknowledgment. "In short, we are the Ants, and the Twin Flames are the Aphids. We act as their protectors while harnessing a bit of their powers. Everything would have continued to be fine, but the Haca Dynasty heard about this and decided to take the Twin Flames away from us.
"It has been thirty years since then, and we're seeing plenty of activity in the fortress they have built outside our borders. It is only a matter of time before they once again march into our lands, and when that happens, a bloodbath will take place."
Baronar's solemn expression was more than enough to tell Lux how worried the shaman was about the upcoming war.
"Why don't you ask the other Guardians of the Wanid Kingdom for help?" Lux inquired. "Isn't protecting your kingdom something that should be done by everyone?"
Baronar snorted. "Of course, they will definitely help, especially those Upstarts who want to be part of the 7 Pillars of the Wanid Kingdom. But, they will only come when we have suffered enough.
"It's not just the Haca Dynasty who's greedy for our Twin Flames. Sometimes, the enemy you should watch out for are the ones that call themselves your friends. You wouldn't see them coming until it is too late."
The Great Orc Shaman's ramblings made Lux frown. Originally, he thought that the Seven Pillars of the Wanid Kingdom were united and worked together to keep their lands safe.
'Greed is truly a sin,' Lux thought. 'Just like every Kingdom, the Overlords that governed each of their respective territories were playing a political game.'
Several years ago, Lux also thought that the Wildgarde Stronghold, the Rowan Tribe, the Six Kingdoms, and Barbatos Academy were all solid allies.
But after he gained the right to enter Elysium, he discovered that the great alliance was formed based on each of their respective interests.
Basically, they were only allies by convenience. Perhaps, the real alliance was only shared between the Rowan Tribe and the Barbatos Academy.
As for Wildgarde Stronghold, it was a territory that happened to border the domain of Barbatos Academy.
Two of the Six Kingdoms, who were adjacent to the Stronghold had once attempted to ask them to submit to them. However, Alexander intervened, and it took everyone by surprise.
With Vera joining the Guardians of the Stronghold, the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy, as well as one of the handful of Saints within the Six Kingdoms, declared that the Wildgarde Stronghold was a free territory, and no Kingdoms were allowed to annex it.
Due to Alexander's declaration, the Six Kingdoms left the Wildgarde Stronghold alone. This allowed the Stronghold to grow independently and make its own mark within Solais and Elysium under Alexander's protection.
This was also why the Wildgarde Stronghold and Barbatos Academy had a deep friendship, allowing both of their guilds to work and collaborate together in the world of Elysium.
"There are two ways for you to get the Twin Flames," Baronar raised two fingers as he looked at the red-headed teenager with a devilish grin plastered on his face. "The first one is to beat Barca in a duel."
"How strong is Barca?" Lux asked in a heartbeat.
"Empyrean," Baronar replied with a smirk.
The Half-Elf subconsciously took a deep breath after hearing Baronar's reply.
Above the Deimos Rank was the Argonaut Rank.
Above the Argonaut Rank was the Dreadnaught Rank.
Empyrean was the rank above that, and since Barca was a Half-Orc, he could be treated as an Empyrean-Ranked Alpha Monster.
In order to defeat such a powerful creature, it would need at least two to four SS-Ranked Rankers to subdue him in battle.
"And the second?" Lux asked.
He knew that beating Barca was impossible at this point in time, so he sought for the second option that might allow him to get a chance of getting the Twin Flames that the Blackrock Clan was protecting.
Barca lowered one of the two fingers he was holding up, and wagged it in front of Lux.
"The second option is for you to…"
