The rule of the alliance was to hold a regular eting once a day. However, in an ergency situation like this, things were different. Damian called the alliance mbers back after the earlier adjournnt and started another eting.
Naturally, the faces of the alliance mbers weren't pleasant, as they had been summoned for an ergency. In fact, they deliberately wore expressions of displeasure.
"I can't believe what a ss this has beco. To think we've completely lost control to another leader, and worse, to soone who even has a dragon," one of the n at the round table muttered, clicking his tongue. Though he pretended to be speaking to himself, it was clearly ant for everyone to hear.
The others nodded in agreent, adding their own remarks.
"Exactly. We're lucky he didn't have hostile intentions. If he had attacked, who knows what might've happened."
"The entire territory could have been reduced to ashes. The loss of life would have been unimaginable."
"This is humiliating. We're already in a weak position, and now we look even worse."
As they whispered among themselves, they kept shooting glances at Damian and Adrian, silently blaming them for the situation. The unspoken pressure was palpable: how could they not feel responsible?
Adrian frowned at their blatant behavior.
'These bastards. Since when did they care so much about the territory's honor?' he thought.
Recently, they'd been so focused on their ambitions for independence that they had completely discarded any sense of belonging. And now, the mont they found an excuse to complain, they were all over it. The sheer audacity was infuriating.
'Are they using this as a pretext to squeeze more out of us? Or maybe they're planning to use it as a justification for full independence…'
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Adrian glanced over at Damian. But as always, Damian showed no visible reaction. He sat there, listening to the complaints of the alliance mbers with a blank expression.
When the subtle hints and pressures failed to have any effect, one of the mbers finally couldn't take it anymore and stood up abruptly.
"Hey, Dam, don't you have anything to say as the leader of this alliance?"
"What do you an?" Damian asked, tilting his head in genuine confusion.
Frustrated, the alliance mber thumped his chest and shouted,
"We almost had our entire territory turned into a sea of fire! As the leader responsible for this place, shouldn't you at least acknowledge your mistake?"
"I'm not sure what you an. If I've made a mistake, I'll take responsibility, of course. But I don't see anything that warrants such a response right now."
"W-What?"
"Justin is practically half an ally, and we've known about Fafnir's presence for a while. The whole incident was just a bit of chaos caused by their first official visit. Nothing more."
In other words, there was nothing for him to apologize for.
His response was so bold, even brazen, that everyone in the room was left speechless. Adrian, in particular, was stunned.
'Did he really just say that?'
Up until now, Damian had been the type who would crumble under criticism if he had even the slightest bit of responsibility. But now, he was handling the situation with complete indifference, as if he couldn't care less. While it was a welco change, it was also incredibly sudden.
"And besides, this isn't what we should be focusing on right now. We need to consider the purpose of our ally's visit first. Does anyone here know if we have an obstetrician in the territory?" Damian asked, completely ignoring the shocked stares around him. His tone made it clear that he wasn't interested in further interrogation.
Reluctantly, the alliance mbers stopped their accusations and responded with grumbling.
"I don't know if we have one."
"As far as I know, there's no one like that here."
"If we did, we would've heard about it by now."
Their dismissive attitudes suggested they hadn't even bothered to look into the matter. Despite this, Damian nodded in understanding.
"That makes sense. We've never really investigated that before. In that case, I'd like all of you to find out if there's an obstetrician anywhere in the territory today."
"W-What?"
"It's a request from an ally. There's no way I can search the entire territory in one day, so it would be best if we divide the task. Don't you agree?"
For the second ti, the alliance mbers were left speechless. The man who had never given a direct order before was now openly issuing commands. So of them twitched their lips in frustration, but they had no grounds to object. After all, they were the ones who had appointed Damian as the leader.
"F-Fine."
"We'll do it."
"Good. That's all for now. I look forward to your reports."
Though they agreed, their expressions were filled with resentnt. As they left the eting, glaring at Damian with clenched teeth, Adrian stared after them in disbelief.
"Dude, what on earth are you…?"
"Hahaha!"
Adrian trailed off, completely lost for words. Damian, who had been expressionless just monts ago, was now laughing heartily. It was the kind of laughter that ca from soone who had just let go of a heavy burden.
After laughing for a while, Damian turned to the bewildered Adrian and said,
"Adrian, can you pass along a ssage to Justin for ?"
"A ssage…?"
Before Adrian could even blink, he was left speechless by what ca next.
"How did it go? Did you find an obstetrician?"
At the noon eting the next day, Damian looked around at the alliance mbers. They all shook their heads.
"No, there wasn't one."
"I couldn't find anyone either."
"Neither did I."
Though they all answered, it was obvious that none of them had actually made an effort to search. From their perspective, there was no reason to bother.
'Why should we help find a doctor for his benefit?'
"We're not the ones in need of a doctor, he is. Let him deal with it.'
The alliance mbers had already heard about Justin from Grayson. Whether or not he had a dragon, he was a trendously powerful leader with superior troops. His temperant was violent, and he had no hesitation in attacking or killing anyone, as evidenced by the many lives he had already taken.
Rumor had it that Justin spoke to Damian in an authoritative, commanding tone, acting more like a superior than an ally.
'And now this thug has co all the way here, only to leave without getting any help? He's going to be furious. I can't wait to see how this plays out.'
The alliance mbers' lips curled into faint smiles at the thought. After all, Justin's anger wouldn't be directed at them, but at Damian, the one in charge. They glanced at Damian, expecting to see worry on his face.
But, to their surprise, Damian remained calm, as if he had already anticipated this situation.
"Hm, I see. If we can't find a doctor here, then we'll just have to search elsewhere," Damian said casually.
"…Elsewhere?" one of the mbers asked.
"Yes. Many new civilians ca in with the second great migration. We'll search among them."
"Wait, you're planning to search areas that haven't even been fully reintegrated yet?"
"They'll be integrated soon, won't they? And since so many of you were eager to go check those areas yourselves, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so."
At this, the alliance mbers' faces turned pale. He was suggesting that they take a violent warlord like Justin along to the places they intended to claim for themselves? A leader who had no qualms about destroying everything in his path if things didn't go his way?
"That's absurd! You can't be serious!"
"How could you suggest taking soone who's neither an ally nor an enemy? Are you out of your mind?"
"We refuse! No way will we go along with this!"
"Refuse? What exactly do you think you're refusing?" a voice said from behind, causing the alliance mbers to freeze.
When they turned their heads, they saw Justin standing there with Derek and Ethan, watching them.
"I've already talked it over with your leader. I'll be accompanying each of you to check out the areas you want to claim. So, you might as well start deciding on the order."
"You maniac! Who do you think you are to give us orders—!"
Boom!
Before the enraged alliance mber could finish, a loud crash echoed through the room. Derek had smashed his hamr into the wall, making it clear this was a threat. As the alliance mbers flinched, Justin smiled coldly.
"I'm not giving you orders. I'm not your boss. The only thing I'm doing is…"
"Grrr…"
"…making a simple threat."
The sound of Fafnir growling outside the window caused one of the alliance mbers to collapse in fear. The dragon's glowing yellow eyes pierced through the window, as if ready to strike at any mont.
One of the mbers swallowed hard and looked desperately at Damian.
"You… you're the leader of this alliance… have you sold out the territory to him?"
"No, I haven't," Damian replied with a sigh, looking at the alliance mbers as if they were pitiful.
"I knew about Justin's strength and his nature long ago. That's why I threw away my pride and tried to accommodate him. And Justin knew that."
"Then why…?"
"You know the rest. You didn't listen to , and I had no ans to control you. As a result, Justin didn't get what he wanted."
"Now he knows why," Justin chid in, stepping forward.
"What could I do? The orchard owner opened the gate and showed the trees, but if I can't reach the fruit, I'll just have to pick it myself."
Though Justin's words were lighthearted, the murderous intent in his eyes was palpable. Unlike Damian, who tried to avoid bloodshed, Justin radiated the willingness to kill at any mont.
The alliance mbers stared in disbelief. They never imagined they would beco the targets of Justin's wrath instead of Damian.
'Damn it, what should we do?'
'He's not just here to investigate; he's up to sothing more…'
'Should we kill him? There are only three of them after all, no matter how strong they are.'
They exchanged subtle glances, weighing their options. While the dragon outside was terrifying, they were indoors, and their attacks would be faster. If they managed to kill Justin, perhaps the dragon would leave, no longer bound to its master.
But just as they were hesitating, one of the alliance mbers suddenly shouted, "Die!"
Whoosh
"…!?"
A throwing axe hurtled through the air. It was a rare-grade weapon, designed for warriors, and an attack that no unard mage could possibly block. The sudden move startled everyone in the room.
Clang!
"Huh!?"
The mont the axe touched Justin, a thin green barrier deflected it effortlessly. The axe clattered to the ground, its montum spent.
Justin blinked, then looked down at the axe and chuckled.
"Bold move. I admire your courage. But you knew you'd die for it, right?"
"W-Wait…!"
"Black Missile."
Thud!
With a single word, the head of the alliance mber who threw the axe vanished. His body collapsed to the floor, lifeless. The others stared in horror, not at the grueso sight but at the sheer power on display.
'Holy... He decapitated a warrior over level 20 with one shot?'
'Black Missile is just a basic dark magic spell! How is it that powerful…?'
'What's his magic stat? No, what's his level?'
As everyone stood in stunned silence, Justin looked around with a cold gaze and asked,
"So, who's next?"
Not a single person stepped forward.
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