Julian's answer didn't surprise Andrew too much.
After all, in the Atacama Desert, besides Charles, who else could possibly have such overwhelming strength?
"It's nothing to be ashad of. Charles's power is simply too great. It's only natural that you couldn't defeat him," Andrew said, offering so comfort.
Julian, however, still looked helpless. After a pause, he asked,
"Do you think our senior brothers might co here?"
The question puzzled Andrew.
"Why would you ask that? Our seniors are already incredibly strong. They don't need any more training. Don't forget why we ca to the Atacama Desert in the first place."
To Andrew, Julian was talking nonsense. Their purpose here was training. The seniors were far beyond the need for such things.
If the true goal had been to eliminate Charles from the very start, then Dean Everett himself would have made the move.
Yes, Everett's appearance would attract other powerful figures, but his strength was undeniable. With a precise strike, he could kill Charles in a very short ti. By then, it would already be a done deal, and even the other experts would be unable to change anything.
After all, ninth-rank Beast Masters like Everett were extrely rare. To kill one required preparation for all-out war, because every ninth-rank Beast Master had vast connections and powerful forces behind them.
Julian gave a distant nod, as though accepting Andrew's reasoning.
Andrew, however, felt Julian was no longer capable of providing any real help. To keep him safe, he wanted Julian to hide away sowhere secure.
"Your condition is far too poor. You shouldn't take part in what cos next. I suggest you head to Gold Fortress. The Stellar Empire is still our ally, and you'll be safe there."
Julian nodded, accepting Andrew's suggestion, and set off for Gold Fortress.
Watching Julian's back as he left, Andrew's expression grew doubtful.
"What's going on here? He seems to be hiding sothing very important. Did I overlook sothing?" he muttered to himself.
And indeed, Andrew had overlooked sothing critical.
Julian was a genius, and among the gifted he was considered strong.
But even so, Julian still wasn't qualified to lead so many mbers of the Ancient Academy on his own.
The one truly directing the Ancient Academy's movents wasn't Julian at all, but a sixth-rank Beast Master.
This Beast Master was none other than Nana Xu's elder brother. He had been hiding in the shadows, quietly observing everything happening in the Atacama Desert.
Because he had never directly encountered Charles before, his knowledge of him was limited. And even though his rank was one level higher than Charles's, he still chose not to act recklessly.
Julian had been sent out by him—his real purpose, of course, was to test Charles further.
At first, Julian hadn't understood his senior's true intentions. But after his fight with Charles, he began to realize what was going on. His hint to Andrew about their senior brothers possibly coming to the desert was actually a warning—telling Andrew not to let himself be used.
But since he knew his senior was watching his every move, Julian couldn't make his words too clear. Even so, he understood he had already offended this senior. He had ntally prepared himself for punishnt.
When Julian arrived at Gold Fortress, a ssenger from the Stellar Empire imdiately ca to find him.
"You're Julian, right?"
"Yes, that's ."
"You must go at once to His Highness the crown prince's palace. Co with !"
The ssenger quickly led Julian to the northwest side of Gold Fortress, where the crown prince's residence stood.
Though Gold Fortress was a military stronghold, after the crown prince arrived, a small but refined palace had been built in its northwest corner to give him a more comfortable place to live.
Julian followed with unease in his heart. He couldn't understand why the crown prince of the Stellar Empire wanted to summon him so urgently.
"Could it be because Andrew failed to earn their trust? Or maybe the Stellar Empire thinks we've underperford, and they want to question about it?"
A swirl of doubts haunted his mind.
Yet even when he reached the entrance of the palace, he still had no answer.
"Go in. You'll see the one who's been waiting for you," the ssenger said before turning away.
The words startled Julian slightly. After a mont's hesitation, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
He hadn't gone far down the main hall when he saw a familiar figure—one he had only hinted about to Andrew earlier. It was his senior, Nana Xu's brother, Harbor.
The mont Julian recognized Harbor, he quickly spoke.
"Senior Brother, so it was you who summoned here! I thought it was the Stellar Empire's crown prince who wanted to see ."
Harbor didn't turn around. With his back still facing Julian, he replied in a calm voice,
"If you had known it was who called you, would you still have co?"
At those words, cold sweat instantly appeared on Julian's forehead.
"Senior Brother, what do you an by that? If you call , how could I not co?" he answered at once, his tone full of flattery.
Only then did Harbor slowly turn to face him. His golden eyes locked onto Julian like a predator staring down prey.
"Did you really think your little tricks could escape my notice? Why did you warn Andrew? If he finds out I'm in the Atacama Desert, our entire plan could be in serious danger."
Faced with his senior's questioning, Julian had no choice but to force an explanation.
"Senior Brother, I wasn't in the right state of mind at the ti. I had just lost to Charles and was confused. Those words slipped out by accident."
"Is that so?"
"It's the truth! I regret it deeply. I never should have ntioned you. You should stay hidden until the perfect chance cos to strike Charles with a fatal blow."
Julian spoke directly of Harbor's real intention.
Harbor slowly walked over to stand beside him. In a low voice, he said,
"Sotis knowing too much is not a good thing. I know you're just making excuses right now, but I don't care. All you need to do is carry out the task I give you."
Julian's nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He could clearly feel his senior's displeasure, and he also knew Harbor truly wanted to kill him.
In this situation, he had to seize any chance to prove his value and avoid being eliminated.
"I will absolutely complete your task! No matter what it is, I'll overco any difficulty to get it done!" he said quickly.
His answer made Harbor smile with satisfaction.
"Good. Then get ready. When the Stellar Empire launches its assault on Withered Tree Fortress, I want you to slip inside through a side path. Once inside, you'll ignite this scroll."
As he spoke, Harbor handed Julian a scroll, his tone slow and deliberate.
Julian agreed at once.
"No problem. I'll prepare imdiately."
"Good. Then go. I expect you to finish this task. If you can't even handle that, then you don't deserve to keep living."
Harbor's voice was cold as ice.
Julian felt like he had just been pardoned from death. He hurried out of the palace.
The mont he stepped outside, he let out a long breath.
"I almost lost my life just now. If I had said a single wrong word, Senior Brother would've killed on the spot."
Even though he had survived, the fear still lingered in his chest.
Back at his quarters, Julian finally examined the scroll Harbor had given him.
It was no ordinary scroll—it was a summoning scroll. In the center was a complex summoning array.
Julian stared at it for a long ti but couldn't figure out what kind of creature it was ant to call forth.
In the end, he decided it didn't matter. One way or another, he would have to sneak into Withered Tree Fortress and ignite the scroll.
As long as he completed this mission, he could leave this place of danger behind. The rest of the battle would be Harbor's responsibility.
What Julian didn't know was that his every move was still under Harbor's watch.
From the start, Harbor had never intended to let Julian live.
The summoning scroll he gave Julian was designed to summon Harbor himself. His plan was to appear inside Withered Tree Fortress at the most critical mont of the battle.
After that, he would kill Julian and use his body to create a puppet of flesh and blood.
If everything went smoothly, Charles would be caught completely off guard.
And with the fortress already under siege, Charles would never be able to fight with full focus. That would give Harbor a much greater chance at final victory.
The hidden killing intent Charles had long feared was Harbor himself.
And now, that killing intent was finally about to be unleashed.
Harbor had gathered enough intelligence on Charles to believe he could defeat him in battle—so long as no other force perford beyond his expectations.
Reviews
All reviews (0)