Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1457: Beard

Hearing that name sparked something in Liiza’s memories, too. She had mostly only helped Khan with his understanding of the mana, but wasn’t exactly a stranger to his various signature moves.

Besides, the Lightning-Demon style had been Khan’s main weapon on Nitis, the reason why he had excelled. Liiza connected the two, also spotting something familiar in the way that the evolved warrior hovered in the sky.

"Indeed," The bald, evolved warrior responded, linking his arms behind his back. "I should feel honored you still remember me. Maybe that’s why those idiots went out of their way to summon me."

"Right!" Khan exclaimed, more memories rising through his brain. "The training program said you had opted for a secluded life. Though I admit I skipped your introduction."

"Young lads and their eagerness for battle," Dean Ulluw scoffed. "I guess you came out fine anyway, Prince Khan."

"Did the Global Army just update you on me?" Khan wondered. "They must really hope you can make me behave."

That truth was pretty much obvious for someone with Khan’s political expertise. He had already killed a General, and his relationship with humankind had never been good in the first place.

The Global Army was probably hoping that putting Khan before the creator of his first martial art would improve his mood. Still, Dean Ulluw was aware of that as well.

"May I descend?" Dean asked since the conversation was getting political.

That request sounded out of place. After all, that was Earth, and Dean Ulluw was a member of the Global Army. Theoretically, Khan was the one who would have to ask for permission to stay in the desert.

Yet, Dean Ulluw was savvy enough to remain polite. His inferiority toward Khan was also undeniable, and the charming alien at his side felt even scarier, especially after she heard that his presence could be part of a ploy.

"Descend away," Khan confirmed, pulling Liiza closer. "Don’t worry about my beautiful wife. I just finished soothing her down."

"You did not," Liiza declared, but ended up chuckling when Khan helplessly shrugged his shoulders at the flying evolved warrior.

That wasn’t exactly what Dean would call reassuring, but he didn’t have much of a choice in that situation. His figure disappeared, materializing on a spot right in front of the married couple, the tip of his right foot touching the sand without lifting a single grain.

Needless to say, the sprint didn’t surprise Khan and Liiza. Dean clearly saw how those two pairs of glowing eyes easily followed him through his instantaneous descent.

Yet, the place had a third party that didn’t care for politics or power levels, and she enjoyed that development, even voicing it in the best way she was capable of.

Yeza made happy sounds at Dean’s sudden appearance on the sand, waving her arms and legs. Still, the evolved warrior’s long white beard eventually claimed her entire attention, making her reach for it.

Of course, Yeza’s arms were too small to cross the few meters between her parents and the evolved warrior, but she tried anyway. She even actively struggled against her mother’s embrace, but her inevitable failures slowly pushed her to the verge of a childish fit.

Yeza’s struggles couldn’t go unnoticed, and Dean didn’t know what to do in response. It didn’t help that blue and white lights soon moved to his face. The married couple didn’t threaten him or anything, but their request was quite evident.

Dean cleared his throat and took a step forward, handing the tip of his long beard to the eager baby. Yeza promptly grabbed a few of those white strands, calming down and even laughing as she waved them around.

The married couple showed smiles at their daughter’s happy mood, eventually pointing them at the evolved warrior. Dean didn’t mind playing along with Yeza, but the situation couldn’t look less official from the outside.

"I haven’t attended to the army’s official business for a long time, Prince Khan," Dean warned. "I might be ruder than what’s expected from me."

"I’d take that over fake politeness every day," Khan reassured. "Still, I suppose you’ll represent the Global Army in the upcoming meeting."

"That’s my job," Dean confirmed. "Of course, I’ll just voice the words the Generals are too scared to speak. I’ve never been much of a politician."

"That’s fine by me," Khan accepted, "But why the private visit? Is the Global Army ready to start the meeting?"

"All the intended guests have reached the quadrant," Dean nodded. "The Global Army wanted to run things with you first before giving the order. Killing a General must have done a number on them."

"This is something quite above the General’s pay grade," Khan commented. "And well, I had to make a point. Things are a bit too serious to allow stupid ploys."

"I heard," Dean said, seemingly agreeing with Khan. "This brings me to the second reason behind my private visit. Prince Khan, what’s the word from the noble families?"

The question couldn’t have made more sense. After all, the Global Army represented and governed humankind, but the noble families were its true leaders. They were also the ones with the best military assets, so their seat at the imminent meeting felt necessary.

Still, Khan hadn’t heard anything about that, and chances were the nobles would let the Global Army deal with the public stage before making private arrangements afterward.

Khan could easily imagine the multitude of meetings he would have to go through once the imminent one was over. He would obviously prefer to get everything done in one go, but that was impossible, and it was pointless to delay things any further when most major players had already arrived.

"There’s no word," Khan admitted. "Give the okay to the Generals. We can start the meeting immediately."

As much as Khan wanted to dwell further in that meeting, he couldn’t keep the other political parties waiting. Still, he didn’t forget to add an invitation before the evolved warrior could depart.

"But do stay around," Khan added. "We can have a drink once everything is settled."

"With pleasure, Prince Khan," Dean agreed, and Liiza pulled Yeza toward her, making her forget about the evolved warrior’s white beard, allowing him to leave without causing problems.

"[Humankind isn’t as hopeless as I feared]," Liiza commented now that the couple was alone again.

"[He did look strong for a human evolved warrior]," Khan commented. "[Let’s hope there are bigger old monsters around. The regulated universe will need every last one of them]."