Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1327: Bully [2600 GT Bonus]

Aranya’s fury didn’t cause her eyes or veins to pop. Instead, her lip curled, her pupils became more intent, and a wafting fragrance began to emit from her, forming a fog around her head and to her back that looked like the halo and wings of an angel.

Anyone who knew anything about this 713th Serpent Warlord knew very well that any state even remotely close to this was when she was at her most dangerous.

“It seems that you believe that I’m easy to bully, Gralith. If it’s a war you want, we can have it. My Serpent Lineage would really like to see how long your Scorpion Lineage would last against a real faction.”

“Feel free. Once the war is finished, I doubt you’ll have a single F- or E-tier disciple remaining.”

Aranya’s eyes narrowed.

Wars between Lineages were usually sanctioned, and because of that, they had their own rules by extension of that. One such rule was the division of tiers and battlefields. Lower tiers could ascend to higher battlefields, but the vice versa was not allowed.

Given Sylas’ performance today, and how Gralith was well aware that he was in the process of getting even stronger right this moment, he alone could probably wipe out all of their F-tiers. Between him and Gwenu, there definitely wouldn’t be a single E-tier left.

All things considered, the Serpent Lineage was far stronger than the Scorpion Lineage. They were one of the four strongest for a reason.

However, because of the existence of Sylas and Gwenu alone, Aranya wouldn’t dare to so lightly declare war.

Of course, all of this was hypothetical. There was simply no way the Core Sanctum would sanction such a war at such a time of volatility. And that was exactly why Gralith’s actions were stirring such an issue.

They had only just broken the rules to spare Scarval’s life not even a few days ago, all for the sake of this coming conflict. If they went so far as to spare the life of one F-tier talent, would they ever allow an entire faction to declare its secession…

But it was also precisely because of Sylas that things were so tricky. He had just proven himself to be even more valuable than they thought. The value of such a genius suddenly put them from a situation where Scarval was their only chance of placing amongst the cream of the crop, to a situation where Sylas might be a key toward them ranking amongst that crop in both the F- and E-tier.

Maybe the council would have been up for allowing some leeway, but if this was Sylas’ way of retaliating against their inaction, they also couldn’t have such a loose cannon heading things either.

“I’ve heard the scorpion and the frog fairy tale many times before, but I didn’t expect to watch it play out in real life. You’ve enraged the Rhino Lineage, the Lion Lineage, the Tiger Lineage, and myself all in the span of a few days. Worse yet, I’ve heard that your youngest also set a side quest to humiliate the Ape Lineage just yesterday as well.

“How many more do you think you can afford?”

“If I stab you, be sure to expect it between your eyes, not your shoulder blades,” Gralith replied coolly.

“That’s enough. The both of you.”

This time, it was the 713th Whale Warlord who spoke, a woman with an exterior that could only be described as large. Her belly was round, her cheeks no less so, while her skin was tinted just the slightest shade of blue.

Scales covered her body not completely, but more like they were almost accessories, gracing her cheeks, the backs of her hands, and the outer skin of her ears.

Even so, her presence didn’t seem out of place. She seemed somehow both peaceful and yet also… heavy—not because of her weight, but instead like her presence was almost all-consuming.

Her Will was practically an unfathomable black hole, trapping and swallowing even the light that bent toward her. If one was too weak, they might not even be able to see her at all.

“Gralith, your request is too much.”

“This is not a request.”

Erethea, the 713th Whale Warlord, narrowed her eyes. It seemed that Gralith really was intent on making enemies of them all today.

“I don’t think that either one of you has thought about this properly,” Gralith said just as coldly, unmoved by her gaze. “I will not, of my own accord, tell you the Rune Mastery level of my youngest disciple, but I shouldn’t have to. Are you under the impression that the Imperial Sanctum takes an interest in stealing the things of just anyone?”

Silence.

And it remained like that for a long while until the Lion Lineage’s 713th Warlord spoke.

“If the Imperial Sanctum isn’t above what you’ve accused them of, they’re also not above making those who speak of it pay, Gralith. Choose your words more carefully unless you want to implicate us all.”

Gralith only gave the man a glance, but he didn’t refute. He might seem to be taking a hard stance here, but that was because he had to. He understood Sylas’ character all too well.

Sylas was already finished with the Imperial Sanctum. There might come a day where he received an invitation—maybe even a day where he might accept such an invitation—but he would only ever do so with one goal in mind, and only when he was confident that he would succeed.

However, that time had to be delayed for as long as possible, and he also had to make sure that that rage didn’t extend over to their Beast Warlord Sanctum.

It made it harder to make that argument if Sylas was already lashing out, but just as he expected, Sylas wasn’t someone to lash out just for the sake of it. Whatever he had gained from those battles in the public hub, he had parlayed into the evolution he was currently undergoing.

In that case, Gralith had to press more.

Unfortunately, his job was about to become a lot more difficult because of another disciple.

…

BOOM!

The Sanctum Hub shook as a ship crash-landed. A young woman, broken and haggard, crawled out of the wreckage.