Chapter 149: Power Play

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" A voice suddenly boomed across the courtyard, and Kaelen raised his head to see another set of aristocrats soaring down from the mansion’s top wide balcony, while looking down on everyone with dry gazes that made every other person look like a peasant.

"IS THERE NO RESPECT FOR THE ALBERT FAMILY..." The man trailed off slightly when he spotted Emir. "Is this who I think it is?" He said calmly as his eyes narrowed on her.

"Oh, don’t even pretend you weren’t watching the whole show from your bedroom window the moment I stepped into your courtyard." Emir immediately called out, making the man’s lips twitch.

He pretended like he hadn’t heard her. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Emir? I know you haven’t come here to cause trouble, or you would’ve summoned your army at the first attempt of intimidation. So I’d like to request that you attend to your wound." Albert said calmly, surprising Kaelen.

The man looked incredibly chill and seemed to know Emir better than every other person in the room. He didn’t look hostile at all.

"Not before I punish everyone who dared to raise their hands against me." Her words sent chills down the spine of everyone involved. Even in the presence of Lord Albert, they didn’t dare look down on Emir while her blood was smeared across the symbol of destruction on her delicate palm.

"There’s no need for that." As Albert said that, several guards began moving across the crowd to detain the aristocratic families involved. "All those who desecrated my gathering shall face punishment, and their families will automatically be disqualified from climbing the Tower of Babel."

Kaelen noticed that the families merely flinched at the mention of punishment, but looked devastated the moment disqualification from the ’Tower of Babel’ was mentioned.

Kaelen knew well what a Tower was, but didn’t understand their reaction to being exempted from climbing a tower dungeon. This made him suspect it was exactly that tower Emir had planned for him, and her next words confirmed it.

"Very well," she replied without bringing her hand down. "You’re right as always, Lord Albert. I’m not here for another ’purge’," her words made people’s faces darken. Even Albert couldn’t keep a straight face. "I actually came here to recommend a potential candidate for the grand tournament."

Grand tournament?

Albert’s brows lifted slightly. "And who might that be?"

"The man standing behind me." Emir replied, but when everyone looked, there was no one behind her. Until they looked even further, to see Kaelen standing a safe distance away from everyone with his hands tucked inside his pockets.

Kaelen was in the spotlight for a moment before Albert finally asked. "Who’s kid is that?"

Kaelen’s lips twitched, but he understood the man wasn’t asking based on his young appearance, but for his family origin.

Emir also found it amusing, but took advantage of the question to introduce Kaelen. "This is Kaelen Cross. Son of Jessica Atreus, from planet Earth."

The effect was instant. Kaelen’s name didn’t immediately ring a bell, but the moment the name ’Atreus’ was mentioned, the crowd immediately broke into light murmurs while some expressions darkened further as all eyes fell on him.

Though there was hate in their gazes, unlike Emir, there were some who looked at him in sheer curiosity, while some looked amused.

Albert’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Kaelen before shifting his gaze back to Emir, his voice turning serious. "And what business do you have with the earthling, Emir?" He asked with a stern expression.

"It’s nothing crazy, actually. But if everything goes according to plan... we might actually be getting married soon." The moment those words left her lips, everyone’s expression immediately darkened, including Kaelen’s.

What the freaking hell?

’I haven’t even agreed to anything yet, and wasn’t she the one who threatened me to not tell anyone about our meeting?!’

"Emir, this isn’t the time for jokes." Albert called out.

"Oh, but I’m not joking." This time, the crowd broke into loud murmurs as they whispered amongst themselves heatedly.

Kaelen was about to open his mouth to refute her when she spoke up first.

"I have a problem, though. You see, I really want my husband-to-be in that tournament, but the fact that his world was unfairly shortlisted for the Global Descent came so suddenly that we might have to rush the marriage rites to send him on his way to defend his world from invaders. Do you think anything can be done about that, Lord Albert?" Emir asked with a calm smile.

The more she spoke, the darker their expressions turned until their faces were practically all as dark as shadows. This made Kaelen stop dead in his tracks to stare at Emir’s back in surprise.

Wasn’t she an outcast who was hated amongst all races? This would make one think that her offer would be laughed off, but the expressions of the spectators when she mentioned rushing the marriage rites left Kaelen speechless.

What exactly did marriage mean in this place? Did it give him certain advantages even though Emir was in no position to make the request?

"I see." Lord Albert replied calmly, but there was nothing calm about his facial expression now. "Indeed, Planet Akkad does seem to be ahead of schedule. That must’ve been a misinput, but I’ll look into it to see that Akkad is shortlisted after due protocols and procedures. Till then, the Atreus can be rest assured that he can participate in the tournament without the fear of his world being attacked by invaders."

Before Kaelen could react, a notification flashed across his vision.

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]:

[Planet Akkad has been exempted from the scheduled Global Descent till further notice.]

Kaelen’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. For a moment, he thought they might be trying to trick him with a false announcement when he caught Felix’s reaction, staring into the void like he was also looking at his system.

For a moment, he saw relief flash across the man’s eyes before his face returned to being stoic. But when Felix looked up to see Kaelen’s gaze on him, he simply nodded slightly.

This reaction threw Kaelen off course. Wasn’t Felix part of the enemy team, or were there deeper mysteries to it? Why was he relieved that their world had been saved from the same people he was working for?

Kaelen shifted his gaze to stare at Albert, the man possibly behind the entire ordeal and war madness. A dangerous glint flashed across his eyes.

Kaelen was unsure up till this point if he should accept Emir’s offer or stick to his own plan and pace. But after witnessing what had just happened, his mind was made up.

Emir had just proven to him that the only thing that mattered across the universe was strength. It didn’t matter if you were loved or hated. It also didn’t matter if you were the hero or villain in anyone’s story. As long as you had enough strength to make everyone tremble in your presence, your words would hold enough weight to move mountains and destroy planets.

Kaelen was just aiming to be as strong as Emir in the future. He was going to do anything in his power and take advantage of every opportunity he had to become strong enough that even when the so-called Creator disagreed with him, he could simply beat her into submission.