Chapter 444: I won’t go

"Eldest Brother, you have to help me! You must help me!"

Terrified, Yilan reached out to grab Aren’s hand, but Aren side-stepped to avoid her touch.

"If you want my help, hand over everything Bree made you do and all the items she gave you," Aren demanded coldly. "Otherwise, just wait to be taken away by the Security Department to Sunken Island."

Sunken Island was the Empire’s specialized facility for detaining females who had committed grave offenses. Once a female entered that place, she would never be allowed to leave.

"I’ll speak! I’ll tell you everything!"

Shedding tears, Yilan blurted out everything Bree had instructed her to do, including her desire for Vincent and how Bree had promised to arrange for her to form a mate bond with him. Finally, she retrieved two very unusual potion vials and offered them to Aren.

"Bree gave these to me. She said that as long as I fed this to Vincent and any male I wanted, even if they already had a Female Master, they would transform into males who loved only me."

"She said even if they betrayed their Female Master after drinking this, they would still stay completely safe and sound."

Aren took the two potion vials and handed them over to Jasper. Once they returned, he’d have Yuel and the others inspect what this stuff actually was. To think there was a substance capable of making bonded males betray their Female Master without facing punishment from the Beast God!

"Is there anything else?" Aren pressed Yilan.

Yilan shook her head tearfully. "No! There’s really nothing else!" She looked at Aren pleadingly. "Eldest Brother, you must help me. I truly didn’t know Bree was a Zerg bug. I don’t want to go to Sunken Island—I wouldn’t go to that place even if it killed me!"

"Got it. I’ll do my best to help you," Aren said flatly before instructing Yilan’s companions to take her back first.

Afterward, he and Jasper immediately returned to the airship. Yuel had already notified them to head back earlier, as Rory was waiting for them.

By the time Jasper and Aren returned with the items, Rory had already gone to accompany Xarion. The moment they stepped aboard, Nix launched the airship, leaving the Divine Battlefield behind.

Aren and Jasper handed the potions retrieved from Yilan over to Yuel and detailed the tasks Bree had urged Yilan to carry out.

"To actually make bonded males betray their Female Master... I’m afraid this potion is a poison unique to the Zerg," Yuel remarked thoughtfully.

There was no such thing as a potion that could genuinely allow a male to betray his Female Master with impunity. He surmised that this item was undoubtedly a poison designed to bewitch a male’s spiritual sea—effective only in the short term. Once the effects wore off, that male would still inevitably perish. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Watching Yuel store the potions away, Vangar turned his gaze toward Vincent’s face. "Vincent truly lives up to his reputation as the handsomest male in the Central District. Even knowing you’re bonded, there are still females plotting to get you. Not only Imperial females, but even Zerg females took a liking to you."

For Bree to infiltrate the Central District, she certainly wasn’t without wits. Her willingness to tolerate someone as foolish as Yilan was definitely not out of kindness—she likely intended to use Yilan to claim Vincent for herself.

Seated gracefully on the sofa, Vincent raised an eyebrow at Vangar upon hearing this. "Is the Marshal jealous of my handsome looks?"

Vangar: "..."

Who’s jealous of him? It wasn’t like his own looks were lacking either, okay? He just looked a bit fiercer, that’s all.

Out on the Divine Battlefield.

Rainn helped the injured Sylas to his feet. Watching Rory’s airship depart, he said anxiously, "How could the female Rory just leave like that? Is she really not going to bother with us anymore?"

Weakly lifting his head, Sylas looked toward the departing airship. "Now that things here are resolved, it’s only natural for her to leave."

"Then what about us?" Rainn asked. "I really want her to be my Female Master."

He had seen how tenderly Rory treated Lord Vincent and the others. Rainn had never met a female who was so good to her companions. Even that rank-nine Nix wasn’t looked down upon by her in the slightest; she was just as wonderful to him.

Rainn was a rank-ten male, after all, and held a respectable standing within his family. If he could stay by Rory’s side, he wouldn’t be any worse off than Nix or Jasper.

Rainn helped Sylas aboard their airship.

"You’re finally back!" Seeing Rainn return with Sylas, Hayden immediately turned on his optical computer and showed them the video on the screen. "Yuel has already uploaded the footage of the battle on the field to the network. The whole Empire now knows that Bree was a Zerg bug."

"Once we return, we’ll probably be hauled off by the Security Department for interrogation."

That Yuel certainly moved fast. Hayden wasn’t afraid of being taken in for questioning by the Security Department; he simply wanted to find Rory before that happened.

"Sylas, what are your thoughts?" Hayden looked at the weakened Sylas and handed him a healing potion. "Didn’t you make a bet with Xarion earlier? You said that if you lost, all of us would belong to his Female Master."

"I just saw that Xarion has already advanced to rank twelve—there’s no way you can beat him. Why don’t you go concede directly to him? That way, we can stay by the female Rory’s side."

This was a rare opportunity to gain a Female Master—and a stunning, gentle one who treated her companions wonderfully at that. They had dreamed of having a Female Master like her.

Rainn also looked at Sylas with eager eyes. "Sylas, losing to a rank-twelve Xarion isn’t embarrassing at all."

Seeing Sylas remain silent for so long, Rainn assumed he thought losing to Xarion was too humiliating. But Xarion was rank twelve now—there was no shame in losing to him! Besides, Xarion possessed that bizarre, terrifying ability; even Bree, a rank-thirteen Zerg, had suffered immensely at his hands and been reduced to ash. What was wrong with Sylas losing to him?

"Sylas, say something!" Seeing Sylas remain tight-lipped, Hayden urged him, "We’re all waiting for you to make the call."

Sylas was a rank-eleven powerhouse after all, and he used to be one of Rory’s matches. If he went to talk to Rory about this, the chances of success ought to be pretty high, right?

After a long silence, Sylas finally spoke. "I won’t go."

He knew that even if he went, Rory wouldn’t agree to let him stay—at least, not right now.

"If you two want to go, I won’t stop you," Sylas added, his voice heavy with fatigue. "But don’t say I didn’t warn you: every single male beside Rory, except for Nix, is not to be messed with. If you’re not afraid of dying, feel free to go."

With that, Sylas pushed himself up from the sofa and headed toward his private quarters. He was severely injured and needed to heal as soon as possible.

Watching Sylas walk off just like that, Rainn exchanged a glance with Hayden. "What do we do? Are we going?"

Hayden was at the peak of rank ten, slightly stronger than him. Furthermore, as a military commander, Hayden was more sharp-witted. Since Sylas refused to step in, they might as well take Hayden’s lead.

Rainn really wanted to go, but fearing Hayden might hesitate, he pondered for a moment and suggested, "You and Marshal Vangar are both from the White Tiger clan, right? How about we go ask him to intercede for us? Maybe the female Rory might let us stay out of respect for Marshal Vangar?"

At the mention of Vangar, Hayden pursed his lips. Vangar was indeed his cousin, but Vangar had left the White Tiger clan when he was very young. He... wasn’t actually close with Vangar at all. In the Military Department, aside from official duties, Vangar hardly ever spoke a word to him.