Chapter 445: The bet was just for show

The airship returned to the Central District, touching down smoothly in front of the castle.

Opening his eyes with a trace of fatigue, Xarion looked down at Rory, who was lying beside him with her eyes fixed on him.

"Female Master."

He reached out to cup Rory’s face, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. Then, taking her hand, he guided it beneath his clothes, resting her palm flat against his abs.

"Feel this... is there any change?"

Rory’s palm glided across his abdominal muscles. "Does ranking up actually change things here too?" Isn’t it usually just the face getting slightly better looking?

Xarion let out a quiet chuckle, whispering seductive words into Rory’s ear. "It’s not just here that changed—a lot of places changed. Does the Female Master want to inspect them all?"

Rory felt that his body wasn’t the only thing that had transformed after the breakthrough—his whole personality had gotten way flirtier. Before, he would only ever ask her to bind him, never spewing flirty talk like this.

"I’d love to give you a thorough inspection, but we’re home now."

If she and Xarion didn’t get out soon, Aren and the others would be coming over to call for them any moment.

Reluctantly sitting up, Xarion grabbed the clothes off to the side to help Rory dress first before pulling on his own outfit. Just as Rory straightened her clothes and prepared to step off the bed, Xarion suddenly caught her by the wrist and kissed her lips deeply.

"I’ll collect some interest first."

Outside.

Not long after Rory and the group’s airship had landed, Hayden and Rainn arrived in hot pursuit, landing their own craft nearby.

"Isn’t that the airship Bree was riding earlier?" Nix frowned slightly as he watched the vessel land. "Bree is dead, so this ship should belong to Sylas now. What’s he here for? Is he still not giving up on Roro?"

Jasper cast a glance toward the airship settling nearby and remarked, "Yuel and the others won’t give him that chance."

"Well, that’s fantastic then!" Nix smiled brightly. "I don’t like that silly bird one bit. If Roro ever wants to choose someone new, I think Dax the fox is a way better match than this silly bird."

Jasper spared Nix a glance without saying a word. Nix didn’t get it at all: Rory had zero desire to take on any more companions. Managing the few of them was already more than enough for her to handle.

After landing, Hayden and Rainn immediately stepped out of their airship and contacted Vangar via their optical computers.

"Marshal Vangar, could you step out for a moment? I have a few words to say to you."

Inside Rory’s airship, Vangar frowned slightly upon receiving the message. That kid Hayden certainly had guts, daring to reach out to him directly. Vangar wasn’t foolish enough to think Hayden was contacting him for official military matters—it was definitely about Rory.

Closing his optical computer, Vangar said to Yuel, "Wait here with Rory. I’ll step outside to see what’s going on."

Yuel had already guessed Hayden and Rainn’s motives, so he didn’t stop Vangar. Forget Vangar—he wouldn’t agree to let Hayden and Rainn anywhere near Rory either. Not because of Bree, but simply because they weren’t worthy.

Outside the airship.

Seeing Vangar step out, Hayden immediately strode forward. "Marshal, I—"

BANG!

Before he could even finish his sentence, Vangar sent him flying back with a hard kick.

The sudden strike startled Rainn nearby, who quickly rushed over to check on Hayden. "Hayden, are you alright?!"

Hayden coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, barely possessing the strength to speak. Vangar’s kick had been utterly ruthless, nearly taking his life on the spot.

"I... I won’t die just yet."

Using Rainn’s support, Hayden dragged himself back onto his feet and looked up at the approaching Vangar. "Marshal, we came here to see the female Rory. Even if you are my superior and an Imperial Marshal, you have no right to decide on her behalf and forbid her from seeing us!"

Hayden had originally hoped to leverage his connection with Vangar so that Vangar might put in a good word for them in front of Rory and let them stay. Seeing things now, that was completely out of the question.

Vangar stared at Hayden with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "While I’m still in a good mood, get lost right now and I might refrain from beating you to death. If you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for showing no mercy."

Frowning, Rainn looked at Vangar. "Marshal Vangar, we just want to meet with the female Rory. Earlier, Xarion and Sylas made a bet: if Sylas lost, we would belong to the female Rory. Sylas has already conceded defeat, so by right, we are already the female Rory’s beasts!"

These males truly were shameless.

"That bet was nothing more than putting on a show!" If it weren’t for the fact that Rory was inside the airship and might witness this scene, Vangar would have loved to kill them right then and there. "Using a trick like that to entrap my little Female Master—I think you’ve both lost your damn minds!"

"I said, get the hell out of here! Don’t force my hand to actually end you."

"Marshal..." Hayden spoke weakly, "We are all beastmen of the Empire, and I am a military commander. We haven’t provoked you—you cannot kill us without cause!" Even a Marshal couldn’t recklessly kill people in the Central District without consequences.

Vangar let out a cold sneer. "You stayed by Bree’s side for so long—who can prove you haven’t betrayed the Empire and defected to the Zerg? As a Marshal, what’s wrong with me clearing out a few traitors for the Empire?"

Threatening him with a reason only a three-year-old cub would use? Laughable.

"You..." Hayden hadn’t expected Vangar to disregard family ties so completely. "Marshal, we are both from the White Tiger clan, you—"

"Don’t bring up the White Tiger clan with me. They stopped having anything to do with me a long time ago."

Vangar raised his foot and delivered another kick, sending both Hayden and Rainn flying backward together this time.

Closing in on them step by step, Vangar growled, "I’ll give you one last chance: do you want to die, or do you want to get lost?!"

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Rainn said to Hayden in agony, "Let’s leave first..." If they stayed any longer, Vangar really would kill them. This lunatic... no wonder everyone said he was a bandit with a terrible temper. It was true in every sense.

Aware of Vangar’s temper as well, Hayden nodded reluctantly. "Let’s go."

Supporting each other, the two hurried back toward their airship.

Watching them climb aboard, Vangar barked a final warning, "My little Female Master isn’t someone you can touch. If you ever dare harbor any improper thoughts toward her again, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the wild beasts!"

Rainn and Hayden’s steps froze for a fraction of a second before they scrambled aboard the airship at top speed.

Inside his quarters, Sylas watched the scene unfold with an expressionless face. He had known all along that this would be the outcome.

Inside Rory’s airship, she had also caught sight of the situation outside. Xarion had heard Hayden’s words and relayed their intentions to her. Rory disliked them, so naturally, she wouldn’t accept them either; letting Vangar scare them off was the easiest way to handle it.

Watching Hayden’s airship depart, Rory pulled on Xarion’s ear to get him out of bed. "Hurry up and get up, we’re home."

"Then once we get inside, can I hold the Female Master and sleep a bit more? I’m still so sleepy."

Leaning his head against Rory’s shoulder, Xarion slipped right back into his usual half-dead, exhausted state.