Chapter 677: Settling Accounts with the Elders

"Everyone, go back and prepare. We will be leaving this place for a while, but remember, we could go to war with the Orthodox Gods at any moment!"

Loren had shifted from giving a speech into full pre-battle mobilization. He was increasingly convinced he had a natural talent for being an artist.

When the meeting adjourned, the merfolk were more excited than ever, but they didn't disturb Loren too much. Soon, only Loren and his group remained.

Loren stood together with Melody, while Crystal nervously kept watch nearby. The elder Loren had first encountered was also present.

"The plan went smoothly."

Reflection Naclis grabbed two elders by their hair and dragged them over.

They could have walked on their own, but Naclis insisted on yanking them by their hair.

"What do we do next?"

"Let's head back to the royal palace first. There's something I need to find."

Loren hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming here. The key item for dealing with the God of Light and Fire was in Atlantis. Once he obtained it, Loren could perform the Severance Ritual targeting the God of Light and Fire.

At that point, Loren could kill Him once and for all, settling this grudge for good.

From then on, whenever Loren encountered the God of Light and Fire, he would never have to run again.

"Is there a treasury or something like that in the palace? I need to find something."

After returning to the royal palace, Loren didn't rush to deal with the elders. Instead, he planned to find the Tear of the Abyssal Sea first, the key item for dealing with the God of Light and Fire.

"There is. I'll take you there!"

The one who spoke was the elder who had defected first. The other two elders glared at her viciously, but she ignored them completely.

After all, all three of them were prisoners now, their lives hanging on Loren's every whim. There was nothing they could do.

She didn't even feel any burden in her heart. The hatred of the dying, that was all. Nothing worth worrying about.

"There's still a treasury in the royal palace?"

Melody was baffled when she learned of this. By all rights, she was the master of this royal palace.

"You were too hands-on. It's only natural you didn't know about these things."

Loren followed the elder toward a certain direction, not forgetting to casually snatch off Crystal's pendant and crown, returning them all to Melody.

The elder led Loren to a mechanism. After a series of complex operations, a hidden door opened, and Loren finally saw the interior of the treasury.

"No way? This empty?"

Loren had imagined many possibilities, but the one thing he never expected was that the treasury would be this empty. Even many of the pedestals were gone, leaving only items of little value scattered on the ground like garbage.

But even so, these things were worth a fortune.

"Where's the rest?"

Loren scanned the area. The Tear of the Abyssal Sea he was looking for was indeed not inside.

"Basically only we elders knew about the treasury, so we just took everything in it back to our own homes."

The first to answer Loren was still that same elder. The other two elders had already resigned themselves to their fate.

"Forget it. I'm looking for something. It's a gemstone, shaped like a teardrop, colored like the deep sea. It can absorb heat infinitely.

"Who has this thing? Hand it over and you get to live."

This condition was actually unfair to the three of them. Loren had already promised one elder that she would live, so if the Tear of the Abyssal Sea was in her possession, bringing it out would gain her nothing.

But if she didn't bring it out, there would likely be consequences.

She was the one who least wanted the other elders to survive. If they really did survive, they definitely wouldn't let her off.

If she truly had the Tear of the Abyssal Sea, she would definitely bring it out.

"It's with me!"

This time, it was another elder who answered. She glared viciously at the first elder, looking like she wanted to swallow her alive.

Seeing this, that elder showed no mercy either:

"Back then, when you all sent me to block the Observer, wasn't it just so I would die and you could live? Now that I have a chance, I want you to die so I can live. Is that wrong?"

The other party didn't refute her, because everything she said was true.

"Alright, take me to find that gemstone now...

"You're the second to defect, so I'll call you Elder Number Two."

With that, the three elders could be called Elder Number One, Two, and Three in order of defection. Very convenient for reference.

"Lord Observer, my name is..."

"Shut up. Your name doesn't matter."

Elder Number Two was somewhat stubborn and wanted to say her name, but Loren cut her off.

They were once high and mighty elders, but before Loren, they were nothing. They didn't even deserve to leave their names behind.

Loren's attitude made them feel immense humiliation. This reversal of status was something they couldn't accept for the moment, but there was nothing they could do. In the end, they could only comply with Loren:

"Yes..."

Afterward, Elder Number Two led Loren to her home. It was lavish. Compared to this place, even the royal palace could be considered a slum.

Loren knew these elders who held real power would live extravagantly, but he hadn't expected it to be this extravagant. They even had more servants at home than the royal palace did.

"You don't even bother pretending..."

Loren casually picked up a treasure displayed on the bookshelf and tucked it into his pocket.

"I'm taking this one. As for the rest... pack it all up and send it to the royal palace. Melody, hold onto it for me. It's not exactly convenient for me to package and carry everything myself."

Loren had already defaulted to treating all of these things as his own. These things even included the royal palace.

Regarding this, the elders showed no complaint whatsoever. She opened the secret chamber within the room, filled with all kinds of treasures, most of which had been taken directly from the royal palace's treasury.

Soon, she found the Tear of the Abyssal Sea that Loren needed.

Loren tucked the Tear of the Abyssal Sea into his pocket and began giving orders:

"Pack up everything else and bring it to the royal palace. I'll sort through it slowly later."

Loren didn't lack money now, but many of these things couldn't be bought with money, such as the many materials related to the deep sea.

Her own treasures were about to be taken away by Loren, yet Elder Number Two didn't feel a trace of heartache. As long as she could live, that was enough.

Next, Loren didn't rush to judge them either. Instead, he searched through every elder's home, even including those already-dead fake elders.

In the end, Loren brought everyone back to the royal palace and filled the treasury to the brim. Having done all this, Loren was in great spirits:

"Alright, it's time to settle accounts."

Without any warning, Loren snapped his fingers, and Elder Number Three instantly shattered into pieces.

Just as Elder Number Two let out a breath of relief, Loren snapped his fingers again, and Elder Number Two also shattered into pieces.

Seeing this, Elder Number One began to laugh.

Elder Number Two was dead, so no one would pursue the matter of her betraying the other elders.

But she wasn't laughing out of joy. She was laughing at herself.

Loren had promised not to kill Elder Number Two, yet Elder Number Two still died.

If that was the case, what made her think Loren would keep his promise and spare her?