Seth and Zeckie had been waiting for an hour.
Seth waited patiently, silent and composed, while Zeckie stood with clear boredom and irritation written across his face, though he still remained on guard.
After some time, Lexus stepped out from inside the carriage and joined them.
"Did anything happened past one hour?" he asked.
Zeckie replied, "Nothing unusual happened till now."
Lexus then asked, "What about Michael?"
Zeckie scoffed. "What about Michael? He will come as he wishes."
He continued with a careless tone, "If you have any concern, just pray for the poor souls cross paths with him."
They continued standing guard in silence.
After a while, Michael finally emerged from the forest path and walked toward them.
Lexus asked, "How was the meeting gone?"
Michael replied calmly, "Smooth as usual. If he wants what he wants, then he has no other way."
He walked past them.
Zeckie smirked and said, "Actually, he lost all his other ways the day he approached you."
Michael then walked toward the carriage door as if to open it, but suddenly he spoke without turning.
"Come out, Zeyrakh. I am fed up with your childish games."
Zeckie frowned. "What? That chief's spoiled brat doing here?"
He immediately raised his chain axe.
Lexus looked annoyed. "Since when has he been following us? Hey musclehead, is this how you guard?"
Zeckie glared at him with menacing eyes. "Picking a fight with me?"
Seth calmly interrupted them.
"Put off your tantrum. Michael already knew he was following us since we left the Kryndal tribe."
Michael moved away from the carriage,then spoke toward the forest again.
"Don't be scared to come outside. I only intend to talk with you."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ry'zeyrakh jumped out with his twin daggers.
"You insolent brat!"
He tried to slice Michael from above.
But before the blades could reach him, Seth moved with incredible speed, deflected the attack, and pushed Ry'zeyrakh backward.
Michael did not move even an inch like he had already known Seth would handle it.
Everyone immediately moved into a fighting stance.
Lexus gripped his war hammer.
Zeckie lifted his chain axe.
Seth readied his twin daggers.
Ry'zeyrakh steadied himself and prepared to attack again.
Then Michael laughed lightly.
"Why so serious?"
"I have no intention to fight you."
Then he added calmly,
"But if you insist."
He slowly raised his hand toward the sky.
Suddenly, from the sky, a giant axe descended and landed perfectly in his hand.
The impact created a powerful shockwave, forcing everyone to cover their faces.
The carriage shook violently.
Inside the carriage, Olivia immediately held Yelena tightly so she would not get hurt.
Michael caught the axe firmly and swung it once through the air.
Then he said with a calm but dangerous smile,
"I will gladly permit you to entertain me."
After a moment, the tension in the air slowly faded.
Ry'zeyrakh was the first to lower his stance.
Seeing that, the others also relaxed their guard one by one.
Michael slowly lowered his giant axe and rested it on the ground. The forest returned to silence.
He looked directly at Ry'zeyrakh.
"So… what is the reason for following us?"
Ry'zeyrakh hesitated for a moment.
Michael's voice became slightly colder.
"Zeyrakh… everything has its own limit. Tell me."
Ry'zeyrakh finally spoke.
"In our Kryndal tribe… our chief is considered one of the strongest among the Primordial Seven."
He paused before continuing.
"But you dominated him with your aura. Not only him… all of us."
His eyes sharpened with curiosity.
"So I need to know… what kind of power you have."
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Is that all?"
Ry'zeyrakh nodded slightly and continued.
"There is also another reason."
"In our tribe, it is a rule that we do not leave the tribe lands. But… I want to explore this world."
He looked at the forest around them as if imagining the world beyond.
"I want to see the lands beyond the tribes… the kingdoms… and the mysteries behind this world."
Michael stared at him for a few seconds.
Then suddenly he shrugged.
"What a fascinating ambition."
And then, Michael studied him for several seconds.
"You wish to follow me?"
Ry'zeyrakh nodded.
Michael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then understand this first."
His voice became colder.
"Anyone who walks beside me… dies sooner or later."
A long silence followed.
Ry'zeyrakh did not step back.
Then Michael said casually,
"Alright. Join us."
Without waiting for any response, Michael simply turned and entered the carriage.
Lexus followed him
But before stepping in, Michael spoke.
"Change of plan."
Seth looked at him.
"We are not going to the palace."
Then the entire group froze.
Zeckie blinked.
"Why? Aren't we going to celebrate your reunion with Yelena?"
Michael didn't even look back.
"Of course we are."
A slight pause.
"But not there."
Lexus frowned.
"Then where are we going?"
Michael answered plainly
"Valtherra."
Lexus's eyes widened.
Michael continued,
"The kingdom has placed a bounty on us."
"Whoever kills or captures us will be awarded five hundred million gold coins."
Ry'zeyrakh's expression stiffened.
"So… that's what he meant…"
"That being with you leads to death?"
Lexus spoke again, more serious now.
"Then why are we going there?"
Michael finally turned slightly, his voice calm
"To play a death match."
"On their ground."
And then, as if it were nothing
He stepped inside the carriage.
"Whatever plans we had… once the celebration is over, we execute them."
"Train yourselves."
"And don't be miserable."
The door shut behind him.
Lexus, Zeckie, and Ry'zeyrakh stood still.
Blinking in confusion.
The wind passed through them.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Lexus silently entered the carriage.
But the thought remained
In all their minds—
What just happened?
What did he just say?
Michael had just dropped something massive
As casually as if it meant nothing.
Only Seth remained completely unsurprised.
He calmly climbed onto the driver's seat.
Then he spoke firmly.
"Zeckie, sit beside me."
He then looked at Ry'zeyrakh.
"Zeyrakh… sit on top of the carriage."
His tone became serious.
"Keep watch for enemies."
Zeckie sighed heavily and climbed up beside Seth.
Ry'zeyrakh jumped onto the roof of the carriage, shaking the whole carriage.
Zeckie frowned,"climb slower, forest bumpkin"
Moments later, the horses began to move again.
The carriage rolled forward through the forest, carrying them deeper into a journey none of them fully understood.
At the top
Ry'zeyrakh sat, lost in thought.
Below, Seth drove the carriage in silence.
Beside it, Zeckie moved along, scanning the surroundings.
After a long silence
Ry'zeyrakh muttered,
"Awakening Stage… Flow Stage… Core Formation Stage…"
Zeckie glanced up.
"What?"
Ry'zeyrakh spoke louder this time,
"Manifestation Stage… Domain Stage… Ascended Stage… Sovereign Stage… in aura cultivation."
A pause.
"I am at the Core Formation Stage."
"It took me a decade to reach it."
"My father… is at the Domain Stage."
"One of the most feared warriors among the Primordial Seven."
Silence settled between them.
Even Seth did not speak.
Then Ry'zeyrakh continued, his voice lower,
"But Michael… suppressed them all."
"How is that even possible?"
A brief pause.
"Does that mean he is at the High Domain Stage…?"
Zeckie let out a small chuckle.
"Who knows what stage he is in?"
Ry'zeyrakh frowned.
"You are his companions."
Zeckie shrugged.
"Yes."
"But he doesn't share anything with us."
"He's a mystery."
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"The kind of mystery that's as deep as the ocean."
"If you try to explore it…"
"You might die in its depths."
Ry'zeyrakh paused.
Then asked seriously,
"Ocean…? What is that?"
Zeckie stared at him for a moment—
Then scoffed.
"Yeah… you really are a forest bumpkin."
Early morning, the carriage moved slowly along the road as the first light of dawn spread across the sky.
Instead of standing guard as they were supposed to, both Zeckie and Ry'zeyrakh had fallen asleep during the long journey.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt.
Seth knocked on the carriage hard enough to wake Zeckie and Ry'zeyrakh up. Both Zeckie and Ry'zeyrakh jolted and woke up from their sleep like they were kids.
The sudden noise also woke Yelena inside the carriage. She slowly opened her eyes, confused, wondering what was happening.
Before she could fully gather herself, she heard a familiar voice.
Michael looked at her with a calm expression and said,
"Good morning, my love. How was the trip? Was it comfortable?"
The moment she saw his face, anger and frustration surged through her.
"Get out already," Yelena replied sharply.
For her, waking up and seeing the man who had destroyed her life as the first sight of the day was more than enough to ruin her mood.
Michael simply smiled faintly and stepped outside the carriage.
Lexus followed him out, and Ry'zeyrakh climbed down as well.
Ry'zeyrakh looked around curiously and asked,
"Where are we now?"
Then his eyes caught something in the distance.
Not far from them stood a massive capital city.
Tall walls, towers, and crowded structures stretched across the horizon.
His eyes glittered with excitement as he stared at it.
Zeckie noticed his reaction and smirked.
"Hey, forest bumpkin… that's what we call a town."
Ry'zeyrakh didn't respond to the mockery. He simply continued staring at the city in pure awe.
Then Michael looked toward the distant capital and spoke calmly.
"Alright… welcome to Valtherra, the capital for all Adventurers in kingdom Valedyrn"