In the grand hall of the Red Dragon Order''s main base, Bryson paced back and forth as he clenched his fists in anger and roared.


    "That damned Empire! How dare they strike us so brazenly! They''ll pay for this. Every last one of them!"


    Tarron also slammed his fist onto the stone table as he spat out. "The Empire is filled with cowards! And that Volcaria bastard, Liora! I''ll crush him for what he''s done!"


    Bryson also became even angry as he heard the volcaria name and growled. "Ragnar Volcaria... That treacherous snake! But it wasn''t just him. That pathetic Karion destroyed my base. They''ll both pay dearly for this insult."


    Tarron nodded. "And don''t forget that woman. She was too strong. That battle... I''ll never forget the way she overwhelmed me. She''s dangerous."


    Zerath, who stood at the edge of the room with his head bowed down as he was sorry. "I must apologize. I didn''t realize someone was following me. If I had known..."


    Bryson cut him off with a wave of his hand, though he was quite annoyed. "Don''t worry about it. What''s done is done. But this proves one thing—Volcaria isn''t just filled with brutes. They''re smarter than we gave them credit for."


    Deon, another elder that was not in the battle, tried to calm down the tension. "Leader, calm yourself. What''s done is done. What matters now is what we do next."


    Bryson stopped pacing back and forth as he turned toward Deon. "You''re right. For now, we have no choice but to wait."


    He turned back to the room. "Sevrina and Casey are our priorities. Once they return with the Red Dragon materials, we can focus on rebuilding and striking back."


    The elders nodded in agreement. The Red Dragon Order''s losses had been significant, and their path forward was fraught with uncertainty, but it was not over for them.


    Bryson clenched his fist in anger. "They think they''ve defeated us. But they''ll learn soon enough—we''re far from finished."


    But then they were interrupted by the sound of the doors being thrown open with force. Sevrina stormed in, with Casey following closely behind.


    Bryson turned to her and was surprised. "Sevrina! You''ve come back."


    Sevrina nodded. "Yeah, we just returned. I''m sorry we weren''t here for the fight, but we had more pressing matters to attend to."


    Bryson glanced at Lucius. But before he could respond, Lucius reached into his spatial ring and took out a black talent stone and tossed it casually onto the ground in front of Bryson.


    Lucius smirked as he gestured toward the stone. "Consider this a gift and I''m sure you know what it means, don''t you?"


    Bryson looked at the black talent stone and frowned when he processed what was in front of him. Deon, however, was less composed.


    Deon took a step forward in anger. "How dare you! You dare to throw something at the leader?!"


    Deon''s anger was cut short by Bryson. "Stop! Don''t move."


    Deon froze in place as he was surprised. He turned to Bryson. "But, Leader—"


    Bryson looked at him and roared. "I said stop."


    He then glanced back at the black talent stone before leaning forward slightly and glanced at Lucius. "How... How can you have this?"


    Lucius chuckled as he observed Bryson''s reaction. "I see. So you really do know what this is, huh? As expected from someone who''s been searching for a way to obtain Emperor-level talent."


    The other elders, who had been quietly observing the exchange, were immediately shocked.


    They immediately flared their auras as they turned their gaze toward Lucius.


    Deon immediately barked. "What?! How do you know that?"


    Tarron also stepped forward. "Our end goal—how can you possibly know about that?"


    The tension in the grand hall reached its peak as every pair of eyes locked onto Lucius.


    But Lucius only smirked as he stood unfazed by their reactions. He didn''t respond, letting the silence stretch uncomfortably.


    The smug amusement etched on his face was enough to send a clear message: he knew far more than he was letting on.