Lucius and the others returned to the grand hall of the Volcaria estate. As soon as they entered, Ragnar and Bryson turned toward Lucius.@@@@


    Ragnar crossed his arms as he was quite irritated with Lucius. "Why the hell did you make that bet?"


    Bryson nodded in agreement as he raised his hand. "We had the numbers. We should''ve just gone to war. Why bother with a competition?"


    Lucius chuckled with amusement as he leaned back against the table. "Calm down. Think for a moment."


    Lucius leaned forward and shrugged. "if we went to war, there would be too many casualties on both sides. Even if we won, we''d be too weak to defend ourselves afterward."


    Lucius then continued. "We''re trying to build an empire, not destroy ourselves before it even begins. If we exhaust all our forces now, other factions, other empires, will see us as vulnerable and strike."


    Bryson let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing his temples. "And you think a competition is the better choice?"


    Lucius smirked, leaning forward slightly. "Relax. It''ll only be a 3 vs. 3 battle. We''ll only focus on taking down their three strongest—their 7-Star tamers. Once we eliminate them, what''s left?"


    Ragnar smirked as he realized the truth. "Their soldiers, without any real leadership..."


    Lucius snapped his fingers as he smirked. "Precisely. With no 7-Star tamers left, do you really think their army will dare to attack us?"


    Bryson processed Lucius'' words and began to smirk. "Clever. Without their strongest, they won''t have the confidence to fight. They''ll retreat."


    Ragnar chuckled, shaking his head. "Damn, Lucius. You really planned this whole thing out."


    Lucius shrugged. "Of course. Why waste thousands of lives when we can cripple them in just three battles?"


    Bryson, still processing the strategy, crossed his arms. "Fair enough, but still... who are we sending for these battles?"


    Ragnar smirked as he glanced around. "Isn''t it obvious? We have exactly three 7-Star tamers on our side—me, Savra, and you, Bryson."


    Bryson nodded as he processed it. "I see. That makes sense as we are the only 7-Star tamers."


    But before they could settle on the plan, Lucius shook his head. "No, it will not be the three of you."


    Ragnar immediately frowned. "No? Then who else? We''re the only 7-Star tamers here."


    Ragnar raised his eyebrow. "What now?"


    Lucius smirked. "I''ll need some potent medicine and high-level materials—the best you can get. I want to experiment with something. And trust me, it will be very useful later."


    Ragnar and Bryson frowned, exchanging another glance. Bryson shook his head. "You and your damn experiments..."


    Ragnar sighed. "Fine. We''ll send you some 6-Star materials. That should be more than enough."


    Lucius grinned. "Perfect. I''ll be waiting in my lab."


    With that, he turned around and left the hall. Whatever he was planning, it was about to begin.


    ---


    In the grand imperial hall, King Astorius sat upon his throne. Anselm and Karion kneeled before him, their expressions filled with frustration.


    Karion glanced at the king. "Why did you agree to that competition, your majesty? We should have crushed them outright!"


    Anselm, though calmer, shared the sentiment. "Yes, Your Majesty. Why give them a chance? We had the advantage."


    Astorius let out a slow breath. "What that midget said was the truth. If we went to war, we would have lost too many soldiers." Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    He then clenched his fists. "Even if we won, our forces would be crippled—and the moment that happens, the other empires, the ones already eyeing our weakness, would pounce."


    Anselm remained silent as he knew what the king meant by saying it.


    Karion clenched his fists and smirked. "Even so... This competition gives me the perfect chance to get revenge. I will personally tear Lucius apart for what he did to my sons."


    Astorius nodded. "Then make sure you train harder, Karion. You will be joining the battle."


    Karion smirked faintly. "Good. That''s exactly what I wanted."


    Astorius then turned to Anselm. "Go and summon the Sky General. It''s time for him to fight."


    Anselm nodded as he turned around and left the hall.


    Astorius leaned back in his throne and exhaled deeply. "Lucius... You may have bought yourself time, but you haven''t won yet."