252 Appearance of the...? (2/2)

He was also surprised by their appearance as he had heard that the number of Rank-10 Mages on the entire continent of Egon could be counted on one hand. That meant that these four old ancestors might be the only Rank-10 Mages alive on the continent as of now!

However, what intrigued him more was the way Old Gu called them. And not only that, when the old man had pointed out their rude behavior, they had even retracted their auras!

If anything, it spoke volumes of how Old Gu was even more mysterious than he had thought previously.

'Can people even breakthrough above Rank-10...?' Ozul contemplated while keeping his eyes and ears fixed on the five old fellows in the air. He would have joined them as well, but he was too lazy now that he already had a comfortable seat to sit on.

His doubts were not unfounded. He knew that he himself was stronger than Rank-9 Mages, but how he would contend against a Rank-10 had yet to be seen.

Previously meeting with Old Gu, he only had his suspicion that this old man might not simply be a Rank-10 because he couldn't sense anything from him. He was doubtful because he didn't know if he would be able to sense a Rank-10's power or not.

But now that four Rank-10 Mages were surrounding Old Gu, it became evident that this old man was different because the power of these four ancestors was as clear as water in front of Ozul!

'All of them are strong...' Ozul realized that he would have a hard time fighting any one of the four ancestors. He might not even be able to win.

As much as this would have frustrated him before, he felt unusually calm about it.

Instead, he was more focused on finding the identity of Old Gu. Previously Ozul might have doubted that he was a Rank-10 and only used some special artifact that hid his Mana even from him.

However, that thought was out of the way now.

”So... who are you...” Ozul muttered as he gave up mulling over the thought and focused on listening instead.

Up in the air, the four Rank-10 ancestors continued to stare coldly at Old Gu without saying a word.

”Hu~? Don't tell me all of you are irritated that I called you brats? Kuhu!” Old Gu snickered as he noticed the four of them glaring at him.

There were no noticeable changes in their expressions, but the old man with a straight back and short black hair spoke, ”Why are you here again...”

”Oh~? You didn't miss me?” Old Gu shook his head sideways, showing his disappointment, and then continued, ”Well, the time is near again. If I didn't do my job, would you instead? Gahaha! How long has it been that your lazy old asses came out in the sun again?”

Hearing his words brought different reactions to everyone on the site.

People who could listen to their conversation on the ground were astounded by how casual and ill-mannered this old man's words were.

On the other hand, the four ancestors were surprised and a glint flashed through their eyes as they scanned the ground to look at their successors.

Tsk Tsk!

”Do you all even know how long you were in seclusion? Those four that you see down there are way past the age limit,” Old Gu tsked with a grinning face.

It was almost as if he wanted someone to get angry at him and then create a scene so he could get some fun out of it.

”Anyway, I just called all of you out because I know how scary you all are to the youngins down below. They probably wouldn't have disturbed you,” Old Gu talked as if he cared more about their descendants than them.

His words caused their eyes to twitch in annoyance, but before they could say anything, Old Gu continued, ”Since all of you are here, I will start the announcement. Do you all have anything to say before that?”

The four ancestors shook their heads simultaneously and got out of the way.

Kahum!

Old Gu cleared his throat before crossing his hands behind his now straightened back.

”This is an announcement to everyone in the Neutral Lands. In the span of five years, all of you move your houses, business, or whatever property you have here in these Lands and migrate past the Desolate Borders. I think five years are enough of a time to do that, no?”

Old Gu's tone didn't seem like he was joking. He spoke very casually, but it was as if the winds were helping him, his words entered the ears of every living being in the Neutral Lands.

With a little pause, he continued, ”If in the span of these five years, you failed to move out or tried to hide here in hopes of never being found out, you will be responsible for the consequences. That is all everyone should know for now. Have a good day, everyone~”

From the cold and merciless tone previously, his attitude took a 360-degree turn at the last sentence, bringing confusing feelings to the heart of every listener.