159 A New Threa (1/2)

”Haiz… I knew you would ask about that eventually.” Overseer Dylan let out a sigh, before continuing. ”As you should know exactly what earth crystal means to Awakeners, a majority of which are earth-users, you should also know how great of a temptation it is to my own men. I had to store it somewhere safe, away from my own men.”

”And use it for yourself, right?” Hudson mocked, before stating sternly, ”I have to remind you that all these resources belong to the royal family. As a captain of the palace guards, not only did you not report such amazing discovery immediately to the Queen, you are also keeping the resources to yourself. Stealing the royal family's resources is equivalent to treason. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Dylan was caught off guard by Hudson's cynical remark and was dumbfounded for a moment, before he erupted in anger. ”Captain Hudson! Exactly what do you mean by those words!? One can eat whatever they want, but they cannot say whatever they want! Don't you know a tongue may weigh little, but it can crush a man!? My loyalty to the crown is unquestionable!”

”Is it? So why haven't you reported such a world-breaking discovery to her Majesty?” Hudson repeated derisively. ”Is it something you can't explain? Like your cultivation for example?”

Dylan's heart rose and fell in anger at the accusation, on the verge of exploding. The pressure of a two-star Awakener pulsated from his body in sync with his emotions. In the end, it deflated like a balloon, before he asked with a self-depreciating smile, ”You think I used the earth crystals to increase my cultivation?”

”Isn't that the case?” Hudson responded with narrowed eyes.

As captains of the palace guards, they were both one-star Awakeners, just a level stronger than the average palace guards. Although loyalty was of tantamount importance, it was not the deciding factor in becoming a captain of the palace guards. Strength had always been the deciding factor, whether in determining one's status or surviving the world at large.

Anyone able to advance beyond the 9th step Awakener Realm had the right to challenge the captain for the new position. As Hudson had suspected, Dylan had ascended a level and was now stronger than him.

'Perhaps he wanted to secure his position.' He thought. With the present clues and evidence pointing in such a direction, one cannot blame him for thinking like that.

”Haven't you realized that the underground is the domain of earth-users? Previously, this place was overrun with crawlers, we could only come down to train in killing crawlers, but never really had the chance to cultivate. You might not sense how great this place is right now with so many elements present, but once you start cultivating, you will know right away. I did not use any earth crystal to advance my cultivation.” Dylan justified himself.

”Heed my orders, If the Overseer makes any sudden moments, you may attack with the intention to kill!” Hudson retreated a few distance and ordered his men.

Dylan's expression became ugly listening to his words. This person was too weary of him, taking his good intention for malice. He started to think whether he should just slap the person for disrespecting him, now that he was stronger and entitled to greater respect. In the end, he shrugged his shoulders silently in response.

Under the protection of his own troops, Hudson finally seated himself on the floor in a meditative position with his eyes closed and began to cultivate.

The underground world seemed to have suddenly came alive as boundless amounts of earth energy began rushing to his location from all direction. Hudson was shocked and immediately ended his short cultivation, but an incredulous feeling continued to linger inside him.

It was like being embraced and protected by Mother Earth. He had the feeling that so long as he could fully connect with the earth, he would be invincible. He looked at Dylan with an apologetic expression and said, ”You were speaking the truth.”

”No shit.”

”Ahem… anyway… You still haven't explained why you haven't reported such amazing discovery to her Majesty.”

”About this… actually I'm a bit embarrassed to say. I wasn't the first person to discover the special traits of the crystals. My subordinates did, and as you can see, my squad is lacking in numbers.”

”What you are saying is…”

”Yeah… I executed some of them. They kept it to themselves after discovering its purpose and began challenging me after making their breakthroughs, one after another. It was my negligence for not discovering the cause of their breakthroughs sooner.” Dylan awkwardly explained.

He only had 40 guards left of his original 50. As captains, he had the right to kill first and report later. However, he was too ashamed to report to the Queen for his inadequate ability in managing his subordinates.