Chapter Forty-Nine: The Meeting Here Is Quiet

After being escorted back to his temporary lodgings by Clark, Chu Tian could no longer hold on. A surgery that lasted day and night had drained all his energy, and combined with flying half a day outside the Agula Mountains with Apache, he, who possessed neither magic nor martial energy, collapsed onto the bed the moment he entered the room.

It took Chu Tian a full two days of sleep to recover his strength. When he awoke, the Agula Mountain Medical Conference had already officially begun. In fact, according to the schedule, the conference was supposed to start in half a month, but the Dragon Emperor’s illness and Ron’s suggestion had prompted Aristode to convene the consultation early.

During these two days, several more people had arrived at Agula Mountain. As for the other invited experts who had not yet arrived, it was likely that either the journey was too long for them to make it in time, or they had met the same fate as Chu Tian—but unlike him, they had not been so fortunate as to escape disaster.

At the very peak within Agula Mountain, the palace of Dragon Emperor Aristode served as the venue for this medical conference. In a spacious secret chamber of the palace stood a crystal round table over ten meters in diameter, surrounded by several crystal chairs. Apart from these, there was nothing else, and all the medical experts, along with the Dragon Emperor, were gathered around the table.

There was indeed a touch of an operating theater to this place! Chu Tian surveyed the secret chamber: spotless white walls, even the floor paved with milky-white crystal stone, and a massive magic crystal on the ceiling bathing the room in gentle light.

“Ahem!” The Dragon Emperor tried to speak but couldn’t help coughing several times first. Once his breathing steadied, Aristode gently pressed his chest and said, “Thank you all for accepting my invitation and coming to treat me.”

“Your Majesty, you are too gracious; it is my honor to be of service to you!” spoke Klins, who sat opposite the Dragon Emperor. He was a ninth-level Holy Dragon Knight from the Empire of Reis. Since he and Canas were both Dragon Knights, Chu Tian paid him particular attention. It was clear that Klins was, in every sense, a hardened soldier—his razor-sharp presence tinged with a hint of killing intent, showcasing his formidable strength.

Klins truly lived up to the title of Holy Dragon Knight. Not only did he command a ninth-tier frost dragon, but his own abilities were also at the ninth level. Together, they formed a terrifying force. The rank of a knight is determined by both the knight and his mount—as long as one reaches the ninth level and the other the eighth, they qualify as a Holy Dragon Knight. Thus, if Canas advanced further and became an eighth-level warrior, he and Red Flame could ascend to the ranks of the continent’s ultimate powers. Yet even then, Canas would not be a match for Klins, for while Red Flame could rival Klins’s dragon, Canas himself was still far behind in strength!

“Respected Knight Klins, with your knowledge of dragonkind, I am sure you can cure His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!” said an elderly monk, his gentle voice laced with false flattery after Klins spoke. “Hehe, but Mr. Harb’s mysterious powers are also quite remarkable! I have much to learn from you!” Modesty is a fundamental knightly virtue, and Klins exemplified it well. Yet his voice, hard as steel, lent his humility a slightly different tone.

Chu Tian listened calmly to their mutual flattery, cursing them inwardly: Two shameless fools! To flatter one another in front of so many experts—do you take no one else seriously? He stole a glance at the others; sure enough, the elven elder Hershey, seated to the Dragon Emperor’s left, had already changed expression. Only Merlin, beside him, remained as calm and inscrutable as ever.

Go on, keep flattering each other! Chu Tian prayed. Klins hailed from the Empire of Reis, Harb from the Kingdom of Tianhai—both archrivals of Caesar. The more enemies they made, the happier Chu Tian felt.

But Klins was not as foolish as Chu Tian had hoped. After perfunctorily dealing with Harb, he stood and addressed the assembly: “All present are the finest medical experts on the continent. I believe I will learn much from you—especially Mr. Vladino!” Klins suddenly smiled at Chu Tian, then placed his right hand over his chest and bowed in a perfect knightly salute. “As the most powerful priest here, I am certain you can cure His Majesty! The matter of the Thunderhawk a few days ago is still fresh in my mind. I doubt anyone else here could rival Mr. Vladino.”

If I am the most powerful priest, what does that make the others? Are they all beneath me? Will they have to kill me to defend their own honor? Chu Tian looked at the now furious faces of Hershey and Harb, narrowed his eyes, and smiled. “Praise be to the Goddess of Life! I am but an ordinary priest, attending in my teacher Anthony’s stead. As long as I do not disgrace him, I am content.”

The enmity between Caesar and Reis had seeped into every corner of both nations. Even at such a crucial meeting, Klins could not resist making trouble for Chu Tian, Caesar’s chief court priest. Yet he hadn’t expected Chu Tian to be so crafty, pulling Anthony in as a shield and making clear that everything he did represented his teacher. If Klins pressed him further, it would be the same as attacking Anthony and, by extension, offending every priest on the continent!

“Praise be to the Goddess of Life! Your knightly virtues are astonishingly perfect! It seems that rumor must be false after all.” Courtesy demands reciprocity; Chu Tian noticed that Elder Hershey’s temper seemed rather short and decided to use her to provoke Klins.

“Hehe, in Pompeii City, there were rumors that Knight Klins had purchased a great number of elven slave girls from the Pampas family! How utterly laughable!” This was a fabrication of Chu Tian’s, but it had its logic: nearly every high noble on the continent had purchased elven slave girls, for their beauty was irresistible. By dragging in the infamous Pampas family, notorious slavers, the story became all the more believable.

“Klins! Is this true?!” Buying elven beauties was ordinary, but discussing it before Elder Hershey, herself an elven beauty, was anything but.

“Silence, all of you!” The Dragon Emperor, clearly sensing the rising tension, grew angry. He cast a cold gaze at the two, snorting, “Hmph! This is Agula Mountain, not the battlefield of Caesar and Reis!” A tenth-tier Dragon Emperor had every right to be angry—and the power to command all present. Instantly, it felt as if the air in the chamber had been sucked away, making it hard for anyone to breathe.

At that moment, Merlin the Archmage, who had remained silent since the meeting began, finally spoke. “Your Majesty! Let Klins and the elves settle their own affairs. The most important thing now is to treat your illness!”

“Hmph, I’ll let it go this time. Now I will tell you about my condition, but—” Aristode’s anger subsided, but his expression grew stern again. His words were cold as frost. “If anyone dares reveal my condition…” The temperature in the chamber plummeted to freezing, the air turning heavy. “Let them be prepared to face death at the hands of the dragons!”

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Thanks to reader Mu Jingji for providing the book group, group number: 5711908.

Additionally, a friendly recommendation of a friend’s book: “Reborn as Yang Guang,” book number: 99098

“Eight Night Causes,” book number: 95147