Muran sat in a corner, her mood still terrible. No one but her vice-captain dared to get near the female warrior.

Phirr meanwhile had an impatient expression. By now some of his soldiers were searching places which had already been scouted before.

Apparently, the palace had been fully mapped out. The captain would’ve already ordered his soldiers to leave if the emperor’s room would have been confirmed.

Even Lao De grew a bit restless. He wasn’t the type to sit around doing nothing. Without his brother he would’ve left to fight some beasts.

Everyone else had no choice but to adapt to the atmosphere. They followed the four leaders’ words as long as their storage bags were not in their hands.

Silence hung over the room. For a few minutes everyone waited quietly.

Suddenly an annoyed voice drew everyone’s attention:

“F*ck. Who cares if two ants are missing! Let’s discuss our findings! If we end up empty handed again, our Tamed Storms Army will leave!”

Some warriors only now understood what was going on. They studied the room. Right, the kid with his missing legs hadn’t arrived! As well as his father!

Tepo frowned as he guessed where the two pirates might be.

“Muran is right.”, agreed Phirr calmly. “You know the procedure. Let’s start!”

Suddenly though one warrior stepped forward. He looked at Lao Ru as he bravely spoke up:

“Wait please. Shouldn’t we care more about the missing people? They might have been killed. After all they obviously had a grudge with someone.”

Tepo looked at the red-haired warrior with narrowed eyes. Suddenly a lot of attention was on him.

“Are you implying something?”, spoke the young man in a threatening voice.

“Of course. What if you saw your rivals finding a clue and stole it?”

So that’s his motivation? But it’s not like he would get anything out of it, is it?

Confused, Tepo stared at the warrior antagonizing him. He didn’t understand what was going on.

Fortunately, Lao Ru was on Tepo’s side. Pressure fell on the red-haired warrior’s shoulders as the burly man eyed him dangerously:

“Are you trying to incite a conflict now? Who knows what happened to those pirates. They might’ve just scurried away like the rats they are.”

Sweat ran down the warrior’s face as he endured Lao Ru’s anger. This wasn’t how he imagined things to play out. Why would the leader take the weakling’s side?

However, Lao Ru’s momentum was suddenly interrupted. Muran spoke up with her deep voice:

“Lao Ru. I think what he said makes a lot of sense. Let’s just search the newcomer and be done with it.”

Lao Ru furrowed his brows heavily. Stern eyes roamed the room.

“Ok. But if it turns out this b*stard was just inciting unnecessary conflict, I won’t be merciful. You better be prepared.”

An iciness clung to the warrior’s last sentence. A shiver ran down the red-haired man’s back. Panic rose in his chest. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Why would Lao Ru make things difficult for him?

At the other side Tepo was indignant as well. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You want to search me?”

“Yes.”, answered Muran as she finally found some amusement. “Any problems?”

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Tepo was just about to lash out when he felt a strange tuck in his pocket. He trembled slightly, noticing Lao Ru’s gaze on him for a moment.

An invisible hand dexterously took the diary and a few materials he collected from the workshop and vanished into the floor without anyone noticing.

Lao Ru’s ghost can stay invisible like this? F*ck. He looks like an honest guy but with his abilities he is a born thief.

Muran’s moody eyes were focused on Tepo. She took the independent warrior’s silence as a sign of not daring to talk back.

“It’s good to know your place. Helps you to live longer.

Ok, Insce. Frisk him so we can finally leave!”

The blond vice-captain nodded as he walked towards Tepo.

The young man looked at the pale face with gritted teeth. Although he didn’t expect anything to happen, this was still a humiliating experience. He would definitely remember this!

Fine but strong hands reached towards Tepo. The vice-captain didn’t waste much time. He patted the weak warrior’s body, searching for anything hidden.

A few seconds later it was over. Insce held a silver ring and a piece of recording metal in his hand. A picture of the housekeeper was projected in the air.

With a disinterested voice the blond man simply announced:

“Nothing.”

Just as the vice-captain handed Tepo his possessions back, lightning suddenly flashed in the room. Before anyone could react, a terrified scream sounded out.

“AHHH!”

Lao De suddenly entered the room again from the outside. Another warrior had just turned into beast food.

Coldness shook everyone’s bones. Many realized once more that their life was worthless in the four leaders’ eyes. They could be killed any second.

Only Tepo frowned faintly. The beast’s sounds were different this time. There was no roar but rather the fletching of teeth and the sound of its massive jaw closing a few times.

Strange…

Naturally the other leaders weren’t intimidated. Phirr glossed over the situation, already putting it at the back of his mind:

“Ok let’s hear your reports everyone!”

With shaky voices the independent warriors spoke up. They almost fought to answer first, eager to prove their compliance.

But at this point nothing new had been found. Even the library which the soldiers occupied didn’t have information about the Ahiluscendum. Gradually no one believed that it could be found in the palace anymore.

The mood in the room was shifting. It was apparent from the captains’ faces that the armies doubted if it was worth to continue.

Even Lao Ru spoke up calmly:

“It seems we have mapped out the palace entirely. Maybe the emperor really had no room of his own.”

“Mhm. I agree, brother. Let’s go.”, spoke Lao De with eager eyes. For the powerful warrior it was almost torturous to sit around and guard a few storage bags.

Many warriors exchanged glances as they followed the conversation. The Blue Ocean Merchants moved their bodies, vaguely signaling that they were prepared to leave.

Muran and Phirr also eyed each other suspiciously.

“Ok. My Hurricane Army is ready to leave.”

“We won’t stay as well.”

After the two captains made their opinions known the decisions were final.

Lao De stared at the storage bags scattered on the dining table as he finally stood up, moving his muscles impatiently.

“All of you, grab your bags. Get them out of my sight.”

Even Muran acknowledged those words with a grunt.

The weaker warriors didn’t need to hear this request twice. They dashed forward, a fight almost breaking out. Everyone’s eyes were already fixated on their own bags.

Hands shot forward, snatching their belongings as if their lives depended on it.

Watching with mocking gazes, the captains waited until their soldiers got all their bags. A moment later they stood up and wordlessly left through the door.

Lao De yelled after them with an amused voice:

“Let’s not see each other again! Goodbye!”

At the side Lao Ru rolled his eyes. The older brother glanced secretly at Tepo before leaving with a “Let’s go!”.

Suddenly silence fell in the room. Many of the independent warriors had hurried behind the two brothers. Only a few remained.

Not daring to face the dangerous beasts again they were perfectly fine with staying in the palace until the dungeon was solved.

Tepo furrowed his brows. He wasn’t sure how to deal with them. He planned to wait until Lao Ru returned but unfortunately the warriors had other plans.

The seven people remaining in the room eyed each other. With no one left to suppress them, their real personalities quickly came through again.

Feeling the strange atmosphere, Tepo grew apprehensive. He slowly walked towards the door.

Suddenly a skinny man focused his eyes on Tepo. Earlier he was one of those sucking up to Lao Ru, but now a greedy smile was on his face.

“Hey, kid. Where do you think you’re going?”

As the man’s grating voice sounded through the room, the other warrior’s focused on Tepo as well. They all guessed that the young man was the weakest among them.

“What does it have to do with you?”, answered Tepo in a deep voice.

Those b*stards. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Do you really think you are something special? It’s not without reason that everyone looks down on you.

All eyes were now directed on Tepo. They showed similar expressions. An easy prey was before them, and they didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

A female warrior with red and white hair grinned at Tepo. She licked her lips as she spoke up:

“Kid. You might not know, but this door was built by me. Naturally you have to pay tribute if you want to use it.

Just leave your storage bag behind.

Or you can also come to a… different… agreement with this big sister here.”

Tepo eyed the female warrior, clicking his tongue:

“Tzz. If I were fifty years older, I might accept.”

“YOU…!”

An incredulous shout left the woman’s mouth.