George Xerjoff sat on a throne made of dazzling black metal that looked so dark it seemed to absorb any light that fell on it and was decorated with red rubies on top.

George tapped the side of the throne several times but there was no sound coming out as if the material the throne was made of was absorbing his blows without making any sound.

Eventually he stopped doing this movement because it didn't help relieve his tension at all.

But he continued to steal quick glances at his silver watch repeatedly as if he had become obsessed.

The clock showed that it was only two hours until dawn.

Normally he would not be in his office this late.

No matter how important the event was, the subject of its discussion would often be postponed until dawn.

George only got a few hours of rest a day.

So he was not going to sacrifice these few hours easily.

But as he was getting ready to go to bed he received a call from Walter.

George knew very well that Walter would not call him this late unless it was urgent and something that could not be delayed.

And that was exactly what it turned out to be.

George remained frozen in front of his bed, shocked.

His wife noticed his confusion and asked him what had happened.

But George did not answer her and quickly put on decent clothes and went to his office to wait for his trusted assistant.

He looked nervous, but his feelings were not clear or stable.

At one moment, he was elated as if he had found some kind of treasure.

At another moment, he was anxious as if there was a deadly danger nearby.

The door opened and Walter entered, then closed the door quietly.

Walter walked forward and bowed to George.

George motioned for him to sit in the chair opposite him, "How did it go?"

Walter collapsed on the chair exhaustedly, "I was able to postpone it somehow."

"Good job." George sighed with some relief

But he soon noticed that Walter’s face was strange, as if he was hesitating to say something.

George’s face became more serious, “Who are they?...”

“The Dragon Blood Clan is also demanding this core as well.”

George rose from his throne angrily, “Have some mercy on me.”

“They sent an official request, they didn’t even bother to hide their threatening tone.” Walter placed a piece of paper written in red ink on George’s desk.

George looked at this piece of paper that was clearly written in blood and said angrily, “These bastards have been in their holes for centuries and now they dare to come out as soon as they smell treasure.”

Walter remained silent, but he was tacitly agreeing with George’s words.

George stood in front of a window overlooking a giant garden containing various types of trees and flowers, and some roses were shining under the moonlight, creating a breathtaking view.

Usually, looking at this garden would make him relax a little, but the current situation made him unable to relax.

Every step would have a price.

Either he would succeed in winning the jackpot or he would simply lose and come away empty-handed.

“How should we respond to the church envoys?” Walter asked slowly.

Stolen story; please report.

“Tell them that we are still examining this core, and that will take a few days.”

“They definitely won’t believe it.” Walter muttered lightly, worried about angering George even more.

“It doesn’t matter whether they believe it or not…” George waved his palm in disinterest, “All we need to do is buy more time.”

“They know this, so they won’t give us a chance.”

"Well, that's understandable, who would stand idly by with such a treasure in front of them?"

George remembered the moment he saw the Dragon Core

The aura emanating from that core was capable of making any being stare endlessly at it as if it was enchanting others

A Saint-level monster core was something that hadn’t appeared in this world since ancient times

To make matters even more interesting, this core belonged to an ancient dragon

Dragons

Creatures that were only heard of in legends

Everyone knew about a clan that carried dragon blood living on an isolated island

The heirs of this clan had gained immense power as a result of their possession of dragon blood

Therefore, it was only natural that they would gain the respect of all entities and organizations in this world

But now it wasn’t just about dragon blood, but about the appearance of a true dragon core

It wouldn’t be strange for all powers to fight over this priceless treasure

That’s why it only took two hours for the news to spread among the major powers in the world

So he partially understood why all these organizations and clans were rushing to get a piece of this cake

But George wasn't willing to share anything with these hyenas.

This treasure was found within the Empire’s territory

And the person who found it was also a citizen of the Empire…

Alexander Ford

The corner of George’s mouth twitched as he remembered Alexander’s smiling and provocative face, “It’s Alexander Ford again.”

Walter sighed as he remembered Alexander, “They found him unconscious so they had to take him to the hospital.”

George frowned, “Can’t you assign someone more experienced to examine him?”

After all, Alexander was part of the Ford family

So he should receive double the care to make sure everything is okay

Especially since Alexander was the one who gave the empire such an amazing treasure

Wait a minute, this could actually be a disaster for the empire... Now that George thought about it a little, he realized that this fortune might be a bit of luck, but at the same time, it could also be a disaster for them

There were a lot of powerful figures who had their eyes on this treasure and all of them wanted to get the Dragon Core for themselves

So it wouldn’t be surprising if some kind of alliance was formed to take the Dragon Core away from the empire

I was stupid to expect that something good would come out of that brat...George’s look became even stranger

Walter misunderstood George’s expression and quickly gave a reassurance, “I’ve got everything sorted out.”

He then explained why he did it, “It was just that we couldn't show preferential treatment in front of others, so I sent him to the hospital to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.”

“Good…” George nodded and turned to Walter, “You remember the letter that Pontiff Bolin sent?”

Walter straightened his back and his face became serious, “I also began to doubt it as soon as I heard that Alexander had found the dragon core.”

“If his words are true…” George looked at the ground with knitted brows, “What should we do… if his words are true?”

There was an unusual confusion on George’s face.

He was the most powerful man in the empire, so it was rare for him to be in this situation.

But the letter from the Pontiff Bolin had left him confused, unable to decide what to do with Alexander.

At first, he didn’t believe a word in that letter.

It seemed as if the church was trying to upset the Ford family.

The atmosphere between these two parties was not at its best. They didn’t completely tear their faces apart, but it was clear that they didn’t get along.

But now George was starting to think that Bolin meant every word he said, and it seemed that he wasn’t the only one thinking about it, as Walter shared his suspicions.

“You’re not thinking about sending Alexander to Arametes?” Walter asked cautiously.

"Of course I won't do that...." George looked at him as if he had heard the stupidest thing in his life

Handing Alexander over to the church?

Wouldn't that mean antagonizing the entire Ford family?

"Go make sure that brat is okay." George motioned for Walter to leave

Walter left immediately without further objection or question

-----------------

"Couldn't you have been nicer to him?"

"You saw how he acted arrogantly, I don't know where he gets all this confidence just because he earns more than me."

An old woman and her daughter stood arguing in the living room

"Carla..." The mother collapsed to the ground and covered her face pretending to cry, "All I wanted was to see my grandchildren, is it possible that I will die before I see you get married?"

Carla looked away because she knew that her mother was just acting and nothing more.

Then she looked by chance at her father who was reading his newspaper quietly as if he hadn't seen them arguing for hours.

The father folded the newspaper when he felt his daughter's gaze.

Although intervening in this matter would be annoying.

But it was his duty as a father to resolve conflicts within the family.

The best way to resolve the conflict was to change the subject of marriage to another topic entirely. With the quick wit befitting a father who had trained for years to deal with a complaining wife, he was able to quickly find a solution. "You didn't go to the hospital today. Do you have a vacation?"

Carla immediately realized her father's intentions and rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "There is a strike among the city's nurses because they did not receive the annual raise they were demanding."

The mother became tense and stood up immediately. "But you are a doctor, what does the nurses' strike have to do with you?"

"They are our colleagues, it is natural for us to stand by them." Carla smiled deceitfully

It was agreed that the doctors would join the nurses’ strike as a kind of support for them

She didn’t refuse it at all

It was like a vacation that had been bestowed upon her as a gift from heaven

It might be a bit unethical, but lately she had been under pressure due to the type of patients who came to her

She still remembered that child who came complaining of his stomach even though his tests were fine

But she didn’t dare complain after those scary men came to take him

It was clear that that child was the son of a nobleman or something

After all that effort, she definitely deserved some rest

“Single and a troublemaker too?” The mother hit her forehead in grief, “What would you do if they punished you for this act?”

"Owah..." Carla groaned tiredly because of her mother's exaggerations, "Nothing will happen, I will return to work tomorrow, who will care about my absence for one day."

Knock! Knock!

As soon as Carla finished speaking, there was a loud knock from the front door.

The father got up from his seat with wary eyes

The force of these knocks was enough to confirm that there was a problem

The father walked towards the front door while Carla and her mother followed him anxiously

He opened the door to look at the sudden visitor who had come at this time

A man wearing silver armor that covered his body from head to toe stood in front of the door

The knight was so huge that Carla's father looked like a dwarf in front of him

In addition to the emblem carved on the armor that any citizen could immediately recognize

The symbol of the imperial family

The father swallowed and tried to speak, but his mouth kept opening and closing, unable to put the words together properly

"Is this where Carla Diane lives?" The knight asked in a cold, emotionless, robot-like tone

"I'm... Carla." Carla raised her hand in fear

"I'm here to tell you that your mother is right, if you don't go to the hospital within fifteen minutes you're going to be in real trouble." The sarcastic words came out of the knight but it was strange when he was using his cold, robotic voice

With his strength, this knight was able to hear the argument that was going on inside the house as soon as he stood in front of the door

After saying this, the knight turned and left without saying any more words

"This..." Carla's legs were shaking in fear

On the other hand, her mother was looking at her with a look that said 'Didn't I tell you that you'd be in trouble?'

"None of this would have happened if you were listening to me." The mother didn't miss the opportunity to blame them again

"Get dressed, I'll take you in my car." The father was the first to move

He wasn't cold-hearted enough to send his only daughter out like that without knowing exactly what was going on

Besides, he didn't want to be left alone with his wife who was in a bad mood

He would rather face that fierce knight than endure his wife's chatter all the night.