Maguire sat up from where he was seated and walked over to Grindock. “Brother, let’s go and greet the new Grand inquisitor and see if we can get him on our family’s side,” he said.Samuel, who had been paying attention, overheard them since Maguire had not bothered to whisper. What he said seemed ordinary enough, especially as Samuel noticed several other Grand elders already watching him like hungry wolves.He cleared his throat and spoke loudly, magnifying his voice with qi. “I want to use this opportunity to thank Grand elder Brown and Grand elder Staten for always watching out for me. And also Ugadi. I appreciate him for saving my life.”Immediately, the buzzing died down. Everyone understood at once. Samuel was publicly declaring his alliance, making it meaningless to continue fighting over him.He belonged to Ugadi, and Staten and Brown were close to Ugadi, whom he had openly acknowledged. Were they forming an alliance? Everyone knew that Staten and Ugadi were friends.They had

Arya stepped onto the rug, lifted the flowers resting on it, and drew it aside, revealing a long stairway descending underground. Samuel smiled. His suspicion had been correct. The placement made it nearly impossible to notice, since it was not positioned at the center of the room.The beautiful flowers arranged over it made it seem like nothing more than decoration, as though their sole purpose was to enhance the room’s design.“Grand Elder, I have already contacted everyone. Most of them are currently at the base. Some are outside, but those nearby will arrive soon. You may proceed inside,” she said, gesturing toward the steps.******Anthony was casually reading through a file when a knock sounded at the door.“Come in,” he called.The door opened, revealing a very beautiful girl followed by a man.“Oh, it’s the two of you. Welcome. What would you like to discuss?” he asked, motioning for them to enter.“This office really suits you,” the girl said with a smile.“Yes, I was thinkin

He suspected that Samuel was one of Staten's descendants who had pulled strings to secure this position. If that were true, then things would not end well, because he would never bow to someone weaker than himself."You seem unconvinced," Samuel said, his gaze fixed on him.Baltimore wanted to respond, but he held himself back when he noticed Staten watching closely."There is no need to restrain yourself. Speak your mind," Samuel said coldly.Baltimore clenched his jaw."You asked for it, remember. And yes, I do not believe you are qualified to be the Grand Inquisitor of Dragon Claws. You are likely one of Grand Elder Staten's outstanding descendants. Perhaps he wants you to gain experience through this appointment, but this is wrong. It is a great injustice to the rest of us.Many of us have worked tirelessly to reach our current positions, only for someone far weaker to be placed above us because of connections. That is an insult to every one of us and to all the effort we have put

Samuel had nearly finished his work and was preparing to leave, so he sent someone to summon Baltimore to his office.“You called me, sir?” Baltimore asked, bowing calmly.“Yes, Baltimore. According to our bet, you are to receive my spiritual imprint. I trust you are not planning to renege on it?” he said evenly.“Of course not. I am a man who keeps his word.” Baltimore pounded his chest firmly.“Good. I will begin now.” Samuel rose to his feet, cut his finger, and started drawing a rune in midair.“What kind of spiritual imprint requires such complicated runes?” Baltimore asked with a frown.“That is none of your business, Baltimore,” Samuel replied coldly.Baltimore fell silent and waited without another word.After injecting a strand of his consciousness into the rune, Samuel compressed it and shot it straight toward Baltimore’s glabella.“Open your mind and accept it. Do not resist,” he ordered.Baltimore nodded and opened his consciousness, even though his instincts screamed at h

A heavy tension began to build as everyone wondered what was truly happening.Samuel slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out two rings, and raised them, sweeping his gaze across the hall.“I’m sure you have all heard about the Holy Gail artifact, right?” he asked.“The Holy Gail artifact!” Eyes lit up across the hall. The mysterious artifact, crafted by an expert, was said to reveal members of the Urgaba cult when worn. It had become famous in recent days, yet it was extremely limited, and the Dragon Claws had never managed to obtain one.“Good. From the looks of it, we’ll all know what’s going on soon.” He tossed the rings onto the floor in front of Micheal and Elizabeth.Both of them recoiled in pure terror as the rings slid toward them, as though they had just witnessed the apocalypse.“Micheal and Elizabeth, right? I want you both to wear these rings,” he commanded.“But… but why?” Micheal stammered, unable to comprehend how matters had escalated to this point.“I’m not oblig