Scarlet Hand Bretz

The Southern City-State Alliance was an allied nation formed by ten large principalities and nearly a hundred small countries. Many of those small countries had no more than a single city.

Antalya Warlock Academy stood at the very center of the Southern City-State Alliance, ruling over all its member states.

Saint High Forest City, the headquarters of Antalya Warlock Academy, was also the only colossal city in the Southern City-State Alliance with a population exceeding five million.

Inside an inn in Saint High Forest City.

Allen frowned deeply as he calculated without pause. This is terrible. Antalya Warlock Academy actually refused to receive me! Have they made up their minds to deal with the great Lord of Steel?

Allen had arrived in Saint High Forest City more than ten days ago. During that time, no one from Antalya Warlock Academy had contacted him at all, as though they had completely forgotten about him. That left him uneasy.

Once Antalya Warlock Academy made up its mind to eliminate the fictional Steel Lord Yang Ye created by Yang Feng, Allen's situation would become extremely dangerous. Yet no matter how sharp-witted Allen was, he had spent too little time in Saint High Forest City and possessed too little intelligence to do anything at all.

"Mr. Allen, Lord Ke Lun of Antalya Warlock Academy is seeking an audience."

Following a knock at the door, the waiter's exceedingly polite voice came from outside.

Allen's eyes lit up. He immediately rose and went to open the door.

Outside stood a formal Level-1 Warlock around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, dressed in a white warlock robe with a single silver line embroidered on its cuff, beside a female attendant.

The young Warlock smiled faintly. "Are you Allen? I am Ke Lun of Antalya Warlock Academy."

"Lord Ke Lun! I am Allen!" Allen placed his right hand over his chest, bent slightly at the waist, and offered Ke Lun a salute.

On the Durando Subcontinent, aside from formal Warlocks, all Wizard Apprentices had to salute upon meeting a formal Warlock. It was a necessary courtesy. If they failed to do so, some narrow-minded Warlocks might even personally act and directly kill those fellows who knew no etiquette.

Ke Lun smiled. "Please come with me! Lord Bretz wishes to see you!"

A flash of shock crossed Allen's eyes, and he blurted out, "Lord Bretz! Could it be Lord Scarlet Hand Bretz?"

Scarlet Hand Bretz was an incomparably powerful Level-3 Warlock of the Durando Subcontinent. He was a terrifying existence who had once single-handedly destroyed a small mortal nation and killed two Level-3 Warlocks. Within Antalya Warlock Academy, he was the strongest below the rank of Great Warlock, a peak powerhouse with the greatest hope of advancing into a Great Warlock.

The most important figures Allen had previously met had only been Level-1 Warlocks. Now that he could meet a Level-3 Warlock, he was naturally shocked and excited. A Level-3 Warlock was not someone a little figure like him could meet whenever he pleased.

Ke Lun smiled. "That's right, it is Lord Scarlet Hand Bretz!"

Allen composed himself and said courteously, "Then please lead the way, Lord Ke Lun!"

Led by Ke Lun, the two went directly to a spacious council hall within Saint High Forest City.

The moment Allen stepped into the council hall, he saw Level-2 Warlocks seated along both sides, each radiating a terrifying aura. At the seat of honor sat a silver-haired middle-aged man who appeared to be around forty or fifty, dressed in a scarlet warlock robe embroidered with three silver lines.

The instant Allen met the silver-haired man's eyes, his body shuddered. It was as though he had seen two incomparably dazzling suns; his eyes throbbed with agony, and even his soul shook as if it were about to collapse and shatter.

Terrifying! Is this the strength of a Level-3 Warlock? It's far too terrifying!! Allen's head felt as though it were splitting apart, his heart filled with shock and fear. He understood clearly that Scarlet Hand Bretz did not even need to use any method at all. A single glance could kill a Level-3 Wizard Apprentice like him. This was the strength of one of the most elite Warlocks on the Durando Subcontinent.

A Level-2 Warlock seated beside the council hall waved his hand, and a rainbow-colored radiance enveloped Allen.

Only then did Allen feel much better, and he let out a long breath of relief.

Bretz looked down at Allen and said indifferently, "Allen, what did Yang Ye send you here to do?"

"May I ask if you are Lord Scarlet Hand Bretz?"

"Yes!"

Neither servile nor overbearing, Allen said, "The great Lord of Steel Yang Ye sent me here in hopes of replacing the Fein Deluo Principality and the Senarus Principality. Using the territories of those two nations as a foundation, we wish to establish a new principality, inherit the rights and obligations of the two great principalities, and serve the great Antalya Warlock Academy. The great Lord of Steel Yang Ye can demonstrate his strength to you. So long as you nod in agreement, we can destroy all resistance in Fein Deluo within one month."

"Destroy all resistance in Fein Deluo within one month? What audacity!"

"No, perhaps he truly can accomplish it! Ken Ni and Aba Ni are both dead! Zhan Mute was seriously wounded too; they say half his body was shattered."

"But he actually wants to swallow the Fein Deluo Principality and the Senarus Principality. Yang Ye's appetite is truly enormous! He cannot even obtain the Fein Deluo Principality, yet he still wants the Senarus Principality. What a greedy fellow."

"..."

Upon hearing Allen's words, the Level-2 Warlocks in the council hall began discussing the matter in low voices.

Spell fluctuations permeated the council hall, and Allen could not hear the words of those Level-2 Warlocks at all.

Bretz said coldly, "Impossible! The Fein Deluo Principality and the Senarus Principality cannot be handed over to you."

Allen smiled faintly. "If the lords of Antalya Warlock Academy are unwilling to hand over the two great principalities to us, Lord Yang Ye told me that we can only choose to seek refuge with Wild Claw. I believe the lords of Wild Claw would support us in taking both principalities."

"Wild Claw! Damn it, if he seeks refuge with Wild Claw, this will be troublesome!"

"This bastard actually wants to seek refuge with Wild Claw. What a bastard!"

"..."

The Level-2 Warlocks in the council hall all glared fiercely at Allen, their eyes full of fury.

Wild Claw was Antalya Warlock Academy's mortal enemy. The two sides had fought and slaughtered each other for countless years, and innumerable Warlocks had fallen to the hands of both factions. Their enmity was irreconcilable. Now, hearing that Steel Lord Yang Ye intended to seek refuge with Wild Claw, they were immediately filled with rage and killing intent.

Bretz's voice suddenly turned incomparably icy, carrying a trace of chilling killing intent. "Are you threatening me?"

Allen said calmly, "No! I am merely stating a possibility."