Betrayal

"Cole, come to the training room at once!"

Just as Cole was imagining his future, the voice of his Big Brother, Locke, suddenly rang out beside his ear.

"Hm?"

Cole abruptly looked up.

What was going on?

Hadn't Big Brother emerged from seclusion only ten years ago and told him that he would be cultivating in seclusion for a long time?

Why had he awakened again after only ten years?

And summoned him to the training room!

This was completely different from how he had acted when he emerged from seclusion the previous times.

Though he was filled with doubts, Cole did not dare neglect Big Brother's summons.

After straightening his clothes, he hurried toward Locke's training room.

"Big Brother."

After pushing open the training room door and entering, Cole walked up to Locke, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the room.

"Mm, Cole, you're here. Sit."

Opening his eyes, Locke swept a hand. Instantly, a cloud of dust rose from the ground before him, leaving the floor smooth as a mirror.

Cole's brows furrowed slightly, but in the end, he still sat cross-legged opposite Locke.

"Big Brother, did you summon me for something?"

"Mm."

Locke nodded. He did not beat around the bush and directly questioned Cole.

"Cole, what exactly have you been doing in Locke Territory?"

Cole's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly steadied himself.

"Huh? Big Brother, what are you talking about? I haven't done anything."

"You haven't done anything?"

Locke gave Cole a deep look.

"Just now, His Majesty Ceres directly sent me a message through Spiritual Sense, questioning whether I had already rebelled..."

"What?"

Hearing Locke's words, Cole was startled. He sprang straight up from the ground, terror filling his eyes.

He had never imagined that before he had even found a Soul of Purity who could allow him to enter the Saint Domain, the events in Locke Territory had already reached His Majesty Ceres of the Frost Snow Empire.

Now that the matter had been exposed, how would Big Brother treat him?

Would he kill him?

Cole did not want to die!

So, Cole instantly dropped to his knees before Locke and burst into tears.

"Big Brother, th-those things were all done because Viscount Cross and the others threatened me."

"Viscount Cross and Viscount Marik are both peak level-nine warriors. They are far stronger than I am. They threatened that if I did not obey their orders, they would kill me..."

"They also joined forces with Viscount Gask, Viscount Berkeley, and Viscount Dahl to monopolize the economy of Locke Territory..."

"They—they also threatened that if I revealed even the slightest bit of information to you, Big Brother, they would kill my wife, children, and grandchildren."

At that moment, in order to survive, Cole directly sold out all five viscounts of Locke Territory.

There was no choice. Cole had already learned from Locke that his highly publicized search throughout Locke Territory for Souls of Purity had been exposed and had drawn the attention of His Majesty Ceres of the Frost Snow Empire.

Under such circumstances, Cole knew that only his Big Brother could save his life.

Locke sighed softly.

If, during that earlier emergence from seclusion, he had not seen how respectfully Cross and Marik treated Cole, Locke might have fully believed Cole's words.

If, during his last seclusion, Locke had not made a breakthrough in his understanding of souls and been unable to sense Cole's emotions, then in his heart, he would still have regarded Cole as his closest younger brother in this world.

But...

There were no ifs!

"Sigh..."

With a soft sigh, Locke rose from the ground.

"Cole, I once promised our parents before their graves that as long as I remained on the Vakanda Plane, I would ensure your wealth and prosperity."

"I recall that your son is already over one hundred and thirty years old this year, isn't he?"

"Starting today, have your son take over Locke Territory!"

"And you, without my orders, are not to leave the residence in Locke City!"

"Yes, yes, Big Brother. Don't worry, I'll stay properly in the residence and won't run around!"

Although Cole was indignant at being stripped of his authority to manage Locke Territory, he also knew that after such a major incident in Locke Territory, this was the only way to preserve his life.

Moreover, Cole had his own plans.

Although he could no longer control Locke Territory openly, the one taking over its management was his son.

If he needed anything, was he afraid that boy would not obediently do as he was told?

Once a few more years passed and the turmoil he had caused blew over, it would not be impossible for him to have his son return the authority over Locke Territory to him.

Locke naturally sensed every change in Cole's emotions.

However, Locke had now become completely disappointed in Cole.

If Locke had previously regarded Cole as his own younger brother because of their parents, then now, he merely viewed Cole's branch of the family as "relatives."

"Family" and "relatives" were two different kinds of feelings.

Locke could give unconditionally for his family, hoping only that they could live better lives.

But when it came to "relatives," every contribution had to bring a return.

Although Locke had never managed Locke Territory for even a single day, that did not prevent his will from operating throughout the territory.

Even the five viscounts who had pledged loyalty to Locke and taken root in Locke Territory for nearly a century could not resist Locke's will in the slightest.

Viscount Cross and Viscount Marik were central nobles of Locke Territory. They barely put up any resistance before being taken down in one sweep.

After learning that Cross and Marik had been arrested, the other three viscounts in Locke Territory directly abandoned their lands and fled with their families to the Temple of Light.

"Damn it!"

Within the dim forest, Gask struck a massive tree before him with one palm, blasting it apart as he vented his fury.

That bastard Cole had actually sold them all out, claiming that they had ordered and threatened him, leaving him no choice but to accept that condition.

Otherwise, given how secretly they had acted, how could anyone possibly have found evidence against them?

In over four hundred years, this was the first time Gask had suffered such treatment.

If Cole were standing before him now, Gask probably would not even fear Locke and would cut Cole down with a single stroke.

And yet, he had previously intended to hand the Soul of Purity he had found over to Cole.

"Don't be angry, Big Brother Gask."

Dahl consoled Gask from the side. "We should be grateful that Lord Locke did not personally pursue us. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for us to escape Locke Territory."

At Dahl's words, Gask and Berkeley immediately fell silent.

Indeed, it was precisely because Lord Locke had not personally hunted them down that they had managed to safely escape Locke Territory.