Audience and Confidential Talk

Hu Feng sat up from the soft silk bed and waved at the floor-to-ceiling window. The curtains blocking the outside light immediately drew slowly apart on their own.

Under the control of his thoughts, his divine power resumed once more, instantly dispelling the discomfort of his hangover.

Turning to look beside him, he saw that much of the female elf's sexy, graceful body was exposed beneath the smooth blanket.

Elisande woke as well, rubbing her forehead and letting out a groan.

"Normally, I should be telling you that I'd take responsibility for you right now. But considering I'm a Titan, I should have a few privileges, so let's skip that part. What do you think?"

The Archmage, who had also sat up, immediately chuckled.

"I have no objections. Still, for a true god, your worldly attitude is quite novel."

"Ha, Titans aren't emotionless puppets. Believe me, compared to my rigid and serious kin, I'd say I'm probably the most worldly one."

"I absolutely believe that." Elisande waved her fingers, directing her dress, which had been crumpled into a ball, to smooth itself out before automatically dressing her.

"Ah, I nearly forgot. Two unfamiliar foreigners arrived in Suramar last night. They claimed to be court mages of Lord Ravencrest. I ordered them to return today for an audience. As our ruler, I think you should meet them."

Hu Feng shrugged at that, and his black robe returned to its proper place.

"Looks like the threat brought by my fallen brother has made the Night Elves decide to rise up and resist... Fine. Meeting them would be good. Our goals are the same, after all."

Krasus and Rhonin proceeded down the corridor under the guidance of two Highborne battle mages.

They had been told that Suramar's supreme ruler would receive them in the High Council Hall.

Yes, receive them...

Combined with the utterly arrogant expressions on the faces of the two elves leading the way, the Highborne mannerisms made Rhonin continually mutter complaints to Krasus.

Upon arriving at the High Council Hall, the two experienced firsthand what it meant to have no limit to arrogance.

All the members of the High Council sat upright in their respective seats, which had been raised high atop columns arranged in a circle.

Standing in the center of the hall, the two looked exactly like criminals dragged in for judgment, enduring the condescending stares from all around them.

At the deepest part of the hall, atop the tallest and broadest column platform, stood an incomparably magnificent throne. Seated upon it was...

When they looked closely, Krasus and Rhonin froze.

A human!?

Endless doubt filled Krasus's heart, but he quickly noticed something strange.

In some ways, a Dragon's extraordinarily keen senses were no different from a hound's nose.

That was not a human. That was a...

"A human? Krasus, the ruler of the Highborne is a human? Am I seeing this right? During the War of the Ancients, how could there have been another human besides me?"

Rhonin widened his eyes and whispered to Krasus.

Krasus wore an expression of utter disbelief, trembling faintly as though he had been greatly shocked. It was the first time Rhonin had ever seen his Dragon mentor look like that.

"That is not a human... This is impossible... That is a Titan! A living Titan! I cannot be mistaken. A Dragon's senses cannot be mistaken either... Pantheon above, I am certain that is a Titan!"

Rhonin was stunned as well, staring blankly at the platform in the distance.

The young human man wore a black robe and held a huge, ornate staff. A female Highborne stood beside his throne.

"A Titan? You didn't see wrong..."

"Impudence! You foolish, shallow foreigners will never learn true etiquette. Is your way of showing respect to stare so rudely?"

A Highborne mage atop the circular platform roared in accusation.

For once, Krasus did not lose his temper. Instead, he shuddered, then obediently knelt toward the platform directly before him, as though a Dragon's pride did not exist at all.

Having just been hit with such explosive news, Rhonin failed to react in time and knelt beside Krasus.

"Please... please forgive our rudeness. I never expected... I mean, I did not know that a Titan of the Pantheon..."

At that moment, a burst of frenzied whispers suddenly rang out, and an immense pressure enveloped the entire hall.

"Enough. It seems a Dragon's nose is rather sharp after all. You sniffed it out so quickly... I know exactly why you came. Go back and tell Ravencrest that Suramar's Highborne will fight alongside the Elf Resistance. The Demon Legion must be destroyed, and Eldorei's portal must be closed."

Krasus, whose words had been cut off, immediately lowered his head. "As you wish. We will tell Lord Ravencrest everything that happened here. I will convey your will precisely."

Central Core Mage Tower, the terrace of the private hall on the top floor.

Krasus and Rhonin stood nearby, their expressions extremely restrained and at a loss.

"Speak. I can sense an interfering force on you. You do not belong to this time... So, a Dragon and a human traveled through time to come here. What do you want?"

As he spoke, Boss Hu poured three cups of Moonlight Wine and handed two of them to the pair.

Krasus and Rhonin immediately stepped forward, receiving them with both hands in great panic before bowing in thanks.

"Thank you, Creator, for bestowing..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Don't use that title. Just call me Divine Lord. That title makes me very uncomfortable."

"Yes, thank you for the wine, Divine Lord... We truly do not belong to this time. The Dragon King of Time, Nozdormu, brought us here from the future. He said there would be a great anomaly... Ah, I understand! Your arrival is the anomaly! In the original historical records..."

"Forgive me for saying so, but that little Dragon does not have the ability to predict or sense my actions. So you still do not understand. Nozdormu did not send you here because of my arrival." Hu Feng waved his hand, interrupting Krasus.

Hmm... This Divine Lord likes interrupting people. How interesting.

Rhonin stood to one side and thought.

Elisande, standing beside Boss Hu, carefully observed the two of them. She was quite curious about these human foreigners from the future, because she had discovered that the form assumed by the Divine Lord was that of this race called humans.

Krasus was stunned for a moment, then bowed once more.

"I was foolish, but... you have appeared. No matter what anomalies or disasters may come, there is nothing to fear now, is there? Will you remain for a long time to lead us forward after this descent? In the future after the Titan creators left, there have been too many wars, too much bloodshed. We long for..."

Hu Feng raised his hand again, cutting off Krasus's hurried words.

"I am not your babysitter, little Dragon. You seem to have forgotten that."

"But I will guide the Night Elves to win this war. As for what comes afterward, and what I will do, that is entirely up to me. Perhaps I will leave, perhaps I will sleep, perhaps I will continue guiding the Night Elves forward. But I will not answer you. I am not your babysitter. Your future is yours to choose."

"Still... meeting is fate. Since you have met me... here is a small gift. Make good use of it."

As he spoke, Hu Feng snapped his fingers.

Rhonin immediately felt the energy within him surge and transform.

In a single instant, his power reached a level comparable to an Archmage of the Dalaran Kirin Tor Council. He now had an urge to trade massive fireballs with that old bastard Antonidas.

Krasus, meanwhile, felt some kind of restriction shatter with a crash, and that incomparably familiar feeling returned to his body.

He could become a Dragon again!

"Now, you may return. Gather every force you can gather. We still have a hard battle ahead of us."