The hall fell silent.
Only the faint glow flowing through the energy circuits illuminated everyone's shifting expressions.
Facts proved that words could wound.
Zong Shen's words pierced Algernon's heart like ice picks, shattering that layer of self-consoling disguise.
His frost-gray-blue eyes stared at his reflection on the smooth floor, while the veins at his temples throbbed faintly.
Freya clutched her chest, the bloodstains on her mage robe already dried and darkened.
Yet her breathing grew even more rapid.
It was clear that a fierce struggle was raging within her.
Gordon no longer roared. The muscles on his rugged face were taut, his nostrils flaring unconsciously like a trapped beast driven into a corner.
Meanwhile, Alina's ice-blue eyes moved rapidly.
As a Frost Element caster, calmness was both her strength and defining trait.
So at this moment, she was analyzing and calculating, trying to find a flaw or trap in Zong Shen's words.
As for Morris, he seemed to have turned into a stone statue on the spot.
Only the slight twitch at the corner of his eye revealed the turmoil in his heart.
Zong Shen waited patiently without urging them.
He sat back down in the broad seat, the knuckles of his right hand lightly tapping the armrest with a rhythmic sound.
The Black-Winged Tyrant Beilei stood half a step behind him, his molten-gold vertical pupils sweeping over these five former enemies.
The Dragon Might around him had receded considerably, yet it still shrouded the entire hall like invisible shackles.
Time passed second by second, each one so heavy that it made people slow their breathing.
Algernon finally raised his head.
His voice had become incomparably hoarse.
"Why are you so certain that the kingdom has split apart?"
Zong Shen answered with a smile.
"Old King Guser was murdered, and