Lorne let out a soft chuckle, a smile that Ethan saw as a signal of danger.
"You want me to help you carry things?"
Lorne took two steps toward Stelly, and a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped him.
Stelly instinctively backed up a step, his face turning a little pale, but he still forced himself to shout.
"What are you trying to do?"
"I'm the king of one of the World Government Member States!"
"Where are my guards?"
"Get this insolent fellow away from me!"
More than a dozen royal guards carrying muskets immediately surrounded him, their dark muzzles pointed at Lorne.
"Rear Admiral, don't do anything rash. This is Red Port."
Ethan reminded him in a low voice, his palms slick with cold sweat.
Lorne ignored the guards entirely. He stared at Stelly and spoke in an icy tone.
"If you dare point that stick at my subordinates again, I'll shove it down your throat so you can never speak another word for the rest of your life."
Looking into Lorne's wild eyes, Stelly felt as though he had plunged into an ice cellar, and his legs began trembling uncontrollably.
He roared in shock inwardly.
Has this guy gone mad?
Doesn't he know who I am?
Those eyes... it's like he wants to eat me alive. Would he really dare attack me here?
How could Marine Headquarters have raised a monster without the slightest sense of reverence!
"You... just you wait!"
"I'll definitely lodge a complaint against you with the Five Elders!"
Leaving that threat behind, Stelly scrambled into the protective circle of his attendants.
Lorne watched the group retreat in disarray and spat disdainfully.
"Let's go. Up to the Holy Land."
They rode the bubble lift slowly toward the top of the Red Line.
As they rose, a sea