Chapter 427: Settle some scores

After sending the voice message to Rory, Yuel looked down at Terry, who was sitting in his palm.

Terry had originally wanted to shift back to his normal size, but he found himself thoroughly suppressed by his father’s mental energy. Now, he could only sit there in his father’s palm, looking like a tiny little apple.

Yuel asked him, "Alright, explain. What exactly happened?"

Speaking of his own deeds, Terry instantly regained his confidence. "Daddy, you really have to reward me this time. I literally saved this bird’s life! He was poisoned by that Zerg female, and I was the one who cured him."

Sylas nodded in agreement. "What Terry said is true. If it weren’t for him, I would still be trapped in that illusion, obeying Bree’s every command."

Terry continued eagerly, "Daddy, that female named Bree is a Zerg. And she’s a high-ranking Zerg female at that! She’s definitely up to no good getting close to Mom. I did all of this just to protect Mom." So, when you take me back, you absolutely cannot punish me, okay?

Yuel understood the situation now. He turned to Sylas and asked, "Looking at it this way, have Bree’s other mates also fallen victim to her poison and ended up trapped in illusions just like you?"

Sylas nodded. "Exactly. We beastmen males would rather spend our entire lives without a female master than ever bond with a Zerg female." Furthermore, there were massive biological differences between the Zerg and beastmen; structurally speaking, it was impossible for them to truly bond.

Yuel nodded, then looked back down at Terry. "How did you cure his poison?"

Terry lowered his head and shook it vigorously, causing several petals to fall from the top of his head. "By using my flower petals."

Yuel looked at the tiny petals that had landed in his palm and picked one up to inspect it. The little flower on top of Terry’s head was transparent, but the petals themselves were white. Yuel gathered all the petals in his palm—there were only nine in total.

He said to Terry, "Don’t be so stingy. Give me a few more."

"There aren’t any left!" Terry looked at Yuel coordinates with a wronged expression, his little face flushing completely red. "There really aren’t any left. I can only bloom this many in a single day." He was still just a cub, after all.

"Fine." Yuel didn’t push him any further and handed the petals over to Sylas. "Use these to detoxify the others. I trust you can handle that part, right?"

If he could help detoxify Bree’s other mates, Sylas was more than willing. Even though he found those other guys incredibly annoying at times, they were all beastmen at the end of the day. When it came to dealing with the Zerg, they would absolutely present a united front against the outside threat.

"Thank you." Sylas solemnly accepted the petals Yuel handed him.

Yuel looked at Sylas, pausing in thought for a second. Then he spoke up. "If she is a high-ranking Zerg, we can’t afford to make our move against her here in the Central District. The Female Festival is just around the corner, and we cannot permit any variables. Eliminating Bree must be dealt with before the festival begins."

"Tomorrow, I’ll have Rory come up with an excuse to invite her out. When that happens, you find an opportunity to challenge Xarion and draw Bree out to the Fallen God Battlefield. We’ll finish her off over there."

Sylas expressed his concern. "Won’t that alert the enemy prematurely? I suspect that Bree isn’t the only Zerg currently in the Central District. Shouldn’t we root out the other Zerg first before dealing with Bree?" He was worried that if something happened to Bree, the remaining Zerg would go into hiding, making them even harder to capture.

"To catch a band of thieves, you must capture their leader first. Once Bree is eliminated, those Zerg won’t make another move for a short period of time. We can take our time rooting them out after that."

Previously, it had been difficult to make a move against Bree because they couldn’t be certain where this female had come from. Now that they knew she was a Zerg female, there was no pressure in killing her. After all, eliminating a Zerg female carried absolutely no penalties.

Inside the castle.

Rory had just returned when she received the message from Yuel. Seeing the photo of Terry sitting safely in his palm, she instantly let out a massive sigh of relief. As long as Terry was safe, that was all that mattered.

Still, that little guy really had a lot of nerve, actually daring to run off on his own like that.

She knew Yuel was definitely going to give Terry a proper lesson this time, and she had no intention of stopping him. She only hoped that after getting a scolding from his biological father, Terry would actually remember the lesson.

Shortly after, Rory received another message from Yuel, asking her to invite Bree out tomorrow.

"Yuel wants Xarion and Sylas to have a duel, using it as an opportunity to draw Bree out to the Fallen God Battlefield," Rory said, addressing the men around her.

"He wants me to fight that bird-man Sylas?" Xarion looked thoroughly disgusted. "His rank was artificially forced up. Fighting him is an insult to my capabilities."

Couldn’t Yuel find someone else? Xarion suddenly turned his gaze toward Aren.

"Why are you looking at me?" Aren remarked, speechless. "A mild-mannered beast like me clearly doesn’t look like the type to go around dueling people."

Yuel’s eye for selection was sharp as always. He knew that out of all of them, Xarion was the perfect fit.

Xarion rolled his eyes at him. "Do you actually believe that yourself?"

"Whether I believe it or not isn’t the point. The point is that with this face of mine, I just don’t look like the dueling type." Aren’s features were far too alluring, built for captivation. Watching him fight someone created an odd sense of dissonance. Yet, ironically, a man like him spent his days out in the uncharted sectors constantly clashing with the Zerg and rogue beasts.

"Xarion." Rory walked over, taking his hand and looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Just think of it as doing it for me, and endure it a little. Tomorrow, when you see Sylas, just provoke him with a few choice words. You don’t actually have to trade blows with him. We just need to lure Bree over to the Fallen God Battlefield."

"Alright then." Since Rory had taken the initiative to ask, Xarion obviously couldn’t refuse. He leaned down, brushing his face against hers, and whispered in her ear, "Since I’m being good, can the Female Master groom my fur again later?"

It really felt incredible. Xarion had been dreaming for the past two nights, and his dreams were entirely filled with how amazing it felt when his female master groomed him.

"No problem," Rory agreed readily with a smile. Xarion wanted to be groomed, and she thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

The other men in the room stared at Xarion. Although his voice had been very low, Vincent, Vangar, Aren, and Paros, who was standing nearby, had all caught exactly what he said.

Grooming his fur? What was that? Looking at Xarion’s expression, he seemed to absolutely love it.

Nix also noticed that Xarion had whispered something to Rory. But because his rank was lower, he hadn’t been able to overhear it. Nix glanced at Jasper beside him and asked in a low voice, "Did you hear what Xarion whispered to Rory?"

Jasper shook his head. "Low rank, couldn’t hear a thing."

"Do you want to know?" Nix pressed.

Jasper glanced at him and shook his head. "That’s a secret between Xarion and Rory. They might not want us to know. If you’re that curious, you can ask Xarion or Rory directly. As long as it isn’t anything too private, Rory will tell you."

How could he have the face to ask Rory about something like that? Nix shook his head and turned his gaze toward Vincent instead. Vincent definitely overheard it.

Meanwhile.

After Yuel left with Terry, he went straight back to the Administration Department. Terry had been forcefully reverted into his berry-sized fruit form by Yuel, tossed into a pocket, and restricted by vines so he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to.

"Daddy, why did you bring me here? I’m still so small, I can’t help you do any work," Terry’s voice echoed in Yuel’s mind.

"Heh." Yuel let out a cold laugh. "Don’t worry, I don’t need you to work. I just want to settle some scores with you!"