Chapter 609: End the rule

"█ █ █ █..."

"Hmm."

"What should we name our baby?"

"Have you two thought of any names?"

"We talked about it. We want you to name the baby."

"If it is a boy, name him Stormir... if it is a girl, name her █ █ █ █. Give the surname according to the attribute the child possesses."

"They are beautiful names."

---

"Are you hurt anywhere?" A voice entered Maximilian’s ears, absurdly similar to the one he had just heard in his dream.

His eyes opened, finding Gumiho sitting on the chair beside him, her pink eyes gazing at him with curiosity. He was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

’That strange dream again,’ he muttered inwardly. ’What exactly is happening to me? Why do I feel as if my heart is being torn apart?’

"Should I call a physician?" Gumiho’s words pulled him out of his thoughts.

"N-no, I’m fine," he replied, rising to a sitting position.

"Then why are you crying?" she asked, tilting her head.

"H-huh?"

He touched his face, realizing that it was wet with tears that had trickled down his cheeks.

’How embarrassing,’ he sighed inwardly, shaking his head before replying, "Something went into my eye."

"But you just opened them," Gumiho countered, blinking.

"Let’s not go into details," he muttered, facepalming. "Oh, by the way, where am I?"

Changing the topic was the most appropriate strategy.

"Guest room of the palace," Gumiho revealed, rising from her seat. She began walking toward the door as she continued, "Lord Vyomendra wanted you to meet him once you woke up. Freshen yourself up. I’m waiting outside."

She had not even opened the door when Maximilian quickly rose from the bed and reached her side. "Let’s go."

She nodded. As the duo walked through the hallway of the palace, Gumiho asked, confusion and a hint of excitement hidden in her tone, "What exactly did you do back there? One moment you were standing beside the bed, and the next moment, you were lying on it and Lord Vyomendra was already sitting on the bed. It was as if..." She gave him a sidelong glance before revealing, "the time had just skipped."

Maximilian’s eyes widened slightly at her statement. She had managed to figure out this much after being hit by his skill only once. She was less than twenty years old, yet she was already so sharp. Thankfully, Vyomendra had not exposed his identity.

The momentary reaction on Maximilian’s face did not go unnoticed by Gumiho. "So my hunch was correct. You really are mysterious, Lord Arthur. Is your attribute related to time manipulation?"

"Do you want to know?" Maximilian asked, walking beside her.

She nodded excitedly.

"First, show me your face."

His demand immediately made Gumiho frown. "Hmph. You could have just denied it," she retorted, increasing her pace.

For the rest of the walk, she did not say a word to him, walking just a few steps ahead of him. The palace was strangely empty for its size. He could only sense two more beasts besides Gumiho, both of them in the central hall.

After turning the corner, they reached the hall. Vyomendra was seated cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed in meditation. His abdomen was covered in bandages. Vyaghra sat beside him on the ground, cultivating as well.

Their eyes opened the moment the duo entered the hall.

Vyaghra immediately rose to his feet and reached Maximilian with quick steps.

"Thank you for saving my father," he declared, every syllable laced with gratitude. "You have done a priceless favor to the Tiger Clan. If you ever need any help in the future, I will do it as long as it does not go against my morals." ℯℯ𝘭.

"When the time comes, I will not hold back," Maximilian replied with a smile.

Just like Ume, Vyaghra was also less than twenty years old, yet he had already reached the Middle-Stage Greater Soul Beast Realm.

He would become an irreplaceable ally in the future.

"I would like to talk with Lord Arthur in private," Vyomendra’s voice came from the bed.

Heeding his request, both Gumiho and Vyaghra left the hall.

As soon as the door closed, Vyomendra instantly rose to his feet despite the pain in his abdomen.

"My Lo—"

"Please be seated. Your wounds are still serious," Maximilian cut him off mid-sentence as he reached the bedside.

Vyomendra reluctantly sat back down. After a moment, he said, bowing his head, "My Lord has saved me twice. Please tell me what I can do for you in return?"

"I didn’t save you expecting any rewards," Maximilian replied, his demeanor returning to its usual commanding nature. "Being blunt, what can even a mere Beast Clan from the lower world offer me?"

Arrogant as his words were, they were actually true. He was from the mighty Dragon Race, the beings that ruled the two realms and had been worshipped as Gods in the lower realm.

There was nothing in the world that he wanted but could not get.

"Then, let me be direct as well," Vyomendra said, taking a deep breath. His amber eyes narrowed at Maximilian as he demanded, "What exactly does the Dragon Clan want from this war? First, you provide a Soul Gnawing Gu to Bai Chengsheng to wound me, break our protective array, and now you have come here to treat me and want to join the Tiger Clan."

’Oh, so he thinks that I gave that Soul Gnawing Gu to Bai Chengsheng,’ Maximilian sighed inwardly.

Vyomendra’s accusation was not baseless. Maximilian’s appearance in the Southern Legion and Vyomendra getting poisoned had both happened around the same time.

It was as if he were deliberately instigating the war between the two races.

"You might find it hard to believe, but I didn’t give the Soul Gnawing Gu to Bai Chengsheng," Maximilian explained in a calm tone. "In fact, I didn’t even know that he possessed one until he actually used it on you."

Vyomendra did not take his words at face value, but he still decided not to inquire about it any further. Whether he liked it or not, Maximilian had saved him twice. He could not repay that gratitude with animosity.

"Then why is a mighty dragon so interested in the war between the lower-realm cultivators?" Vyomendra asked, his eyes demanding an answer.

Maximilian’s lips rose into a faint smile as he answered his question with a question of his own.

"Will you believe me if I say it’s to end the rule of the dragons from Vyoman?"