Chapter 197: The Argument

"Rest assured, we didn’t come here to appreciate your face," Moon replied with a smile.

Evan was startled.

Then his face turned red.

"You! Black Witch, don’t talk nonsense. I’m only warning you out of goodwill. If a council member finds out, you’ll be dead!"

"That’s not your concern," Moon replied.

He held Axe’s hand and gave him a warning glance, signaling him not to fight.

Otherwise, Axe might as well give Evan two punches and get it over with.

But Moon knew that once a fight broke out, they would lose their chance to register.

"Of course it’s my concern. We’re also checking on the people in line." Evan took out a volunteer token and showed it to Moon.

For a moment, Moon felt a headache coming on.

"We came to register," Moon answered honestly, hoping to end this farce.

But Evan was clearly not someone who listened well.

His smile froze for a second, then twisted into something uglier.

"Register? You?"

He looked at Axe, Ugo, and Nox with open contempt.

"Three defectives and a Black Witch want to enter the joint trial? Don’t make me laugh."

The young men and women beside him started laughing.

One of them looked Axe up and down and shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, Goddess! What a joke!"

"Maybe they want to bribe the staff," another said. "They probably think the academies have spots for defectives to clean the garderobes."

"Are you done?" Moon asked calmly. "If so, move. Whether we’re defectives or not isn’t for you to decide."

Evan’s smile disappeared.

His expression darkened instantly as he forgot his elders’ warning.

The young prince beside him crossed his arms and stepped forward.

"Has the Vaelis Pack run out of shame? Sending its trash here to waste everyone’s time?"

"Don’t shame our Vaelis Pack. They’re exiled and no longer our people." A crisp voice came from behind them as a young man stepped forward.

Moon didn’t know him, but he wore the Vaelis insignia on his waistbelt.

"Stop wasting everyone’s time," Evan said coldly. "If you insist on making fools of yourselves, at least do it somewhere else."

He stepped forward and tried to push Moon aside.

Axe immediately moved between them and grated, "Are you out of your mind?"

He shook Moon’s hand off and murmured, "Moon, don’t be gentle with people who don’t understand that language. A quick fist works better than words. Let me handle it."

As he spoke, he began rolling up his sleeves.

But the commotion had already attracted attention from the nearby registration tables.

Several young wolves turned to watch, while a few staff members frowned at the growing crowd.

One of the men seated behind the nearest table finally stood up when he noticed the commotion on this side.

He wore the insignia of Zenith Moon Academy and had been helping manage the registration process.

His face was already impatient as he approached them.

"What is going on here?" he demanded.

Evan immediately changed his expression.

"Elder, these people are causing trouble. They claim they want to register, but they’re defectives. They’re only wasting everyone’s time."

The manager looked at Moon and the others.

His gaze swept over their clothes and lingered briefly on each of them. Then his brows drew together.

"Registration is not a place for you to fool around. Don’t disturb the applicants."

He was about to leave, but Moon stopped him.

"What do you mean by that? Anyone can register name!"

The manager turned around, his frown deepening.

"Only those with wolf spirits can register."

"You dont even know if we have any spirit or not, how can you dismiss us like that? Whats more there is no such rules as you can cut someone off just by word." Moon asked.

The manager’s expression turned colder.

"Watch your mouth! Are you trying to teach me the rules? Even if you register now, so what? You’ll be disqualified the day after tomorrow. You clearly have no wolf. I can tell it just by looking. You’re only making things difficult and wasting everyone’s time by insisting on being tested."

"How do you know that before the trial has even begun? You should at least give us a chance," Moon pressed.

His palms were sweating from nervousness, though he tried to remain calm.

The manager finally snapped.

"Fine! If you claim you can register, show me your wolf spirit!"

A few young wolves immediately cheered.

"That’s right! Show us your spirit!"

"Let’s see what kind of defective spirit dares to come here!"

"Maybe they don’t even have one!"

Moon frowned.

"No one needs to show their spirit today." he said.

The manager snorted. "If I ask, everyone should show theirs."

"What’s more, you young people don’t even understand the process. After registering, you’ll receive an entry token. You must activate it before entering the trial grounds. This is a basic requirement so we don’t have to deal with wolfless applicants. Can you even activate yours by then? You’re just wasting resources."

This time, Moon fell silent.

He hadn’t known they needed to activate a token. No wonder they didn’t test applicants’ spirits during registration.

Still, he had already come this far. He might as well see how things ended. "What if I can?" he asked raising his brows.

"Enough! Leave before I call the guards!" The manager’s face had become ugly by now.

Just as he was about to call guard a reverberating voice echoed throughout the plaza.

"What is all this noise about?"

Moon turned to the voice’s direction and found the voice familiar.

’Wasn’t this the voice that announced the beginning of registration?’ he thought.

The people surrounding the registration tables turned toward the entrance.

A group of figures was approaching from the main gate.

The guards moved aside as a middle-aged man in a dark robe walked forward. His presence immediately drew the attention of the nearby staff.

Moon recognized the insignia of Elysian Crown. The circlet around the man’s forehead bore the sigil of the Supreme Council.

"Lord Elysian!"

"Long live Lord Elysian!"

"Lord Chancellor!"