Chapter 267: Asked

However, instead of becoming angry at the one-sided claim made by the Lord of the Heaven Emperor, Lilith simply nodded calmly.

"I understand. It’s just that sometimes many conflicts are unavoidable when a group of strangers suddenly appears in a nation. Rejection is a common thing, and I cannot completely prevent my people from making mistakes," she said.

Even Richard—let alone the Lord of the Heaven Emperor himself—was quite surprised to hear Lilith’s words.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked.

"Before everything begins, I hope you will order your members to forgive my people if they make mistakes," Lilith replied.

At this point, Richard finally realized the main reason she had come to visit the Order of the Heaven Emperor.

But would they really agree just because she asked?

"Someone must bear the consequences of their own mistakes. How could our members forgive anyone who offends them?" This time, it was the Dark Abyss Young Master who responded.

His words were supported by the young men behind him, who nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. If someone messes with my affairs, I’ll definitely beat that person up. An apology can only be accepted if the person involved apologizes themselves. Of course, it must also come with compensation. But what if they refuse?" another added.

His words were reasonable even to Richard—but only if it was truly the kingdom’s citizens who were at fault.

Unfortunately, from the beginning, the Order of the Heaven Emperor had shamelessly claimed that they would never be the ones at fault.

Despite receiving opposing comments, Lilith seemed as if she hadn’t heard them at all.

She simply looked at the Lord of the Heaven Emperor, waiting for his response, as though she knew he would answer differently.

The old man’s expression indeed did not look like he intended to refuse.

He furrowed his brows, as if deep in thought.

After a moment, he somehow nodded.

"Very well. Since you are the one asking, I have no choice but to agree. However, this will only apply to people who genuinely do not wish for a conflict to escalate if it occurs," he said, shocking the young members.

"Lord?" One of them even called out to him but did not dare to question further when the old man raised his hand, signaling for silence.

Richard looked at Lilith with curiosity.

For this old man to agree so easily to her request, there had to be some special reason behind it.

"I only want safety for ordinary people," Lilith said.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" the old man asked.

"No, there isn’t. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for me to talk about you supporting my husband," Lilith said with a chuckle, joking again.

"Unfortunately, we do not have the habit of supporting anyone outside our own members," the old man replied.

Even when none of their members were qualified to compete, the Order of the Heaven Emperor preferred to do nothing—unlike many other factions that would form alliances to support certain candidates.

"Well then, I will take my leave," Lilith said as she stood up.

"Please do," the Lord of the Heaven Emperor replied. He did not stand up or escort Lilith, merely watching as she and Richard left.

Meanwhile, the members of the Order of the Heaven Emperor looked at him in confusion, hoping for an explanation for his decision—but he seemed to have no intention of telling them anything.

Once outside the ark, Richard, still confused, asked, "How did he agree?"

"Why wouldn’t he? I came in good faith as a guest. Besides, it wasn’t a ridiculous request," Lilith replied.

"There must be a special reason, right? If the ruler of this kingdom wasn’t you but your father, and he came to ask the same thing, would that old man still agree?"

"Perhaps he was captivated by my beauty and found it too difficult to refuse."

Richard: "..."

"I shudder at the thought that my rival is an old man who has lived for who knows how many thousands of years," he said.

From what he had observed, the old man was indeed extremely old. He might have lived for more than ten eras, yet he was still full of vitality because of his immense power.

Of course, he was an Ancient Sovereign. In fact, in Richard’s opinion, he was even stronger than the average Ancient Sovereign.

There were not many factions like that. Most factions would pass leadership to a newer middle-aged generation.

"Well, actually I was just the disciple of his late wife. That’s all. He probably just doesn’t want to disappoint her by becoming hostile toward me," Lilith said, no longer hiding the truth after joking about it first.

"Oh..." Richard hadn’t expected it to be simply because of that.

"So you basically had the chance to become a member of their faction? But you refused? Considering your talent plus their support, wouldn’t your chances of winning have been extremely high?"

Richard was very puzzled by Lilith’s choice.

"I prefer the inheritance of the kingdom," the woman replied casually.

"No matter how great that inheritance is, it can’t compare to the World Magic Aether," Richard said.

"Hmph, what do you know," Lilith retorted.

"Can it make you equal to a Grand Sovereign?" Richard asked.

Of course, he knew it was still possible to reach the level of a Grand Sovereign by becoming an Ancient Sovereign—or, for Primordial Beasts with ancestral bloodlines.

But how could it be that easy?

It wasn’t something guaranteed like the World Magic Aether.

"Everything requires effort," Lilith answered casually.

"Instead of thinking about my decision, think about your own strength. You’re still far from sufficient," she added.

Richard fell silent when the topic shifted to that.

"What did you think when you saw the Dark Abyss Young Master?" Lilith changed the subject.

"He’s strong. Truly strong," Richard replied.

That was something he could not deny.

Compared to him, Prince Charles and Roland Thundervale—whom he had fought before—were not even worth mentioning.

They were merely second-rate geniuses.

"Sean Thundervale from the Central Region is just as strong," Lilith said again.

"I’ve heard his name before, but I’ve never seen him in person," Richard replied.

That man was Roland’s older brother.

"Compared to them, I’m actually more afraid of your mother. She might have become the winner of the Land of Human if you didn’t exist," Lilith said.

"What makes you think that? She doesn’t have any supporters. Even if she’s stronger than them, it would still be difficult for her," Richard said, feeling strange that his mother had suddenly been mentioned.

Unfortunately, the woman was indeed a candidate as well. She cultivated her magic power through orthodox methods, allowing her to compete too.