Krin stared at Rex, who was just as surprised as her. Earlier she was just about to knock on the door when Rex opened the door himself.
Rex blinked his eyes twice, then his body reacted, his hands moved like lightning intending to close the door instantly but Krin had already learned her lesson. The moment Rex reacted, her leg moved and she blocked the closing door with her foot.
Rex bitterly smiled, he could use more force, and her leg would still be fine but the door won't.
"Your Majesty wants to have a chat with you," Krin said in her same cold tone.
"This beautiful lady, I have some urgent work to do why don't you come later in the afternoon, then we can have a long chat wherever you want," Rex forced a smile and said.
"Urgent work? Are you talking about that Memory Orb, Essence Flame, and Spirit rank pill? I withdrew them for you," Krin said as she took out three wooden box from her storage ring and showed him the contents one by one.
'That bastard Zed,' Rex cursed inwardly.
Krin seemed to understand what he was thinking so she added.
"You probably haven't figured it out yet but the Bond Of Steel works directly under Royal Family, their manager can do nothing if his Majesty wants something," Krin said.
"Are you forcing my hand?" Rex tilted his head with a smile yet not a smile, he had tried the soft approach but ego was a problem even for him. He won't go to meet someone just because they want him to or what was the use of building a force like Frozen Flame if the founder himself has to play in other's hand?
Krin shook her head, she extended her hands and gave the boxes to Rex.
"I don't, yesterday I only came here to invite you but you didn't even let me in," Krin said.
Rex accepted the boxes, he had paid for these, the boxes worth three million mid-grade spirit stones so why would he reject something he had bought with his money.
Rex didn't reply to her, he took out Alfred's card from the pocket then gave it to her.
Krin was startled, she looked at the card then at Rex, his actions said everything but she refused to believe it.
"You can have this card, with this I'm no longer an inheritor candidate so problem solved, now your Majesty won't wish to meet a commoner, would he?" Rex said. He had already got the benefits he wanted using this card, whether it was the discount at the Bond Of Steel or the gifts from the big clans here. Now that he was going to leave this place, there wasn't much the card could give him.
Krin didn't know how to respond to this, the situation was clearly out of her expectations. Everyone in the whole kingdom wanted this card but the man in front of him didn't put it in his eyes at all.
"Hahaha... A temperament worthy of his inheritor," The sound of a man's laughter echoed in the gallery.
Suddenly the void around fluctuated then a humanoid figure appeared in the gallery.
He was a short man, with pitch-black hairs and a long beard, his body was bulky and sturdy, from the appearance alone he looked like a middle-aged man. The man had a unique presence to himself that could attract the masses just by him standing at the center. The second he appeared, Krin got on one knee and patted her chest with her right fist, she saluted him.
"Your Majesty," Krin said with her head down.
Contrary to her surprised look, Rex had no change in his expression.
A normal person might think that this man had ripped apart the void and came here but this was merely an illusion in his eyes.
"Who knew that Thousand World Illusion array of Alfred can be used this way," Rex muttered to himself, but the voice was clear for the other two to hear.
'Appraisal: name & cultivation stage,' (Rex)
[Name: Vortos Fenedis
Cultivation stage: Sky Body Formation 6th stage]
Krin was very dissatisfied when she heard him addressing Venerable Wolford by his first name but she didn't say anything in the king's presence.
The man looked at Rex in surprise, he had perfected the Thousand World Illusion array over the years and even managed to successfully implant it on his inner armor, after doing that he simply gained the ability to become invisible. Even a Sky Body Formation Expert wouldn't notice him without a special pupil technique but Rex did.
In fact, Rex didn't see who it was, when the array was active he couldn't even tell if the person using the array was a man or woman.
But he could sense the array.
Vortos would never think in his wildest dream that Rex had a teacher who had long reached the 'A thought Becomes An Array' stage in the field of arrays.
Moreover, Rex was familiar with the Thousand World Illusion array so when Vortos deactivated it, he had found out the origin of the array.
Just like Rex, Vortos too tried to probe him and check his cultivation base but he failed, and he failed miserably. Again, he could never imagine Rex had an artifact made by a divine being whose only purpose was concealment.
The Black Pendant was the reason why Rex was so calm, no one wants to make an unknown enemy, even if it was the king of Davalon.
"It is our first time meeting... but first let's go inside," Vortos said with a smile.
"Inside? Er... Is it fine to use some other roo.." Rex was hesitant.
"Whose there?" Rex was still talking when Lerna walked to the door.
She had felt a faint but strong presence outside that's why she came in case a fight broke out.
When Vortos looked at Lerna he got another shock, the spirit tool on her wrist had properly hidden Lerna's cultivation base but for someone like Vortos who had lived for hundreds of years, just the very appearance of Lerna revealed a lot of things. Furthermore, although he couldn't sense her cultivation base but her presence was not ordinary in his eyes, he got a faint idea and realized that she was likely a Calamity Lord and hence had the same cultivation base as him.
He then looked at Rex strangely, wondering if he too was a Sky Body Formation expert.
Rex wanted to keep Lerna inside but the cat herself popped out of the room so he could do nothing, just then he looked at Vortos confused and somewhat solemn expression and got an idea.
"Meet Lerna, she is my junior brother's wife," Rex said with a smile. Lerna didn't reject, she was learning more and more things when being with Rex so she could understand the seriousness of the situation.
That one sentence cleared all remaining doubt.
Vortos had complicated emotions, he was the king of Davalon and now he realized that two Sky Body Formation experts were freely roaming around in the capital city under his nose.
"Why are you still standing, come inside... Your Majesty," Rex said with a 'respectful' look as he led them in.
A few minutes later...
Rex and Lerna were sitting on the sofa in front of Vortos. Krin was standing behind him.
"To tell the truth, I first sent her to invite you because I wished to negotiate with you to not join any big clan because it will break the political balance, if that happened then some people would develop ambitions that can harm the whole kingdom.
But now that I see you, I realize that there was no need for me to do that at all. Hmm... If I may ask, where do you belong?" Vortos sighed and ask. He was observing Rex since he got the news about the card, whether it was the report made by the people who inspected the blue carriage or Rex's nonchalant behavior against the big clans, all caught his interest.
All the inheritors before Rex were dwarfs so when he heard that this time it was a young human who got Venerable Wolford's inheritance, he got intrigued, he had admired Venerable Wolford for a long time, the Thousand World Illusion array he perfected was proof of that. All this was the reason that he personally came here to observe his behaviour but unexpectedly Rex chose to give up his card instead of changing his schedule and meeting him. He was a little dissatisfied at first but now after thinking that Rex was a Sky Body Formation stage cultivator that feeling of dissatisfaction disappeared without a trace.
"Golden Bird Continent, Frozen Flame organization," Rex said as he took out a wine bottle and two empty glasses.
"When you found the inheritance, did Venerable Wolford left any message in it?" Vortos asked. Many venerable disappeared during their travels, without leaving behind any news about them or anything, they all preferred an aloof and solitary life, Alfred was one such venerable. Even the king of Davalon at that time couldn't do anything about that.
"Message? Now that I remember, there was one," Rex said then poured wine in the two glasses, he handed one to Vortos but when he was about to pick the other for himself.
A soft and slender looking hand picked it for herself. Rex could only look helplessly as Lerna took a sip.
He hadn't seen her drinking wine before that's why he didn't take out a glass for her, and he had a feeling that she was only drinking it to annoy him.
"He left behind a message?" Vortos asked in surprise as he tasted the unfamiliar yet delicious wine, he casually asked it because it was the question he used to ask all other inheritors but no venerable left behind any message so he didn't had much hope for it.
"Yes, he did. In that message, he stated that during his final days here, Alfred wanted to make a big wine pool with a fountain at the center, in Vrusallon city so that every dwarf could drink wine for free from it, alas..." Rex said with a sad expression.
[Wait, why don't I remember this? And your tone feels wrong here,]
"Final days?" When Vortos heard Rex's words he didn't even focus on the strange wish but the fact that Alfred had passed away, he knew that it was nothing uncommon, even a Sky Body Formation has a limit to its lifespan but still, when he heard that the figure he admired so much has passed away it saddened him, Vortos turned the wine glass upside down and emptied it in one go.
"Huh? You might have misunderstood my words, I mean his final days here in this realm, he said he was going to ascend with a senior from upper realm who took him in," Rex said with an innocent face.
When these words reached his ears, Vortos almost spurted out all the wine in his mouth at Rex's face.
Krin's lips twitched. She realized that she had still underestimated Rex's shamelessness.
Lerna was very calm, she had seen it coming. Rex getting emotional and sad? It was hard for her to imagine this.
Vortos looked at Rex, after getting over his urge to kick his head, he was delighted.
If what Rex said was true, then one of their 12 Venerable actually managed to catch the eye of a senior from the upper realm and ascended. This was the same as one the person you knew of had won a gold medal in the Olympics.
A smile appeared on his face, he subconsciously puffed out his chest with pride, now he could go around and brag about this to the kings of other kingdoms for the next century.
"Isn't it just a Wine Pool & Fountain? I will build the greatest Wine Pool & Fountain in the name of Venerable Wolford in this Vrusallon city," Vortos said in an arrogant tone, it was time for him to remind the people of Davalon, the might of the 12 Venerable.