The God of Jesters
Chapter 590 - 9.09.2 Faction troubles.

Chapter 590: 9.09.2 Faction troubles.

The words of Gael can be considered disrespectful toward not only Ardool but the entire Lynx tribe. Many sitting inside the Titan didn’t like it one bit. Ignoring the fact that Gael’s attack had destabilized their Titans in an instant, which already was embarrassing enough. He had to go out of his way to make such a common.

A comment heard by not only those present on the scene but those that were listening in on the comms as well, including Arbood’s nephew who was sent here to train.

Like anyone his age who lacked experience in the real world, he was angry, speaking in tongues to his Uncle over the comms. Before he said anything serious, Ardool cut him off and said, "I apologize, but if he can’t come up on our detectors, then the means employed by these intruders might not be that simple."

Gael was here for one purpose, and it was to save those he could and kill those he couldn’t. Who knows what kind of fate they might face inside? A fate where the death can be considered kinder.

That’s how Gael was going to save them. A job that he didn’t like one bit, but he was forced to come here due to the need to mend relations between two families that can be considered outcasts in Pulgasiri.

This was a show of goodwill, as well as an attempt by the Bastard Bears to directly come under the protection of the Oldest Guardian of Pulgasiri.

But it didn’t mean they both liked each other, there were tensions due to the different paths the two clans walked. One followed the path of bloodline, and the other a newly risen clan whose claim to fame had been finding a human from another world. In the Bastard Bear’s eyes, all the respect the Lynx clan gets is misdirected. They were leeching off on the goodwill of the actual great man who brought them prestige that the like of the Lynx clan can never hope to achieve.

While the Lynx clan looks down on the Guardian Clans as a whole. In their eyes, knowledge was supreme, and without it, no amount of bloodline would do you any good.

Not like there were people protecting the bloodlines, to begin with. If you paid enough to churches, you can get some common bloodlines without an issue and gain the identity of a noble. Which many in the lynx clan had already done.

Due to the varied bloodlines each member carries, they were not as synonymous with each other.

"Pathetic, if you can’t detect him, then how do you hope to even operate in that accursed place... this whole operation feels like suicide, just give up, let my family handle the rest," Gael spoke, finding the lack of insight among the Lynx a bit pathetic.

These people, instead of honing their bloodline and senses for better control of their body and vitality, they had put all their focus on creating weapons to hide behind. They were too much of a coward to ever use their body for combat and preferred to hire bodyguards or even use weapons to deal with issues.

This was the sign that even bloodlines were losing their value besides ascending to new ranks and gaining a higher potential and physique. With technology, old ways and techniques were slowly coming to an end, and this was scary to people like Gael and the rest of the Bloodline-dependent families.

A fear that even Gael was not aware of. "There is no need for such things. There is a reason the Protector came to us first. Ther... Any further discussion on the topic will only cause division, so I suggest stopping for now. I apologize for overlooking the security, I will try to do better next time." Arbood was intending to a bit far in this discussion, but considering the priority, he chose to stay silent.

Any sort of conflict with the man responsible for saving them was already stupid enough. Not to mention, their actions might give the third parties eying this entrance a chance. Which Arbood can’t afford.

Sad. I had expected him to be a volatile one, he might have gone off and turned our journey inside a bit kinder, but it doesn’t seem possible for now.

"You intend to go after them?" Kairut asked me with some curiosity in his eyes. And I nodded. "They are the main force in this expedition, the greater the number, the greater the area they will be able to cover, no need for us to do all that hard work ourselves." The second reason was much more rational.

No matter the means we use, we can’t hide from that Old dragon’s eyes. She is going to find us no matter what. However, how we approach the Caves of Wonderment might change how she will treat us. ’If we are first, they will warn others, making their movement inside the caves far slower as they would fear our retaliation in the caves.’

’But if they go first, she will have no way to contact inside, making our job far easier as these dwarves look for Malidi at a greater pace, while I can wait by the side.’

As for the old Protector coming to stop them? Well, there was a chance she might do something like this, but there was the Legend from the Church hiding not too far off, and considering the background the dragons have with churches, the old Dragon knows better than to focus on us unexpected figures instead of someone like that Priestess that might just kill all the dwarves here the moment she got the chance to do so.

"Be ready, our time will come earlier than expected."

And right on cue, with the prior conflict dealt with. The Dwarves were the first to enter the caves, or so they thought because someone had already entered it by that point.

But they didn’t know this and even if they did, they didn’t fear this individual considering this very individual had run away from the danger not too long ago.

******

It is said that even mortal dogs have a sixth sense that makes it possible for them to detect ’dirty’ things. So it wasn’t bizarre a bloodline known for his savageness would have similar kinds of talents as well.

Rosso was startled at being found out. It was bizarre enough that he met someone like Amir who could track him down through his Curse, but now there was another one, which made Rosso learn that his Curse of Isolation might not be as universal as he had been thinking all this while.

Or it’s better to say that Rosso had to hold in his habit of using eye on insight on everything he sees. It was only when using that eye did the dwarf caught on to him, otherwise, his journey to the caves would have been uneventful. ’Well, let them fight.’ Rosso thought, hearing the spat that broke out between the dwarves due to his existence, before stepping into the caves which turned his surroundings completely dark.

And then when light returned to his eyes, suffocation began. "Cough..." Currently in the field of reeds, Rosso felt that something stuffy had entered his nose, that not only caused him to sneeze like a mortal, but it also made him feel like a mortal.

"What... *Cough.." With some more blood, the thing that suffocated Rosso was finally out.

’A small flower?’ Looking around, there were no flowers, only reeds, but somehow, this thing entered Rosso’s throat and cut it apart with its soft petals. "Why is healing so slow?" Taking Deep breaths like a mortal, Rosso tried to stabilize while dealing with his bleeding which was taking some time to heal.

What they said about these places was true. You won’t know when you die if you enter places like this. And Rosso believes he only survives because he is who he is, others in his situation might have long succumbed to the flower and died of suffocation or excessive bleeding.

"My strength remains normal, but healing has slowed down..." After stabilizing, the first thing Rosso confirmed was if he could still access his strength, which he did. Then following some apprehension, he made a cut on his arm to check if his healing was truly impacted. Though that was not the case, the injury that Rosso caused himself healed the moment it was made. But the injury on his neck remained even now. Which just went to show how dangerous this simple flower was.

As for how dangerous? Rosso knew better than to activate any of his eyes. He had learned his lessor in the paradise Dragon took him. Activating eyes that can pry into the secrets of dangerous places was stupid. He knows of this now and unless forced due to circumstances, Rosso doesn’t intend to use these eyes for the time being.

’I should move.’ Rosso said, though, with a pause, he picked up the fallen flower and then kept moving his way.