Infinite wealth In A New World-Chapter 397: Betrayal
[Great World — The Second Domain]
[Second-strongest Faction — Dragon Faction Capital]
The capital of the Dragon Faction was a testament to ancient power, built from obsidian and veined with gold that hummed with latent heat. The streets, usually bustling with the chaotic commerce of high-level cultivators, were eerily organized today.
The whole dragons being in the streets stood in two lines, staring at the golden carriage moving in front of them. The vehicle was a masterpiece of runic engineering, levitating slightly above the cobblestones, led by six strong armored stallions whose hooves sparked with spectral fire.
"Wow! Who is inside such an expensive carriage?" Someone asked in confusion, staring at the closed doors which bore the royal crest, yet lacked the specific insignia of the current Lord.
"The energy from within that carriage... It’s so dense." Another said, wiping the sweat off his face. The pressure radiating from the vehicle wasn’t just magical; it was a biological imperative that forced lesser dragons to want to kneel.
"Gosh, does anyone know what Is happening?" The third asked, while the ones around simply shook their heads, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and reverence.
_
Inside the plush interior of the carriage, the air was thick with unresolved history. Sunny sat with Ellen and Jinx. The two sisters, usually so different in demeanor, shared a mirrored look of unreadable complexity.
The history was bitter. The Old Dragon, Lord Zach, had banished his own son, Zohar, and his Xenon wife from this faction to maintain the "purity" of the bloodline. His cruelty hadn’t stopped there; he had sent assassins to erase the resulting "hybrid" children, forcing Zohar to flee to the Lower World.
And now, that same Old Dragon was asking for the girls, his two banished granddaughters, to come over.
Sunny observed them. ’What if I hadn’t seen them and taken them in? What if they died in the war?’
The summons felt like a mockery of fate.
"Don’t worry you two, I am here." Sunny said with a reassuring smile, his aura expanding slightly to wrap around them like a protective blanket.
"You don’t have to worry about that! I am now a seventh order, if he tries anything, I will simply kill him." Jinx said with a flat tone. She twirled her serrated dagger between her fingers, the blade blurring with her speed. Her eyes were hard, masking the turbulence beneath.
Sunny stared at the lady sitting opposite him and lightly shook his head in fascination. Her bravado was a shield.
"He is still your grandfather--"
"No... You are wrong." Jinx cut him off, her voice sharp enough to draw blood.
"From the moment he chased those two who gave birth to us away, he sized to being our relative."
"Um... Then why are you here?" Sunny asked in mild confusion, probing the crack in her armor.
"Of course... To see him one last time before his death, at least..." She turned her gaze to the window, watching the blurring city of her ancestors. Her voice dropped, losing its edge.
"I want to see that old man’s face." She said.
Sunny blinked. He turned to Ellen, Her gaze was low, staring at her lap, her hands clasped tightly. He sighed softly, sensing the heavy emotion radiating from her, and turned back to Jinx.
"How do you know he is about to die?"
Jinx turned her head to Sunny, her dragon instincts flaring. "The moment I entered this world, I felt his energy signature, and it’s getting dimmer by the second. I am sure Ellen can feel it to." She answered.
’Oh, she can also sense this. I thought I was the only one,’ Sunny thought, impressed by their perception. He turned his head to Ellen.
’Anyway, I need to know why he called us.’ He raised his head to the carriage ceiling, his golden eyes piercing through the physical material to the sky.
’He is watching us by now.’
__
[Dragon Lord’s Castle.]
The Old Dragon, Lord Zach, stood in front of his castle. He had shed his golden battle armor for a long black mage robe, which matched his eyes and hair. He looked like a shadow of the tyrant he was rumored to be. Behind him stood two more men, his highest-ranking lieutenants, both clad in similar black attire.
"My Lord, are you sure about this?" One of the men asked, looking at the Dragon Lord’s back with a gaze that held no warmth.
"Yes, my Lord... Giving it to them, I don’t like the sound of that. What if they used it against us?" The one at the left added, a frown on his face.
Zach sighed, the sound rattling in his chest. "I know they’re still angry with me. And I regretted all my past decisions and actions... I am weak now. They will have to hold on to it." He said, his gaze solemn and fixed on the approaching road.
The two men looked at one another with a deep frown on their faces, then at the old man before them. A silent conversation passed between them.
’Was he ready to give it all away just to set his past?! Even if he does that, will those two understand?!’ the right man thought with a deep frown, his greed warring with his loyalty.
’I hate this! That power should be ours! Why give it to some hybrids! It must stay with pure Bloods!!’ The left yelled inwardly, his fists clenched in anger. The ideology of blood purity was a poison Zach had cultivated, and now it had turned against him.
They both looked ahead at the gate, not seeing any signs of the carriage yet. They turned to the guards stationed all over the plaza and gestured them with their eyes. The guards remained statue-still, their allegiance already shifted.
’We will just have to draw it out.’ The man at the left nodded, and with sleight of hand, brought out a small, sinister needle with a skull at the end. It pulsed with a necrotic green light.
The second nodded and brought out the same needle.
"My Lord, after giving it to them, what is the plan?" The man at the right asked, feigning concern to close the distance.
"Well, They will be the one to take care of our faction, and help our people." The Dragon Lord answered, his arms crossed behind him, defenseless in his remorse.
"But, what if they turn against our people?" The other pointed out, stepping into the blind spot.
"Zohar isn’t evil, so his kids won’t be."
"Don’t forget they grew up with others! Not Zohar!" The one at the right yelled.
Before Zach could react to the change in tone, the lieutenant without hesitation plunged the needle deep into the Old Dragon’s right shoulder.
"Yes!"
The second didn’t waste a second, and plunged his in the left shoulder.
"You?!"
The Old Dragon leaped forward, instinct taking over. He created distance from the two, his face filled with shock as he clutched his shoulders.
"Are you mad?!!!!" He yelled at them, his gaze filled with the killing intent of a Lord, expecting them to crumble.
"Mad?! We aren’t ready to lose our faction due to your foolishness." The one at the right said, walking forward casually.
"Yeah... You are a fool! The power should remain with pure Bloods, not with hybrids... Isn’t that the reason you banished your son?" The left added, a smirk on his face.
The Old Dragon grabbed the two needles and pulled them out with a grunt of pain. "You bastards!"
He raised his hand to summon the Hellfire that made him famous, but to his shock, nothing happened. The air didn’t burn; his energy didn’t respond.
"This?!"
"Hahaha! Don’t try. Your spirit energy is sealed, even with the little bit of Primordial energy in you, that too is also sealed. Meaning, no skills or fire." The right man laughed out loud.
"The old dragon, the great Zach, have fallen to such extent! Pathetic." The left added, spitting on the ground.
"You two!! I picked you up from the street and turn you to what you are today!! And you betrayed me! Guards!" He yelled, commanding his army.
But to his surprise, none of the guards in the castle ground moved. They simply stared at him like he was already a dead dragon. The coup was absolute.
"You-- AH!"
Zach fell to his knees and vomited black blood. His face paled rapidly. "What?!"
He looked at his hand, seeing black veins spreading all over his hand, racing up his arm toward his heart.
"What... What have you two done?" He asked in horror, his eyes wide open.
"Oh, I forgot to say. The second needle is filled with poison, a poison so strong even a tenth order healer can’t save you." The man on the right stopped in front of him, looking down with contempt.
"You said you picked us up! So? What if you picked us up!! Everything from the start was given to your beloved Son! Not only that, you also planned to give his kids that thing! What are we to you? Your personal guards?!" He yelled, kicking Zach in the chest.
The force threw the Dragon Lord meters back, tumbling him across the stone like a ragdoll.
"You can’t even give us the secret weapon! You’ll rather keep it in the vault! And you said you helped us!" The second added, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Ok, for that, we will give you a quick death. What do you think?" He added with a smirk, raising his hand to deliver the final blow.
"You bastards!" Zach slowly forced himself up, standing on his feet, his legs shaking violently under the assault of the poison.
"You won’t have the weapon and that thing... I will make sure of it."
"Really?!"
BOOOOM!!!
Zach froze, as the top of his castle exploded. Debris rained down, and from the dust cloud, a beautiful lady with long green hair and emerald eyes flew out. She hovered midair in a flowing green dress, looking like a forest spirit, but the aura she emitted was pure toxicity.
In her hand was a long sword, with a black dragon skull on the handle—the very weapon the lieutenants coveted.
"Who? Who are you?" He asked in shock.
"I am known to all as the saint of Poison and insects." She gave a sweet smile, standing miles away from Zach and everyone below, yet her voice whispered in their ears as if she were next to them.
"You! How did you get close to that weapon?!" Zach asked in shock. That vault was impenetrable.
"Destroying a lock isn’t that hard..." She opened her left hand, as a green spider appeared, staring at them with multifaceted malice.
"Anyway... I got what I am after." She looked down at the two traitors.
"Finish this and take over the dragon faction... As long, you remain my loyal pests, I will take care of you." She said, her smile still on her face.
Suddenly, her face changed. The smile vanished, replaced by a sharp frown as her gaze snapped toward the city gates.
’A Realm Ruler?!’ She thought in horror, sensing the golden carriage approaching.
