The sudden request from Miguel took Klaus aback. Of all people, he never expected Miguel to be the type who saw the bigger picture.
Klaus had expected him to use their misunderstanding to make things difficult, but strangely, Miguel seemed to see reason and offered the leadership position to Anna, the second ranker during the Regional Trial.
Of course, Miguel wouldn’t choose Klaus. While he might have been the bigger person for choosing Anna, he hated Klaus far too much to appoint him, let alone take orders from him.
Anna, who had been offered the leadership position, stood there in a daze. Managing a small group of warriors was one thing, but an entire 1,000 warriors—each a genius in their own right—was asking for too much. She wasn’t ready for something like that.
“You’ll do fine. Just do what you do best and lead,” Klaus said with a reassuring smile. Anna sighed and then walked forward.
“First, we need to find a place where all 1,000 of us can meet and have a proper discussion before taking any immediate action,” Anna said, her tone commanding, just like a leader should.
“There’s a conference room in our resting area; we can use it,” a young lady suddenly spoke from behind, and everyone nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s meet there after dinner today,” Anna continued. “And please, come with an open mind. We want this meeting to go well, and more importantly, we have to do well and win this for our region—and for our War Goddess.” Everyone nodded at the mention of the War Goddess.
Klaus, who was sitting calmly watching Anna, smirked. He knew she was using Miriam’s authority to subtly warn anyone planning to cause trouble during the meeting. It was a brilliant move.
While many might doubt her, the reality to many was that the War Goddess was Klaus’s older sister, and Anna was Klaus’s friend. So it wouldn’t be difficult to get Miriam involved, which everyone knew wouldn’t end well for them. That woman is just unreasonable.
After issuing her command, everyone dispersed to get a good look at the valley before the meeting. Klaus, along with his friends, also left the building and decided to take a stroll around. However, they had just left the building when they were blocked by ten individuals.
It only took a single glance to know they were minions of someone.
“It would be best if the big dogs came out instead of sending their lackeys,” Klaus said, eyeing the ten youngsters before them.
As expected, it didn’t take even a second for Ethan and Max to appear from behind the ten individuals.
“If it isn’t the two Nobodies from nowhere,” Klaus said with a mocking smile, his words cutting deep. Calling Ethan and Max—two of the most influential Legacies—”nobodies” was a low blow, even for Klaus.
Truth be told, he has been expecting them the entire time. So now that he has them face to face, nothing is going to stop him from getting under their skin.
As expected Max’s face flushed with anger, but Klaus wasn’t finished.
“Honestly, I’m surprised you two even bothered to show up. I thought you’d be too busy basking in your so-called ‘legacy’ to mingle with us, mere mortals. Or is it that without your fancy titles, you’re just two overhyped disappointments looking for relevance?”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent, his expression darkening with every word Klaus uttered.
It wasn’t just the two of them; the ten minions they brought along were all exuding killing intent toward Klaus. However, he simply ignored them and focused on the two.
Anna and the rest of Klaus’s friends looked at the two legacies and their lackeys with mocking grins, especially Lily, who had become somewhat bold and slightly shameless after tasting Klaus’s lips.
Klaus chuckled, taking a step closer. “Let me guess—you both thought bringing your backup would intimidate me, right? That’s cute. But here’s the thing: I don’t care how many lackeys you bring, or how many titles you throw around. At the end of the day, you’re still just a couple of spoiled brats, pretending to be important.”
Max finally snapped. “You think you’re better than us, Klaus? You think just because you’ve gotten a little fame, you can walk all over us?”
Klaus tilted his head, his smile widening. Truth be told when he heard that the Mad Berserker Red Tiger could help awaken his Slaughter Aura, he became something of a menace, knowing he wouldn’t have to continue his monk lifestyle anymore.
These two had clearly come at the worst time—or perhaps the right time—for Klaus.
Klaus continued to smile and said, “Better than you? No, Max. I don’t think I’m better than you. I know I am.” He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.
“And deep down, you both know it too. That’s why you’re here—desperate for validation, trying to prove something to yourselves.”
Ethan, his voice low and seething, finally spoke. “You’re digging your own grave, Klaus. You don’t get it, do you? We’ve got the power, the connections. You… you’re just a fluke.”
Klaus raised an eyebrow, his amusement growing. “A fluke? Is that the best you’ve got?” He shook his head.
“You can keep clinging to your little delusions, but here’s the truth: no amount of power, no amount of connections, will ever make up for what you lack.”
He eyes them with a teasing grin. “You lack substance. Without all the noise and titles, you’re nothing. And that’s what scares you most.”
Klaus wasn’t holding back with his words. He knew something was off.
Ella Duncan wasn’t there—but he didn’t care. Since the two had decided to be his punching bags while she was off doing whatever she wanted, Klaus would mentally dismantle them. In some way, it was a win-win-win-loss situation for them.
“Just keep running your mouth, soon, you will come begging,” Ethan said as lightning flashed across his gaze clearly trying to intimate Klaus.
“Ethan, buddy, why is your skin glowing? You wouldn’t happen to have applied baby oil, would you?” Klaus suddenly asked with a mocking smile.
“It’s true! I heard he has a closet full of baby oil,” Lily added, making Klaus and his friends burst into resounding laughter. This further dug deep into Ethan’s heart, making him want to rip Klaus’s head off his body right there.
Max, seeing that Ethan, who had been the calmest at first, was about to lose it, quickly dragged him away along with their ten lackeys.
“We should probably head back to the resting area before these legacies pollute our people and make things difficult for Anna,” Klaus said after the two legacies and their lackeys were gone.
He knew since they couldn’t openly fight, he could only use his big mouth to torture them. His words certainly made an impact.
Since they were prohibited from fighting while in Sinji Valley, Klaus knew people would start using underhanded tactics to get back at him—and he was right.
Max and Ethan, now sitting in the Central Region’s section, glanced over at their sister, Ella Duncan.
“Was it successful?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, I managed to pull the top leaders from the Western, Southern, and Northern regions to our side,” Ella replied.
“What about the Eastern Region?” Max asked.
“Since that bitch Anna Ross is their leader, I sent people to the third-ranked individual, but he rejected the offer. Don’t worry, though—I have my people working in the background. Klaus Hanson will get what’s coming to him soon enough.”
“Nice one, Ella. We need to prepare for our region, too. This time, we’ll show Klaus Hanson who he has messed with,” Ethan said, clenching his fist.