The meeting between Bai Xieren and the founding five members of the Hidden Dragon Group ended quickly. There wasn’t much for them to speak about.
For the earlier stages of the operation, these members would be acting along with the rest of the Moon Squadron to infiltrate Niflheim. Only after preliminary preparations were finished would the assassinations begin.
But due to the nature of the operation, where prolonged contact between team members wasn’t allowed, the formation of the group had to be done before they left the Cloud Plane.
When the meeting ended, Bai Xieren left the five members in the room to familiarize themselves with each other.
Damien looked around with a curious expression on his face. ‘What a strange way to build synergy. Or are you saying that hierarchy is more important than synergy in this operation?’
His thoughts were on the words Bai Xieren left for them. According to her, the five of them would have codenames determined in order of strongest to weakest.
As for how they decided the order, that was up to them.
The shadow woman spoke first. “Since we will be working together from now on, an introduction is necessary. I am called Li Xiu. I am an expert in Darkness Laws.”
Following her introduction, the transformation woman spoke as well. The relaxed smile on her face never once left even as she spoke. “Aiya, if you are being so upfront, how can I deny you? This little one is called Jiang Hualing. Well met.”
“And your specialty?” Li Xiu asked.
Jiang Hualing gave her a sideways glance, smiling slyly. “My, my. Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“You…!”
Before the two could quarrel, the snake man stood up abruptly and opened his mouth.
“H-hello, everyone! Y-you can just call me Hebi.”
He stuttered the words out, but his mouth didn’t seem to want to continue after his initial introduction. He shamefully took his seat again, looking to the last two present for help.
Damien smiled helplessly when he saw the man. He was really an unfortunate existence. Thinking so, Damien gave his own introduction to offset the awkwardness.
“I’m Damien Void. You can regard me as a spatial expert. Oh, but I’m still a 3rd class.”
His second sentence caused many eyebrows to be raised, but his last sentence caused them to go down immediately after.
Even if he was a rare spatial expert, a 3rd class didn’t hold much weight at all. It just went to show how highly Laws were regarded.
Seeing their reactions, though, Long Chen sighed and gave a similar introduction. “Long Chen. I’m a sword cultivator with some experience using poison. I’m also a 3rd class.”
Li Xiu looked them over in contempt. She truly had to wonder what the experts were thinking, putting two weaklings on their elite team.
But she quickly ignored them. It just meant she had less competition to worry about.
“From worst to best, there is Black Dragon, White Dragon, Green Dragon, Violet Dragon, and Golden Dragon. We can easily put the two weaklings in the bottom spots, and that coward can have the Green Dragon position.”
Li Xiu took three of the medallions Bai Xieren left for them and tossed them to the three men in the group. Damien was given the Black Dragon Medallion.
Looking at the last two medallions in her hand, Li Xiu finished her words. “As for me, I think I’m most fit to be the leader of our group. What say you?”
Her ending question was naturally directed at the only person in the room whom she acknowledged. But Jiang Hualing continued paying Li Xiu no mind. Instead, her gaze was focused on Damien.
“Interesting little boy, how about becoming the Golden Dragon?” She suddenly asked.
Damien raised his brow in surprise. “And why would you want me in that position?”
“Hmm…because you seem more fun than this sorry little girl?” Jiang Hualing quirked her head and said.
Damien looked at the Golden Dragon Medallion in Li Xiu’s hand. It’d be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.
Even disregarding the fact that Damien was nigh invincible in the Cloud Plane, he could still defeat everyone in this room.
After all, the three 4th class existences on the team all focused on assassination. Especially against Li Xiu, who mainly specialized in stealth, Damien’s spatial awareness and Void Physique made him practically impervious.
‘But…what’s the point?’
Damien smiled lightly. He clutched the Black Dragon Medallion in his hand and shook his head. “No, I’m okay with the position I have now. If you guys want to fight amongst yourselves, you can, but I’ll be leaving now. I need to tell my wives goodbye, after all.”
Damien’s smile was real. As he flashed away from the meeting room without any prior warning, his smile remained.
The Golden Dragon Medallion was indeed tempting, but it wasn’t what Damien wanted.
What did the Golden Dragon Medallion mean? It was the mark of the leader and the strongest team member.
It was a position filled with responsibility, and the one who filled that position would be given the most challenging assignments.
Then…what about the Black Dragon?
Of course, the Black Dragon position was more like a substitute for the team than a team member. Although they’d still be given missions, they weren’t needed most of the time.
Essentially, they had an incredible amount of freedom.
Damien’s grin widened. ‘The old man is still looking out for me even at this juncture. I have to give him something in return one of these days.’
Damien understood the message he was given. He was never meant to be the Golden Dragon in the first place.
No, even the Hidden Dragon Group was merely a cover built for him. Long Chen was added to that group so he’d have someone trustworthy to both connect him to the main headquarters and aid him in his movements.
Damien’s job was assassination. There was no doubt he’d be assigned to carry out this task plenty of times, especially since Bai Xieren knew his true worth.
But in the times when he wasn’t needed, Tian Yang was allowing him to move on his own and explore. His master was trusting his ability to aid this operation.
As Damien went to visit Rose and Ruyue one last time, Tian Yang smiled lightly in another area of the floating island.
‘That’s right. When we get to Niflheim, run wild. I shall cover your rear and take care of the aftermath.’
Tian Yang could see it. He could see the quality within Damien that not many people had. He could see what would best be termed as “the Universe’s favor” for Damien.
Even though Damien always ended up a small player, he was always a part of the grand flow of the universe.
Wherever the most pressing issues were, Damien was guaranteed to stumble there as well.
The 3000 Beast Mountain Range was a perfect example of this conjecture.
And Tian Yang knew. With each world-changing event that Damien experienced, he played a bigger role than the last.
With him roaming free in Niflheim and having his own adventure away from the constraints of the military…
Tian Yang could only suppress his excitement and wait to see what surprises his disciple would bring him this time.