Chapter 141: Compensation

[Night Time — Headquarters of the Dragon Guild.]

​"We have been waiting out here for hours... Why isn’t he here yet?" The Vice Guild Leader asked anxiously, her sharp eyes scanning the bustling night street. She slowly turned her head toward Richard, who stood completely silent, his jaw set and his weathered fist clenched tightly against his side.

​"I know you feel terrible about this whole situation, but you caused this mess in the first place..." she said softly, her voice laced with heavy concern:

"We must fulfill any wish he demands tonight if we want to save our own necks and the lives of all our guild members."

​Richard remained silent, his pristine white hair and thick beard almost looking dull gray under the harsh neon lights of the city. As the legendary Guild Leader of the fourth-ranked guild in all of Vaeloria, he had spent decades commanding absolute respect across the country. Yet, driven by momentary greed, he had recklessly rushed into an Ancient Family’s private estate and even dared to clash directly with the Matriarch herself.

​No matter how he analyzed the situation, he was deeply thankful to even still be breathing. What truly terrified him now, however, were the unknown demands Asher would make tonight. Although the young Patriarch had vaguely stated his terms before, nothing in this brutal world was ever set in stone.

​Anyone with absolute power could change their mind on a whim.

​"Why are you two still standing out there?" A calm, chilling voice echoed from behind them.

​"....?!"

​The two froze, their hearts dropping into their stomachs as they snapped their heads toward the colossal double doors of the Guild Headquarters entrance. Asher was already standing quietly, his hands casually tucked away in the deep pockets of his overcoat.

​’What the hell?!! Did he just materialize out of thin air right behind us without making a single sound?!’ The Vice Guild Leader screamed internally, cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.

​’A teleportation spell?! That is an absurdly complex ability to acquire, let alone master to such a seamless degree... Or was he maintaining absolute stealth the entire time?’ Richard thought, swallowing hard as his throat went dry. He was a master of the assassin class himself, yet his heightened senses hadn’t picked up a single ripple in the surroundings.

​"Let’s go."

​Asher turned around smoothly, taking a step inside. Before his boots could even touch the marble floor, the massive, reinforced double doors burst wide open under the sheer pressure of his aura. The two leaders blinked in sheer astonishment once more, quickly falling into step behind his silhouette and pulling the doors shut behind them.

___

​[Main Vault Corridor.]

​"I hope you are taking me directly to your primary vault." Asher stated calmly, his tone frigid and unreadable as he walked half a pace behind the two guide figures.

​"Yes! Of course, Lord Asher... We didn’t know what specific items might catch your refined interest, so we decided it was best to show you every single asset stored inside our central vault for you to make your selection." The Vice Guild Leader said hastily, forcing a polite smile onto her face while her back soaked in nervous sweat.

​Asher gave a concise nod, his eyes shifting toward the old man walking steadily ahead of him:

​"What about you?" He asked, his voice dripping with cool authority.

​Richard froze in his tracks for a brief fraction of a second, but forced his feet to keep moving forward without break: "Yes... It is exactly as she said! I also sincerely apologize once more for my earlier shortsighted foolishness." He blurted out, his pride completely shattered before the young sovereign.

​Asher redirected his gaze toward the end of the long hallway: "Good..."

__

​After navigating through a labyrinthine series of fortified underground corridors for five minutes, the three finally arrived before a massive iron door sealed off by defensive spell.

​Asher stared at the glowing iron door, then lazily moved his eyes around the deserted subterranean hall: "Are you two really the only ones present in this entire building tonight?"

​"Um... Yes, Lord Asher," the Vice Guild Leader chimed in, her voice trembling slightly. "We ordered a mandatory guild-wide recess and sent all our members home for a break... Many of them wanted to visit their families."

​’What the hell else were we supposed to do?!’ She thought frantically to herself. ’What if you decided to go on an absolute rampage after laying eyes on our guild’s hard-earned treasures? The two of us might not be anywhere near strong enough to defeat you, but at the very least, we could try to stall you while the low-tier members escaped!’

​Asher turned his attention back to Richard, who stepped forward toward the sealing magic. The old guild leader slammed his palms tightly together, closing his eyes in deep concentration as he began muttering a rapid sequence of unknown incantations. After thirty tense seconds, the intricate magic circles embedded in the iron door flared with bright crimson light, vibrating heavily as the multi-ton barrier slowly ground to the side.

​"After you, Lord Asher," Richard bowed low, gesturing into the blinding glow of the vault.

​Asher offered a slight nod and took a firm step forward. As he crossed the threshold, his naturally black irises shifted instantaneously, turning a piercing, absolute shade of crimson.

​{Shadow Gaze — Activated.}

​He brought his steps to a halt right at the rim of the doorway, sweeping his enhanced vision across the vast expanse of the cavernous room. Mountains of precious metals, stacks of high-denomination currency, legendary weapons, ancient skill books, glowing spell scrolls, heavy armor sets, and evolution stones were meticulously lined up across endless velvet displays.

​"How many Evolution Stones are currently stockpiled in this room?" Asher asked, his eyes scanning the signatures of the gems.

​"The grand total stands at exactly 10,000 stones... However, there are only 200 SS-RANK stones and 150 S-RANK stones among them. The remaining vast majority are ranked below those tiers." Richard answered dutifully.

​’Ten thousand total stones... If I turn all of these over to Juliana to absorb.’ Asher calculated internally, giving a subtle nod of approval as he began walking slowly toward the silver containers holding the gems. His crimson eyes continued to casually glaze over the surrounding mounds of gear.

​"I honestly assumed that as one of the top four guilds in the entire domain, your organization would possess a truly remarkable collection of rare treasures... but this place contains nothing more than useless junk." He said flatly.

​’Junk...?!’

​Richard stood completely stunned, his jaw tightening in sheer disbelief. The absolute lowest tier of equipment and weapons housed in this grand vault were Heaven-Tier artifacts, while the skill books, secret pills, and recovery potions were all certified Celestial-Tier items... Yet Asher casually dismissed the collective wealth of a top-tier guild as worthless trash.

​’Well... considering he effortlessly gifted his wife a complete, flawless set of Mythic-Tier gear without batting an eye, our entire life’s savings must genuinely look pathetic to him,’ Richard reasoned to himself with a hollow, self-deprecating smile.

​Asher brought his steps to a stop directly in front of the array of sleek silver boxes housing the dense evolution stones.

​"There is fundamentally nothing of actual value stored in this room except for these specific stones." Asher stated calmly, sweeping his hand over the display. "So I will be taking all of them, including the dungeon keys beside them."

​"ALL OF THEM?!!"

​The Vice Guild Leader instantly dropped to her knees on the cold stone floor, her face pale as she raised her trembling hands in desperation:

​"Lord Asher, please... I beg of you! If you strip our vault of every single Evolution Stone, and dungeon keys we own, it will completely paralyze our squad cultivation and drastically slow down our operational progress! Other rival guilds will inevitably surpass us and—"

​"—Are these lifeless stones, and keys more valuable than your continued lives?" Asher asked coldly, slowly looking back over his shoulder to lock his crimson gaze onto her trembling frame.

​"This...?"

​Both guild leaders stood completely dumbfounded, frozen in place and utterly at a loss for words as the absolute weight of his ultimatum settled over the silent vault.