Chapter 647: Maximilian’s arrival

"Who the hell are you!?" Felix demanded, pointing at Maximilian as he wrapped his burnt arm in a plaster of numerous rose petals. The rain hissed against the charred flesh beneath, and his face twisted with every drop that managed to slip through.

"Do you have any idea whom you just attacked?" he barked, veins bulging across his forehead. "Your entire race will pay for your crime!"

The three Demi-Gods immediately rose from their chairs at Felix’s declaration. Their robes clung to their bodies, heavy with rain, yet none of them dared to wipe the water from their faces.

Jae Hyun dropped to his knees in a kowtow, his forehead hitting the wet floor and splashing the water outward.

"My Lord, we don’t know who he is. Please don’t punish the humans for his crim—"

"Arthur?" Mo Feng gasped, recognising the black-haired figure standing beside Gumiho.

Vincent’s brows rose. "Do you know this person?" he asked, his silver eyes shifting to Mo Feng. He was still seated lazily, the two elders standing on either side of him protectively, the rain turning to mist a few inches above their heads.

"Yes, My Lord," Mo Feng nodded. "He was the commander of the fifth battalion of the Southern Legion."

"Just a commander?" Vincent’s brows furrowed. No matter how he looked at the man beside Gumiho, he didn’t seem like a Cultivator at the True Sage Realm. Not to mention the lightning he had just used. I-it was awfully similar to that psycho’s.

Maximilian ignored Felix’s threats, Vincent’s curious gaze and Mo Feng’s shocked face. He moved in front of Gumiho and bent low until his face was level with hers. His exposed back faced the four Middle-Stage and two Early-Stage Celestial Dragons and the three Demi-Gods, a complete disrespect, as if he didn’t even see them as a threat.

Among the spectators on the vine platform, the whispers began to spread like ripples over a puddle. Who was this man? How could he turn his back on dragons?

The moment Maximilian’s face reached hers, Gumiho’s head lowered in shame. The drops of heavy rain mixed with the tears on her cheeks. "Pl-please don’t look at me, Master," she whimpered, her lips trembling. "I’m filthy and hideous."

"You bastard! How dare you turn your back on us!" Felix shouted, releasing numerous rose petals at him.

The petals cut through Maximilian’s robe and skin, leaving deep slashes. Blood flowed from the wounds and ran down to the ground, mixing with the rainwater and spreading in thin red streams across the broken floor.

Maximilian didn’t even react to the attack, as if it didn’t hurt him at all.

He gently placed his hand on Gumiho’s cheek, lifting her head to meet his gaze. On his face, Gumiho saw a faint smile and eyes narrowed in warmth, the same warmth with which he had always looked at her.

"You are even more beautiful than I imagined," he murmured, leaning closer. His lips gently pecked her damp forehead. When he pulled away, he picked up the cloth belt from the wet floor and tied it around her waist.

"M-Master..." Gumiho whimpered. Her lips trembled and her pupils shook as she broke into tears. She slowly moved forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his broad chest. "I-I’m sorry...Master. I let you down."

Her figure squirmed in his arms, her loud cries seeming to deepen the downpour. The rain grew heavier, as if the sky itself were weeping along with her.

Maximilian gently patted her head with one hand, his other hand holding her by the back.

Meanwhile, Felix continued releasing wave after wave of sharp rose petals at Maximilian. They tattered his robe until his upper body was bare, then cut across his wide back, one slash after another. The rain washed the blood down his spine and into the puddles at his feet, which had already turned a dark red. Yet none of the petals managed to touch Gumiho, nor could any of them draw a reaction from Maximilian.

The Demi-Gods stared at the scene with pale faces. A man was being shredded by dragon attacks, and he was comforting a woman as if nothing were happening.

Once Gumiho had calmed down, Maximilian said in a soft tone, "You have done well, my little Gumiho. Now leave the rest to your Master."

He was about to rise, but Gumiho grabbed his wrist in worry, her trembling pupils looking up at him. Something similar had happened in the past. He carried the same look on his face that Aruma, her father, had carried before he unleashed war upon the Fox Clan.

"Don’t worry, Gumiho," Maximilian said, tapping her hand reassuringly. "Your Master has your back."

With that declaration, he gently removed her hand from his wrist, his golden eyes turning forward, towards the dragons.

As he stepped forward, a bone-crushing pressure descended upon the dragon elders, Vincent and Felix. The chair beneath Vincent crumbled, his back slamming against the floor. The rain around Maximilian stopped falling, instead bending away from his body as if the sky itself dared not touch him.

"Th-this pressure..." Vincent and Felix gasped together, their eyes widening as they recognised the familiar weight.

With his next step, the vertical slit mark at the centre of his forehead vanished. His entire sclera turned golden, ethereal patterns appearing within them, while the iris at the centre shrank and turned vertical.

With another step, two obsidian-like horns sprouted from his head, and dark draconic scales began forming across his arms, chest and back. A golden gem appeared at the centre of his chest, pulsating with barely contained energy. The raindrops that struck his scales burst into vapour, rising around him in a pale mist.

With one last step, wide, dark draconic wings unfolded at his back, spreading so wide that they cast a shadow over the entire ruined hall.

"Y-you...you are Maximilian..." Felix gasped, his eyes widening like saucers.

"Wh-what is he doing here?" Vincent muttered as the two elders hurriedly covered him in their Soulforce for protection.

The Demi-Gods froze where they stood. Mo Feng’s mouth hung open, the rain pouring into it unnoticed. The man he had fought beside, the man he had known as a mere commander, was a dragon. A dragon who made even the dragon lords tremble. Jae Hyun, who was still kneeling, felt his body go limp, his forehead sinking back into the wet floor as though he wished the ground would swallow him. Kharos dropped back onto his chair, his legs unable to hold him.

Silence fell over the platform of vines. Then someone began to cry out. Cultivators stumbled backward, clutching one another, while some fell to their knees as the pressure brushed against them even from afar.

Maximilian waved his hand at his side, where the two Sacred Beasts and Vyaghra were being held by the vines. A sword flew out of his storage ring and moved sharply around them, cutting the vines clean.

"Master..." Vyaghra gasped, falling forward onto the ground, his limbs completely broken. His body landed in the bloodied water with a heavy splash.

The sword divided into three, each one grabbing an injured beast by the collar and carrying them towards Gumiho.

"M-Master is also a dragon..." Gumiho murmured, looking at the scene unfolding before her with wide eyes.

Once Maximilian reached the dragons, he declared, his tone calm and his expression dark, "From this moment forth, the Neige Clan and the Floraisan Clan won’t have any successors."