Chapter 51: Was this real?

Chapter 51: Was this real?Crisis Averted—A Collective Sigh of Relief! With the danger finally behind them, everyone from Carter Group and the Nocturnal Crescent guild could finally breathe easy. At the same time, a deep sense of guilt welled up in two people’s hearts. "Thank God... Thank God... Isabella, I’m so sorry, sweetheart... I’m so, so sorry..." Isabella’s mother pulled her into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her face as she kept apologizing. Even though they had no other choice, their earlier decision had essentially been like selling off their own daughter for the sake of peace. Now that they thought about it, the guilt was unbearable. "Isabella, I... I’m sorry! Your father, I—" William’s voice was thick with remorse. He looked at his daughter, struggling to find the right words. "Dad, Mom, I understand. You don’t have to apologize. It’s over now, isn’t it?" Isabella hugged both of them tightly. But deep inside, she felt something else— Relief. Longing. A quiet, grateful smile spread across her face. Ethan... was this your doing? No, it had to be a coincidence, right? A Tier 13 wild unit... There’s no way that could be you... But maybe... maybe this was fate. Thank you, God. And thank you... for being here. ... Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Ethan was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. "So this is what they call Tier suppression? Damn, this is insane!" He had known about Tier suppression before—hell, that was the whole reason he’d dared to charge in with Cicero and take on the entire Inferno Dragons guild by himself. But even though he had mentally prepared for it, actually witnessing this level of destruction firsthand was something else entirely. A Tier 13 Green Dragon hero... This is the real deal. This is power. This is absolutely badass... "Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" "ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!" Cicero let out another victorious cry, unleashing another wave of Venomous Dragon Breath. The toxic mist spread across the battlefield, wiping out enemies in massive swaths. At this point, the battle wasn’t even a fight anymore—it was a massacre. Within minutes, almost every single Inferno Dragons player and their units had been annihilated. Only a handful of lucky ones managed to escape. The battlefield was now littered with corpses—some rotting, some reduced to bare white bones, and some... completely erased from existence. The sheer scale of the carnage was horrifying. A mountain of bodies. A scene straight out of the apocalypse. Even the most hardened warriors felt their scalps tingle with fear... "We won." Ethan opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was completely stunned, his throat dry. It finally hit him—Inferno Dragons’ army of over a hundred thousand had actually been wiped out. By just one dragon. "Holy shit, that was insane!" Ethan couldn’t help but exclaim. Whoosh! At that moment, Cicero spread his wings and soared into the sky, disappearing into the vast horizon. Seeing this, Ethan quickly summoned his Tier 9 Genie and shot up into the clouds, vanishing just as fast... Not long after, deep within a secluded mountain range near Icelight City, Cicero gleefully rolled around in a crystal-clear spring, splashing water everywhere before diving straight into Ethan’s arms, rubbing against him like an oversized cat. It was as if he was asking for praise. That’s when Ethan noticed—after that massacre, Cicero’s level had skyrocketed to Level 11. Ethan couldn’t help but sigh. "So killing and pillaging really is the fastest way to level up... Wait, no, no, bad thoughts!" Shaking his head, he pulled Cicero into a tight hug and burst out laughing. "Chirp! Chirp!" "You did amazing! Hahaha, seriously, that was incredible!" Overcome with excitement, Ethan tackled Cicero into the water, playfully splashing around with him. After messing around for a while, he finally logged out of the game and called Isabella. The phone barely rang before she picked up. "Hello—" "Ethan, get online right now! You won’t believe this—Inferno Dragons just got completely wrecked! Some random Tier 13 Green Dragon came out of nowhere and wiped out their entire army! This is huge! Our family’s crisis is over! Over a hundred thousand troops, gone! Even a guild as big as Inferno Dragons won’t recover from this anytime soon. That means they won’t have the strength to come after Nocturnal Crescent anymore! This is amazing, Ethan! Hahaha, seriously, this is the best news ever!" Isabella sounded like an overexcited kid, practically shouting into the phone. Ethan didn’t find it annoying at all. In fact, hearing her so happy made him feel warm inside. Other people might not know who was behind this, But he did. And seeing Isabella this happy? That made it all worth it. Still, just in case something like this happened again, Ethan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Isabella, can you give me your dad’s contact info?" "Huh? W-Why do you need that?" Isabella’s voice instantly became flustered, and Ethan could practically hear the blush in her tone. "I want to discuss a business deal with him." Ethan knew she had misunderstood, but he didn’t bother explaining. He just chuckled. "A business deal? What kind of deal?" Isabella asked, confused. "Unit trading." "Unit trading?" Isabella blinked. "What Tier?" Ethan paused for a second before replying, "How about we meet in-game and talk about it?" "Alright... I’ll wait for you at Nocturnal Crescent’s headquarters in Icelight City." After hanging up, Ethan immediately logged back in. He recalled Cicero and summoned his Tier 9 Genie, then took off toward Icelight City. Before long, the Genie descended into the city’s player plaza. Gasps and murmurs erupted all around him. "Damn... a Tier 9 Genie?" "That guy’s a serious powerhouse. What’s someone like him doing in a small city like this?" "No idea, but we should probably stay out of his way. People at that level... you don’t want to mess with them." Ethan ignored the countless awed and wary gazes as he made his way straight to Nocturnal Crescent’s headquarters. ... "Hold on a second, sir." A player who seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Nocturnal Crescent guild stepped in front of Ethan, glancing nervously at the 9-Tier Genie hovering behind him. His voice was cautious as he asked, "May I ask what brings you to Nocturnal Crescent, my friend?" "Relax," Ethan said with a friendly smile. "I’m a friend of Isabella from Carter Group. My name’s Ethan. Could you let her know I’m here?" "Miss Isabella’s friend?" The man froze for a moment before visibly relaxing. Then, as if realizing something, his expression shifted to one of excitement. "Alright, please wait here for a moment." It wasn’t long before Isabella came rushing out of the Nocturnal Crescent guild camp, looking utterly stunned. As she jogged toward him, her eyes stayed locked on Ethan. Then, as if unable to believe what she was seeing, she rubbed her eyes hard before staring again—this time at the 9-Tier Genie behind him. Her voice trembled. "Ethan, this... this... you... how...?" "What? You don’t recognize me anymore?" Ethan teased with a grin. "If you really don’t know me, I guess I’ll just leave." "You wouldn’t dare!" Isabella grabbed his arm immediately, her grip firm. At the same time, her gaze kept darting toward the 9-Tier Genie, filled with curiosity and disbelief. She just couldn’t let it go. "This 9-Tier Genie... it’s really yours? No way! That’s a 9-Tier unit! How is that even possible?!" Before Ethan could respond, a deep, authoritative voice rang out from the entrance of the Nocturnal Crescent guild headquarters. "Isabella, what are you doing? Is this your friend? Aren’t you going to introduce us?" As the voice faded, a middle-aged man, William, stepped out of the guild hall. Behind him, several other high-ranking members of Nocturnal Crescent followed. However, their expressions were far from welcoming. When they looked at Ethan—and more importantly, at the 9-Tier Genie behind him—there was an unmistakable mix of unease and fear. A 9-Tier unit... What did that even mean? Even their entire Nocturnal Crescent guild didn’t have a single 9-Tier unit! In fact, they barely had any 7-Tier or 8-Tier units either. If they did, they wouldn’t be getting crushed so badly by Inferno Dragons. In short, no matter who Ethan was, the fact that he possessed a 9-Tier Genie meant one thing—he was someone Nocturnal Crescent absolutely could not afford to offend. Fortunately, this mysterious powerhouse seemed to know Isabella... At that moment, Isabella’s face turned bright red, and she suddenly tensed up. Her heart pounded. She glanced at Ethan, then at her father, looking completely flustered. Her face was burning as she lowered her head and introduced him shyly, "Dad, this... this is Ethan..." Before she could finish, Ethan smoothly took over with a cheerful smile. He turned to William and greeted him respectfully, "Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Ethan—Isabella’s classmate... and her boyfriend." "Boyfriend?!" William’s eyes widened in shock as he turned to stare at his daughter. At the same time, Isabella also whipped her head toward Ethan, looking just as stunned. Isabella’s eyes softened, a warm, happy glow appearing in them as she nodded and turned to her father. "Dad, this is my boyfriend, Ethan... Do you remember that kidnapping a few years ago? Back then, it was Ethan who saved me." "Kidnapping?" William froze, staring at Ethan in stunned silence. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. Then, suddenly, he let out a small chuckle and patted Ethan’s shoulder in a familiar, appreciative manner. "So it was you... I can’t thank you enough for what you did back then. If it weren’t for you..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I’ve been trying to find you all these years, but there was never any trace. I never expected we’d meet again like this." Saying that, William took a step back. Then, to Ethan’s surprise, he bowed deeply, his voice filled with sincerity. "Thank you." "Sir, there’s no need for that..." Ethan was visibly moved and quickly reached out to help William up. "This isn’t just politeness," William said firmly. "If it weren’t for you, I don’t even want to imagine how things would have turned out back then... But let’s not dwell on the past." He straightened up and gave Ethan a curious look. "Isabella mentioned you had some business to discuss with me? What kind of business?" Ethan hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Mr. Carter, would it be possible for us to talk in private?" William raised an eyebrow but then nodded. "Of course. Come with me." ... A short while later, inside a private chamber within the Nocturnal Crescent guild headquarters. Only Ethan and William were present. "Alright, Ethan," William said with a smile. "What kind of business are we talking about? You can tell me now." Ethan took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking slowly. "Right now, I represent a hidden, powerful faction that operates from the shadows. Recently, we’ve been running low on resources and gold, so we’re looking to trade military units in exchange for them. Mr. Carter, would this be something you’re interested in?" "Military unit trading?!" William’s eyes lit up instantly, his excitement barely contained. "Of course! Absolutely! Ethan, what Tier are we talking about? And how many units are available?" He didn’t hesitate for even a second. Military units were invaluable to any faction—the more, the better. Especially now, after Nocturnal Crescent had just suffered heavy losses in a guild war. Their strength had taken a serious hit, and they were in desperate need of reinforcements. And now, Ethan was offering exactly that. This was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to pass up! "For now, we’re offering 8-Tier Pegasus Knights," Ethan explained. "That might change in the future, but the Tier will never drop below 8-Tier. As for quantity... I can guarantee around 70 to 100 per year. Maybe more, depending on the situation." "8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights...?" William sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes widened in shock, and his jaw nearly dropped. Then— Whoosh! His entire body tensed as realization hit him like a thunderbolt. He stared at Ethan in utter disbelief, his face a mix of excitement, astonishment, and sheer incredulity. "8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights?! Ethan, you’re not joking, are you? Are you serious?!" A hundred 8-Tier Silver Pegasus Knights per year?! Was this real? High-Tier military units like these were so rare that no faction would ever have too many—let alone be willing to sell them. Even the top ten guilds didn’t have the resources to pull off something like this! Was he dreaming?!