The Innkeeper

"I\'ve also been looking forward to meeting with you. I\'ve heard much about you, and I am good friends with your daughter Cwenhild."

"And to think, once there were rumors in the academy that you\'re one of my children too. I found the events leading up to that quite amusing."

Lex smiled wryly. Now that those events were long past, he could really look back and find them amusing. At the time, though, it was more nerve wracking.

"I found it quite an honor that anyone would think to link me to you. But at the same time, one cannot put too much stock in rumors. Maybe one day, when I grow stronger, the story peddlers will claim I am secretly your brother."

This one statement, while complimenting Cornelius, also displayed the deeply rooted confidence that Lex held in himself and his future. Though not directly, he was already claiming that rising to the same height as the King was a foregone conclusion.

Cornelius smiled, as if he did not pay attention to the claim, and said, "the boldness of youth always enables one to achieve outstanding results. Even I achieved most of my most famous achievements when I was young and loud. You are already not less than I, for when last has history seen the representatives of so many of the races gather together for a meeting?"

Cornelius\' words seem to be comparing Lex\'s claims to the brashness of youth, reminding him that until something is already achieved it is naught but loud boasting. At the same time, he was pretending to give Lex a compliment, but was laying the credit of his achievement to the mysterious author of the book… -no, eh, he was laying the credit of his achievement to the mysterious author of the letter that invited them all here. Lex smiled, for little did Cornelius know that he was indeed the one who authored the invitation letters, so his confidence was not assaulted as Cornelius had been hoping.

"Come, let us move towards the meeting room while we wait for the others to arrive," Lex said, completely uninterested in entering a duel of words with Cornelius.

Seeing that he had failed to entrap Lex with his words, Cornelius turned his attention to Edward, the monster. His own confidence, too, was unaffected and he had  many other ploys waiting to be revealed.

It was not easily that he had brought humans, the race that was born the weakest, and made them strong. Besides the Crystal race which stood out firmly as the strongest, there was no clear ranking of which race was stronger or weaker than the other. As a result, while the humans did not gain a clear advantage over others, at least none could hold influence over them either. Even the seemingly mighty Trelops made deals with humans instead of forcefully taking territory.

Other than his own clear genius in handling difficult situations appropriately, it was also because of Cornelius\' strength, which was widely recognized. He was far stronger than an Earth Immortal was supposed to be, and following the True Path was not enough to make up for the difference. If it were, Aegis would not be so outclassed by his own father. At the same time, Edward would not be so well behaved in front of Cornelius. The monster had been alive for millions of years, but clearly he still suffered a trauma from when he and Cornelius last fought.

Lex led the two to one of the many hidden rooms of the tavern, as they had to remain out of sight while the ceremonies took place within the tavern.

Sipping on one of the incredible beverages Lex had prepared for Earth Immortals from the emporium before the meeting began, Cornelius looked at Lex and said, "while we wait for the rest, why don\'t you share a little about the reason we were invited."

"I think it\'s best if we wait for full attendance," Lex said politely, yet uninfluenced by Cornelius. "After all, otherwise I\'d have to endlessly repeat myself if I had to tell each guest separately."

Also, by having everyone in the same room, he could study their actions and reactions and thereby guess how many secrets each of them was hiding. As if on cue, a small butterfly entered the tavern, sitting gently above the head of a large turtle.

The ruler of the Trelops had a unique aura, as if despite the small size she retained her full strength that she wielded within her territory. It was as if wherever she went automatically became her territory.

In comparison, the ruler of the Varns was less impressive. Maybe it was because he was used to seeing the Galactic Sovereign Turtle, but seeing that the Varn leader had the form of a turtle, much of his aura was subdued. Not to mention, he was being ridden atop his head by the butterfly, yet he dared not complain.

"Welcome to the tavern, honored guests. I am glad that you could make it," Lex said, as he met them at the entrance, and brought them towards the meeting room.

"It is not often when one receives an invitation radiating so much power. It is a habit of mine to make powerful friends," spoke the butterfly, though his voice did not travel through the air. Instead, it appeared in Lex\'s mind, powerful and loud.

Lex sensed something the moment fluctuate in the Soul plane when Elena spoke. It seemed she was using that as a medium to speak, rather than the physical plane.

The turtle, instead, only grunted. It seemed like he was not too ecstatic about being used as a mount by the butterfly.

"Sabr, it is good to see you again," Cornelius said, looking at the turtle with great familiarity.

"Cornelius," Sabr only replied with a base acknowledgement, his voice deep and reverberating.

"Your majesty Elena, it is an honor to finally meet you," Cornelius said, his voice a lot more humble, towards the butterfly.

"My daughters speak fondly of you Cornelius. You are a friend of nature, and of the Trelops," the butterfly replied.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Edward said, trying to be polite. Yet it seemed none of the rulers were not in the mood to socialize with a monster, and only responded with barely noticeable nods, or even simply glared.

"While we wait for the others," said Cornelius, his voice casual, as if he were speaking randomly, "would anyone mind if we discuss the Kraven? How strongly have they been attacking your borders? What\'s the situation there? For the humans, I can say that in the past week we have already lost as much land as the past dozen years. There are no formations or weapons that can be used to deter such a massive force of immortals."

The mood in the room instantly turned foul, as everyone seemed to have been suffering at the Kraven\'s hands.

"What I want to know is where so many immortals came from!" Sabr growled, his angry aura pressing down on everyone, though it seemed a subconscious display. As the only non-immortal in the room, Lex was the most susceptible to it, but he had already planned for such a thing. He was forming a \'room\' around himself at all times, effectively putting himself inside a different space from the rest, only leaving a small gap which would allow communication.

That small gap still resulted in the immortals\' aura leaking through, but equipped with his defensive suit, not to mention his own resilient body, Lex was able to tolerate it without showing any external discomfort.

"Even an immortal cannot fight against the might of nature. Yet when thousands of them are gathered on one battlefield, they surely can. The only way to fight them is to allow them to gain more land, and have them spread thinly so their force is diluted," remarked Elena, though her voice remained regal and devoid of stress.

"Why not use this opportunity to request intervention from the Crystal race? With such a massive threat on their borders, surely now they have to intervene," said Sabr impatiently.

Immediately though, Lex noticed something strange. Neither Cornelius nor Elena reacted too strongly to the suggestion, as if they already knew it was bound to fail.

"Unfortunately I have some bad news," Lex said at that point, lest the silence pervade too long. "I visited the Crystal nation personally, and even shared some of the details of what we will discuss today with them. Yet instead of worrying about the issue, they attempted to assassinate me. I am afraid they might be complicit in the scheme afoot."

Suddenly, all heads turned towards Lex in shock. The Crystals tried to assassinate him… and he\'s still alive?