"Aduh, apa yang terjadi?" Lex mengulang, menatap sosok tinggi itu. Berbeda dengan elf yang agak lemah yang bekerja di ruangan ini, sosok memancarkan aura kuat bahkan tanpa mengungkapkan kultivasinya.
Dia berpenampilan elf, artinya dia memiliki dua kaki untuk berdiri, dua tangan, serta tubuh dan kepala. Tapi persamaan itu berakhir di situ. Bukan kulit atau kulit binatang, makhluk itu memiliki sisik abu-abu gelap yang seolah terbuat dari batu. Ekor panjang namun ramping melengkung dari pangkal punggungnya, menyapu lantai di belakangnya. Dia memiliki dua tanduk yang menonjol dari dahinya, tapi berbeda dengan banyak hewan yang Lex lihat di Bumi di mana tanduknya tajam dan runcing, tanduk makhluk itu menyebar di atas kepalanya seperti helm separuh.
Matanya hitam, dengan pupil vertikal abu-abu terang, dan saat ini tertuju sepenuhnya pada Lex. Aura puncak alam Nascent-nya menindas berat, meskipun sepertinya hanya berpengaruh pada Lex dan Cirk.
Meski begitu, seluruh ruangan sunyi senyap, dan semua mata menatapnya. Sosok itu jelas memiliki nama. Sayangnya, meskipun kultivasinya lebih kuat, dia berada di kelemahan mutlak saat menghadapi Lex. Itu karena sosok ini, sama seperti Xeon, berkadar naga. Lex bisa merasakan darah naga yang terencer mengalir di pembuluh darah makhluk itu. Tapi fakta bahwa dia berada di alam Nascent bukannya Earth Immortal sudah cukup membuktikan bahwa dia bukan naga sejati.
Anak naga biasanya sangat kuat, dan paling tidak jarang, mewarisi ketahanan naga terhadap hampir semua elemen dan bentuk kerusakan. Tapi mereka juga memiliki kelemahan yang sangat menonjol, yaitu mereka menjadi पूरी tunduk di hadapan naga sejati. Bukan soal mau tidak mau — sudah diprogramkan dalam gen mereka.
Meskipun Lex bukan naga, Dominasi-nya adalah kemampuan yang memakan aura naga. Dalam hal hierarki, secara teknis di atas aura naga, meskipun saat ini belum sekuat itu.
"Itu persis yang ingin kuketahui!" kata Lex, setara agresif dengan sosok itu tadi. "Kenapa laporan ini memberitahuku BGY-987 baik-baik saja, padahal aku pasti itu tidak?"
Kali ini, Lex cukup keras dan sedikit amarah tersembunyi di suaranya. Dominasi, yang tadinya terbatas hanya pada dua elf, meledak dan sekarang meliputi seluruh ruangan!
Mata sosok itu menyipit saat dia merasakan kultivasinya pudar, seolah tubuhnya sendiri tidak berani bersikap pamer di hadapan orang tidak dikenal ini.
"Apakah ini caranya Henali menghadapi Fuegan? Jika performamu sepatah itu sehingga siapa saja kapan saja bisa mengganggu operasimu, maka perang seluruhnya hanyalah sandiwara! Mereka yang mengirim prajurit untuk alasanku membuang nyawa hanya untuk kamu main-main dan memuaskan ego!"
Lex sudah memikirkan apa yang harus dilakukan jika ditanya atau dihentikan selama fase rencana ini, tapi menekan anak naga seperti ini justru lebih halus dari rencana aslinya. Itu bagus. Semakin sedikit perhatian yang tertarik, semakin baik.
"Tidak, tidak, aku menjamin... intelijen kami tidak bisa salah..." sosok itu mencoba berkata, tapi kata-kata dan nada yang ada di benaknya tidak keluar sama saat dia bicara. Sebaliknya, kelihatannya dia takut dan mengemis alih-alih melawan. Dia bermaksud mengatakan tuduhan Lex absurd, tapi sekarang kedengarannya seperti dia berusaha keras menjelaskan sesuatu kepada atasan.
"Aku tidak butuh jaminanmu lagi. Kami sudah melihat tingkat kompetensimu. Kami mengirim prajurit kami untuk memenuhi kesepakatan, tapi alih-alih musuh demi kebaikan alam, prajurit kami justru ditargetkan untuk dendam pribadi. Midnight Inn akan menarik prajuritnya dari pertarungan ini!"
"Si... si... siapa... kau?" sosok itu sempat bertanya dengan suara tersengau. "Kau... kau... tidak bisa di sini..."
Lex bahkan tidak menjawab sosok itu, hanya menatapnya dengan sinis. Dia harus menjaga keadaan tenang di sini sampai mereka pergi. Jika ada yang mencoba menghentikan, dia siap membalas, meskipun menghindari situasi itu lebih baik. Lagipula, dia sudah menduga adanya jebakan.
Itu sebabnya dia tidak repot menjelaskan situasi dengan benar kepada salah satu atasan atau komandan di sini. Tidak ada jaminan mereka tidak terlibat dengan siapa pun yang menargetkan Inn. Lebih baik urus hal ini secara pribadi, dan se-diam-diam mungkin.
"Rutennya sudah kuhafalkan," tiba-tiba Cirk berkata, melangkah ke belakang Lex. "Sampai ke sana seharusnya tidak masalah, meskipun akan banyak pos pemeriksaan di jalan. Jika kita bisa dapat izin, lewat akan jauh lebih mudah. Kalau tidak, kita harus mengelilingi, yang akan memakan waktu lebih lama."
Lex mengangguk dan mengulurkan tangan ke saku jasnya, mengeluarkan amplop, lalu melemparkannya ke arah sosok tinggi itu. Anak naga itu berhasil menangkapnya tepat sebelum amplop menyentuh wajahnya. Entah bagaimana, meskipun lebih tinggi dari Lex, dia tidak bisa mengubah perasaan bahwa dia ditekuk selama ini.
"Kami bagian dari Midnight Inn, pergi menjemput prajurit kami kembali. Sampaikan amplop itu ke atasan tertinggi dan pastikan beri kami izin lewat saat kami melewati. Kau, Bearlin, antar kami ke hangar. Kami terbang keluar.
Dipimpin oleh elf yang masih linglung itu, keduanya keluar dari ruangan, akhirnya membebaskan semua orang dari pengaruh Dominasi. Mereka semua menghela napas lega, tapi tak ada yang lebih bingung dari anak naga itu. Di tangannya, dia memegang amplop yang memancarkan aura bahkan lebih menakutkan dari yang ditampilkan pria bertopeng tadi. Dia hampir jatuh lutut.
"What the hell is going on?" Lex repeated, as he looked up at the towering figure. Unlike the somewhat feeble elves working in this room, this figure radiated a powerful aura even without revealing his cultivation.
He had an elven appearance, meaning he had two legs that he stood on, and two arms, as well as a torso and head. But that is where the similarities ended. Instead of leather or skin, the creature had dark gray scales that almost seemed like they were made of stone. A long yet slender tail extended out from the base of his back, sweeping across the floor behind him. He had two horns protruding from his forehead, but unlike many animals that Lex saw on earth where the horns were sharp and pointed, the creature's horns spread out over the creatures head like a partial helmet.
Its eyes were black, with light gray vertical pupils, and were currently focused entirely on Lex. His aura of a peak Nascent realm was crashing down heavily, though it seemed to only be doing so on Lex and Cirk.
Still, the entire room was hushed down, and all eyes turned to look at him. The figure apparently had some renown. Unfortunately, despite his stronger cultivation, he was at an absolute disadvantage when facing Lex. That was because this figure, much like Xeon, was part dragon. Lex could clearly sense the diluted dragon's blood running through the creature's veins. But the very fact that he was in the Nascent realm instead of an Earth Immortal was enough to betray the fact that he was not a true dragon.
Dragonlings were usually very strong, and more often than not, inherited a dragon's resistance to nearly all elements and forms of damage. But they also had an extremely pronounced weakness, which was that they become completely subservient in front of a true dragon. It was not a matter of whether they wanted to or not - it was programmed into their genes.
Although Lex was not a dragon, his Domination was an ability that fed off of dragon auras. In terms of hierarchy, it was technically above a dragon's aura, even though currently it was nowhere near as strong.
"That's exactly what I am trying to figure out as well!" Lex said, just as aggressively as the figure had earlier. "Why the hell is this report telling me that BGY-987 is completely fine, when I can tell you for certain it's not?"
Lex, this time, was quite loud and a tinge of his anger leaked out in his voice. Domination, which was previously restricted to only two of the elves, exploded and now encompassed the whole room!
The figure's eyes constricted as he felt his cultivation fade, as if his body itself did not dare act ostentatiously in front of this unknown person.
"Is this how the Henali is going to take on the Fuegan? If your performance is so pathetic that anyone at any time can interfere in your operations, then this whole war is nothing but a farce! Those who commit their soldiers to your cause are throwing lives away so you can play games and feed your egos!"
Lex had already thought of what to do in case he was questioned or stopped during this phase of the plan, but suppressing the dragonling like this was actually much more lowkey than his original plan. That was good. The less attention he attracted, the better.
"No, no, I assure you… our intel can't be wrong…" the figure tried to say, but the words and tone he had in his mind did not come out the same way when he spoke. Instead, it looked like he was afraid and groveling instead of fighting back. He meant to say that Lex's accusation was absurd, but now it sounded like he was doing his best to explain something to his superior.
"I don't need your assurances anymore. We have already seen the level of your competence. We sent our soldiers out to fulfill a bargain, but instead of fighting enemies for the betterment of the realm, our soldiers are being targeted for a personal vendetta. The Midnight Inn is going to withdraw its soldiers from this fight!"
"Who… who… who are… are you?" the figure managed to ask with his stuttering voice. "You… you… can't be here…"
Lex did not even answer the figure, but just looked at him derisively. He needed to keep matters here calm until they left. If someone tried to stop them, he was also ready to retaliate, although it would be best to avoid such a situation. After all, he was already anticipating a trap.
That's why he didn't bother explaining the situation properly to one of the superiors or commanders here. There was no guarantee that they weren't involved with whoever was targeting the Inn. It would be best to handle this matter privately, and as quietly as possible.
"I've learned the route," suddenly said Cirk, who stepped behind Lex. "Getting there should not be a problem, although there will be many checkpoints along the way. If we can get clearance, getting through would be much easier. Otherwise, we will have to go around, which will take much longer."
Lex nodded and reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope, and through it towards the tall figure. The dragonling managed to catch it right before the envelope hit his face. Somehow, despite being taller than Lex, he could not shake the feeling that he had been looked down on the entire time.
"We're a part of the Midnight Inn, going to go take our soldiers back. Deliver that to your highest ranked superior and make sure to give us clearance as we pass through. You, Bearlin, lead me to the hanger. We're flying out."
Led by the still absentminded elf, the two of them walked out of the room, finally allowing everyone to escape the influence of Domination. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but none was more flustered than the dragonling. In his hand, he held an envelope that radiated an aura even more intimidating than the one displayed by the masked man earlier. He nearly dropped to his knees.
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