Imperial Throne

Chapter 133: Exchanging Words

Hearing Ion’s words, Raven fell silent.

In truth, he understood deep down that it was nearly impossible to restore their relationship to what it once was.

No matter what reasons or excuses he might offer, the moment he saw Ion, he already knew—their relationship had completely collapsed.

This left a trace of regret in his heart. If, back then, after hearing about Yam and Akar, he had gone to Ion right away, perhaps things would be entirely different now. But he had harbored a bit of wishful thinking at the time, believing their paths would never cross again. So naturally, he didn’t seek Ion out, but instead schemed to take the legacy in the ancient ruins for himself.

Now, looking back, he realized that many things had already been lost through each of his decisions.

“I’ll trade a secret with you.”

“What kind of trade?” Ion was silent for a long time before finally asking.

“Give me that Rusty Sword…”

“The sword is gone.” Ion shook his head. “If it were still here, I would have traded it with Barney already.”

Raven opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

Ion glanced at Raven but said nothing more.

The Rusty Sword was indeed gone. Yam now held the black Demonic Sword. Because of Cindy, their family already knew some of the sword’s abilities. Naturally, Ion believed that even if the Demonic Sword was placed in front of Raven now, he still wouldn’t recognize it.

Raven looked slightly disheartened. “Barney is still alive?”

“Dead.” Seeing Raven’s expression, Ion immediately guessed that Barney had definitely concealed something back then. “Did Barney know the exact location of the ruins?”

“He did.” Raven nodded, giving Ion a deep look, his eyes filled with a certain meaning. “But I didn’t expect you’d actually kill him.”

“He tried to exchange a secret for his life, and even specified he wanted to take that sword away. But the sword was already lost. When I escaped from that Bloodline User who attacked the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group, I lost the sword. How could I have given it to him?” Ion said calmly. “Besides, if it weren’t for his betrayal, how would the mercenary group have suffered that mishap? …Frankly, all of this happened because of you.”

“Because of me?”

“Barney said he killed Arwen for you, but you didn’t keep your promise to take him in. That’s why he betrayed the mercenary group.”

“Damn it!” Raven instantly flew into a rage. “That bastard! …Tell me you didn’t let him off easy!”

“I did torture him a bit.”

“Hmph.” Raven snorted coldly. “Barney used some tricks to torture and kill Arwen, extracted some information from him, and then came to blackmail me. He thought I was the one who killed Arsen. Back then, since he and others already knew the location of the ruins, we were all trying to find a way to open it. So I just gave him a bit of a lesson. I didn’t expect him to betray the mercenary group.”

“Then why did he want that Rusty Sword?”

“I don’t know.” Raven shook his head. “Maybe he had some guesses… after that great fire. Or maybe he had everything planned from the start and wanted to use the former Lord of Gem Territory to kill all of us and take the legacy for himself. He just didn’t expect that not only you, but I also managed to escape.”

“He knew you were alive.”

Ion said in a low voice.

In truth, Barney didn’t know. The fact that Raven had survived was something Ion deduced later from various clues. But that didn’t stop him from using it to bluff Raven. Since Barney was already dead, Raven couldn’t confront him. So for everything Ion couldn’t explain or didn’t want to explain, he could push all the blame onto Barney.

“Why do you think I knew you were alive and even found you?” Ion spoke again. “Barney discovered your traces but couldn’t confirm them. …Though I must admit, the illusion you created in the valley near Iron Wolf Mountain was quite effective. It misled me for a long time.”

Raven let out a light sigh.

He knew—that too had been one of his failures.

If he had some room to argue before, then by setting up that false trail, all explanations became pointless. So he understood why Ion said he no longer trusted him. After all, if their roles were reversed, he wouldn’t trust Ion either.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“The sword is gone,” Ion replied flatly.

“I know that’s not what you really care about.” Raven shook his head. “Even though you hide it well, still…”

Raven glanced around slightly, pursing his lips. “Didn’t you send these Bloodline Users away just to prevent some information from leaking?”

Ion didn’t know what Raven was thinking exactly, but he didn’t mind letting him continue with that impression.

“Then tell me, what do you think I want?”

“The whereabouts of your grandson,” Raven said slowly. “Ever since you learned that Arsen left behind a bloodline, you’ve been paying attention to this. Though you hide it well, don’t forget—what I was best at before was intelligence gathering and interrogation. Your eyes can’t deceive me.”

Ion remained silent.

Raven didn’t speak again either.

After a long while, Ion finally spoke slowly. “What do you want?”

“The heart of a Heartrock Tiger,” Raven said without hesitation.

“What is that?” Ion frowned. He had never heard of such a magical beast.

“A Third-Tier Magical Beast. It used to be found in Red Eagle Territory, but after the fall of the Bourbon Family, it can no longer be seen in Red Eagle Territory,” Raven hurriedly explained. “I don’t know exactly where to find it. I’ve been searching in secret for a long time. It was only last year that I found a clue—it might be near Lava Mountain.”

Hearing this, Ion’s brows furrowed deeply.

Lava Mountain was a branch range extending from the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range. Like the Eaglehead Mountains, this branch stretched from the main peak of the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range to the very top of the mountains—namely, the northern part of the Southern Region, known as the Eagle Wing Mountains. This range resembled the wings of a Demonic Eagle in flight: Lava Mountain lay at the tip of one wing and was one of the three famous peaks of the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range.

However, this mountain range was within the territory of Marquis Gondas—known as the Volcano Marquis, largely because of Lava Mountain, an active volcano.

“Why do you want the heart of that magical beast?” Ion asked grimly.

If it were a beast from Red Eagle Territory, he could think of a way to get it. Even magical beasts from Fertile Territory, White Mountain Territory, and Gem Territory still had some preserved. But magical beast materials from the Volcano Marquis’s domain weren’t something he could easily obtain.

There were only two ways to reach the Volcano Marquis’s territory: One, depart from Iceport in Cold Ridge Territory, enter the Glacier Mirror Sea, follow the coastline eastward, then turn into Inner Bay via the coastal canal of Bay Territory, and from there, enter Marquis Gondas’s domain through the Inner Bay Territory of the Southern Duke.

Or two, travel from County of Fertile Plains, follow the Small Eaglehead Mountains eastward, and after crossing three branch ranges of the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range, one would reach Marquis Gondas’s domain.

Of course, there was a third option.

That was to venture deep into the Greater Eaglehead Mountains, directly traversing the perilous Demonic Eagle Mountain Range to reach Marquis Gondas’s territory.

But anyone with a working brain wouldn’t choose this route.

Because in all of Red Eagle Territory, apart from Marquis Visen, no one dared claim they could cross the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range. Deep within those mountains lurked Sixth-Tier and even Seventh-Tier Magical Beasts.

And given the current state of relations between White Mountain Territory and the Fertile Plains, entering Fertile Plains from White Mountain Territory wasn’t even an option. Taking a big detour through Bayor Territory would take almost as long as going by sea.

But if one chose the sea route, then why not directly purchase this magical beast material from the major Southern Region merchant guilds?

Though the largest one now in Red Eagle Territory was the Bruno Merchant Guild, which only traded within Cold Ridge Territory, Red Eagle Territory, and Fertile Territory.

There were other major merchant guilds in the Southern Region.

The only issue would be the price, which would surely make Ion’s heart ache.

“The Bourbon Family had three bloodline advancement paths,” Raven said with a pained expression. “When we discovered the Bourbon Family’s ruin, there were only two bottles of Bloodline Potions left. One was for the Flame Demon Hound, the other for the Hellhound. We knew nothing at the time, so I ended up taking the Hellhound, while Arsen took the Flame Demon Hound… I didn’t know then the difference in advancement difficulty. By the time I learned, it was too late.”

“Three advancement paths?” Ion asked. “Why were there only two bottles?”

“One must not have been properly preserved. The bottle broke and the liquid inside evaporated,” Raven sighed. “I know what you want to ask, and I can tell you.”

“The three advancement paths are the Seventh-Tier Raging Flame Lion and the Hell Three-Headed Demon Hound, and the Sixth-Tier Flamewing Demon Dragon. The Flame Demon Hound corresponds to the Raging Flame Lion, while the Hellhound corresponds to the Hell Three-Headed Demon Hound.”

“Wait,” Ion suddenly interrupted Raven. “Didn’t you say the Bourbon Family’s bloodline was the Fire among the Four Extremes? Why do none of these three advancement paths have anything to do with fire?”

“How could they not?” Raven shook his head. “You still don’t understand bloodlines well enough… The Fire of the Four Extremes refers to all bloodlines related to ‘flame’ having a high success rate of advancement. So whether it’s the Raging Flame Lion, the Hell Three-Headed Demon Hound, or the Flamewing Demon Dragon, they are all closely related to fire-type bloodlines.”

“So, the Heartrock Tiger is the Third-Tier advancement bloodline for the Hellhound?”

“Yes!” Raven nodded. “The Third-Tier advancement bloodline for the Flame Demon Hound is the Flame Tiger.”

Hearing Raven’s words, Ion fell silent.

He suddenly realized a problem.

“You said before… that besides the Rusty Sword, the Bourbon Family’s bloodline was also needed to open the ruins. Does that mean it needs to be a Third-Tier bloodline?”

Raven paused in silence for a moment.

Then, after another brief silence, he finally nodded. “Yes. A Third-Tier bloodline is the minimum requirement.”

Ion had already understood what the Kasein Family was planning.

Red Eagle Territory once belonged to the Bourbon Family. When they were destroyed, their legacy was surely divided among the victors. But clearly, they had anticipated this from the beginning, so they had long prepared several secret places to store their inheritance—such as the ancient ruin where their family first rose to power, and the secret vault established later after becoming Counts of Red Eagle Territory.

Raven had found the ruin, but he did not know the location of the secret vault.

The Kasein Family also placed significant importance on Yam’s bloodline. They had even been waiting for Yam to advance to the Third Tier, and had already sent him the advancement formula and main ingredients for the Third-Tier bloodline. Clearly, the Kasein Family had already located the Bourbon Family’s secret vault, and were now just waiting for Yam’s Third-Tier advancement.

“But you said the Bourbon Family’s bloodline is the Fire among the Four Extremes. Then, after you reach the Third Tier, can you open it?”

Hearing this, Raven fell into deep silence.

After a long time, he finally said in a low voice, “I don’t know. But I have to try, don’t I? …This is already my last hope.”

Ion remained silent.

But he knew very well—Raven still wasn’t telling the whole truth. He must still be hiding some unknown secret.

However, Ion no longer cared.

He knew Raven’s advancement was doomed to fail.

Because if one followed the formula deliberately released by the Bourbon Family to concoct the Bloodline Potion, it would inevitably fail. The most crucial ingredient was the purification of the Demonic Sword. Without the purification effect, the Flame Hound could never mutate into the Flame Demon Hound.

This was also the reason why the ruin contained finished Bloodline Potions of the Flame Demon Hound and the Hellhound—and only one of each.

“Then first tell me who Arsen’s child is and where they are, and I’ll help you find the heart of the Heartrock Tiger.”

“You know that’s impossible.” Raven shook his head. “Just as you won’t speak, you no longer trust me, so I can’t possibly trust you.”

“But how do I know whether what you’re saying is true or false?” Ion asked in a low voice.

“You don’t have a choice.” Raven clenched his teeth, finally tearing off all pretense. “Unless you don’t care about your grandson!”

“He’s a boy.” Ion nodded.

Raven paused, then shut his mouth and said nothing more.

The two fell into a standoff.

Finally—

After more than ten minutes of silence, Ion finally spoke again. “I’ll compromise. You tell me the location of the ruin. I’ll send Akar to verify it. As long as it’s confirmed the ruin truly exists, and there’s enough evidence and traces to prove you’re not lying, I’ll immediately send someone to Iceport to try and buy what you need. After that, you’ll tell me the exact whereabouts of my grandson.”

Raven hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. “Alright.”