THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

As the tears from the students of Rehearsal Class dropped to the ground at Whitney's death, Basil silently left the tent. He didn't want the others to notice that he was the only person that didn't cry.

Although he appreciated Whitney's company for the time they had spent together, he wasn't as close to him as they were. It was hard for him to feel anything, but he could still respect Whitney as an acquaintance.

He had shown his kindness by blessing Whitney before he passed away. It was a big deal considering that Whitney wasn't a Pacifer.

Not only that, Basil had even quickened Whitney's death. He knew Whitney would have to suffer for another week before eventually passing away from his rampaging Mana, and he didn't want Whitney to go through that.

Whitney's heart was already damaged, and the reason why his condition had kept deteriorating was the fact that his heart couldn't fully control the Mana in the Magic Circles Carved on his heart.

The pill Basil had given Whitney the moment he entered the tent had slowed down Whitney's heart rate while also expelling all of the Mana trapped in his blood stream. It was originally a pill for detoxification, but it ended up relieving Whitney of his pain.

Everyone would be mad if the truth ever got out, but it was obvious that Basil had just shown his consideration towards Whitney by doing that. It seemed cold, however because of him, Whitney didn't have to suffer for long.

"I have tried my best to not allow myself and you to have a regret. Alas, I can't tell you what not to do." Basil clicked his tongue bitterly. "I have lost the mother who had raised me, and you have lost one of your family members due to your choice."

Looking far away, Basil muttered, "The only difference is, you couldn't witness his end."

Ione, who had been following Basil around, had been keeping her silence ever since Basil entered the tent. She had watched how Basil had interacted with Whitney, and how considerably genuine it was compared to his interaction with others.

She could see that her Lord didn't have any attachment to the people inside the tent. She could also tell, however, the people inside had earned the right to be treated as allies by her Lord.

She had been sure her Lord was a cold-hearted person who was hellbent on never treating people that didn't have any spiritual connection with him or benefit him seriously, but she was proven wrong from what she had witnessed.

His master just chose people extremely carefully, which was why he treated most of the people coldly ... At least, that is what she got from her observation; she still couldn't tell if there was an underlying reason for Basil to do what he had done.

"Your army is waiting, My Lord," Ione whispered as she looked at the crowd standing in front of them. "I think this is about the Demons in the Obelisk."

Basil, who had expected something like this to happen since the beginning, naturally didn't need Ione to tell him. He had known the moment Glenn greeted him, Glenn was meaning to ask him to lead the army into the Obelisk.

He had immediately walked past Glenn at that time—thus he could avoid talking about the matter. Now that he had concluded his matter, he didn't have any reason to avoid talking about the matter anymore.

Looking at the crowd, Basil's eyes were focused on the four Princes standing amongst Glenn and his fellow Legion Commanders. All of them, except Edward, were looking at him haughtily.

Basil couldn't help sneering upon seeing their look. It was amusing to him that the three of them dared to make a face as if they had achieved something amazing in the battlefield.

They had lost splendidly. Even from Whitney's recount, it was clear that Edward had contributed the most, and yet they were shameless enough to give him that look.

"11,191 people have fallen in the battle against an opponent that none of you can handle," Basil said loudly. "It might sound like a great battle, yet in reality, it was just a massacre of 11,191 people."

Turning to Brenton, Cameron, and Dwight, Basil solemnly exclaimed, "It is unfortunate. The sacrifice is wasted on four people that can't even survive in the battlefield for a day by themselves!"

As the soldiers and the Legion Commanders widened their eyes in shock, the three Princes whom Basil was planting his eyes on creased their face.

Edward smiled in amusement, on the other hand, and he was curious how Basil would handle the situation. There was no way, after all, the three weren't going to fire back at Basil.

"A mere peasant dares to look down us? Ludicrous!"

"Watch your mouth, bastard! Know your place!"

"Being a Temporary Head Commander doesn't give you the free right to insult Royalties!"

Instead of showing the face of someone who regretted what he had said, Basil's sneer even got more apparent. This caused the three Princes to be even more riled up.

"Pray tell me, which part of what I said is wrong?" Basil asked disdainfully.

"This cheeky little bastard!" Cameron clenched his fist in rage. "Listen here, you—"

Bam!

Once again, everyone's eyes widened in surprise as Basil suddenly appeared in front of Cameron and punched him right in the solar plexus. Cameron immediately dropped to the ground, gasping for air while clutching his dented armour.

The other Princes who had acted as if they could put Basil under their feet instantly shuddered the moment Basil turned his head to them. Their soul trembled as they looked into his incomprehensible and cold eyes.

Boom!

It didn't stop there. Basil also materialized his five Ultimate Circles, pressuring everyone there with his overwhelming Mana.

Thud!

Everyone instantly kneeled on the ground upon feeling the pressure. Some of them even kissed the ground because they couldn't handle it.

Ione, the strongest person there after Basil, was even forced to materialize her Magic Circles to fight off Basil's pressure. She didn't mind to kneel for Basil, however she didn't want to do it when it was clear that those who knelt were those in fault.

"Tell me, how can you have the audacity to put on the face of someone who has won?"

Basil's voice was echoed throughout the entire camp. All of the people staying in the camp, except the people in Whitney's tent, were kneeling around him as if he was their Lord.

It was a very epic scene to look at from the onlooker's perspective. Only those who were kneeling, however, knew how excruciating it actually was.

"People lost their precious friends—family. Those who have fallen lost their lives, leaving their wives, children, mothers, and fathers behind." Basil gazed at the kneeling three Princes. "All for the sake of rescuing you."

At this point, none of the Princes wanted to argue with Basil. Seeing how Basil could put everyone under his control, they knew they could be killed then and there, and no one would say a thing about it.

They didn't want to waste their life that way—thus why they didn't argue with Basil.

"... Because of you, I can't even tell if my lover is still alive," Basil said bitterly.

At that mention, everyone's eyes darkened. The news about Iliana being taken away by Goap was, after all, already widespread; they knew who she was, and they were anticipating this moment.

Seeing how things were going, they expected Basil to kill some of them before ceasing his anger. Contrary to their expectation however, Basil immediately retracted his Mana Pressure.

Thud!

They immediately dropped to the ground as soon as the pressure was alleviated. They didn't know they were that fatigued until they laid their body on the ground.

Looking at Basil with curiosity in their eyes, they immediately turned their gaze away in shame. They had seen Basil shaking his head as if he was regretting what he had done.

They were right about him regretting his action, but they weren't the reason why Basil regretted what he had done. He regretted venting his frustration on them because he knew he had just wasted his time.

He had thought he was already professional enough to not let his emotion get the better of him. He had only just found, however, that wasn't the case if it was pertaining to Iliana.

Without even saying anything, Basil left the camp to clear his mind. Ione immediately followed after him, and the people could only wonder if Basil would return.

"W-Where is he going?"

"T-That is..."

They immediately widened their eyes when they saw the direction where Basil was walking to, and they couldn't help immediately standing up. He was walking towards the Obelisk, indicating he was going to clear it.

The soldiers and the Legion Commanders naturally didn't want to let him go alone. They had disappointed him once, and they didn't want to disappoint him twice.

"Stay in your place."

Right before they followed after Basil however, Edward, who had been the first person to stand up, held the people back.

"Give Head Commander Basil some time. He is not going to just enter it."

No one objected what Edward said. All of them immediately sat down again, and mused about what had happened to them.

Never in their wildest dream had they ever imagined a Fifth Circle Mage could pressure them with such an unbelievable amount of Mana that should never belong to a Fifth Circle Mage.

"Are we going to waste our time in the Obelisk instead of rescuing Iliana, My Lord?"

"I am still making a way to save her, Ione."

Ione was slightly confused about what Basil had said, but nodded her head nonetheless. Her Lord was hard to understand at times—she knew the only way to handle it was to pretend as if she knew what he was talking about.

'It has been a while.'

[Basil ... Why do I have the urge to call you darling?]

'You don't have to call me that way, Vagus, or should I say, Asia?'

[Asia is fine ... Also, I will call you darling from now on.]

'... You can call me whatever you want, but I need your help.'

[Tell me.]

The Evolution of "Vagus" was finally done. Vagus had now turned into a complete Asia; with a new card in his arsenal, Basil finally got a way to take Iliana back.