201 Chapter 201: Intentions

Gerald alongside numerous officials of the Gyro kingdom after a long journey arrived at the foot of the mountain where the palace of the dead was built. As some were only nobles and had no cultivation, they could not fly like Gerald and Creed, so they could only stare at the mountain shrouded in darkish purple deadly aura from a distance, while they wait for the King of Gyro, his royal guards and the military force head, Creed to return with good news.

Gerald and his group flew towards the peak of the mountain for the very first time and they felt extremely nervous. Even though they could tell that Derik's aura surrounding the building was not meant to harm them and the corrosive qualities of his aura have been withdrawn, they still could not help but feel restless in the presence of this death aura.

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"My king… Lord Creed" Numerous experts of palace greeted Gerald and the others respectfully when they arrived.

From that point, they were lead towards the main building where the palace master resides, located at the heart of the mountain. It was this spot that was shrouded in darkness the most. So dark that Gerald and the others that came with him could not see but the members of the palace didn't seem to be disturbed by this. In fact, they could even see clearer than usual in this condition.

The top of the mountain had turned grey since no form of vegetation here could survive due to Derik's aura, the bodies of every member of the palace also exuded a similar dark aura like that of Derik and their body seemed to be undergoing some mysterious changes. As for those who possess dark type of magic, their overall power rose but their complexion was mysteriously pale. Most of them had completely black eyes and their fingernails coupled with their lips were strangely black as well.

As for those possessing supernatural powers, their monstrous form was somehow enhanced, they looked like monsters that have undergone mutation. Werewolves amongst the group were as big as full-grown bears and their claws exuded dark aura. Their eyes were blood red and their furs were quite spiky, meanwhile, the vampires in the group which were known for their extraordinary beauty had lost their graceful appearances and were more like ghastly creatures with protruding claws and terrifying fangs which seemed so sharp that these people believed it may be able to tear through steel.

The most confusing thing about the issue was that this was that they were not bothered about the alterations in their looks, instead, they were joyous and most people fought against another just to get a chance to cultivate right in front of Derik's mansion, where the aura was thicker. Along the way, Gerald spotted the usually black-robed councilman of the Cato kingdom who moved in a year ago. The old man was already at the end of his life but when he heard the magical effects of Derik's death aura on all those possessing a form of evil magic, he left everything behind and joined the famous palace. Seeing him now, the wrinkles on the man's skin vanished miraculously and he looked a lot younger than before. He sat in a cross-legged position, right beside Derik's mansion, and cultivated in silence. The stunning change shocked these people.

"The palace master is ready to see you, King Gerald and Lord Creed… the rest shall remain here." Kira finally appeared from the building after some time and spoke up to them.

He looked paler than usual and his black shoulder-length hair now had streaks of red dye on it. His glowing red eyes within the cloak was like a surging sea of blood and the aura which diffused from his body showed he has reached a realm beyond something mere peak silver realm elites were at but he was still far from the gold realm.

The stunning speed of his growth terrified everyone, including Creed. If the palace of the dead should choose to revolt, the only ones that can match their strength are members of the palace of life. But this did not bother Gerald since he already trusted Derik.

They were soon led into the mansion under numerous envious gazes and they were taken into an empty room on the first floor, there they gained access to the underground tunnel, leading to Derik's underground training chamber.

If it weren't for the fact they were following Derik's voice, they wouldn't have been able to make it this far since Derik's aura was preventing them from seeing where they were going.

At last, they arrived in front of a mighty black iron door, with just their senses, they could feel the monstrous aura sealed within the other side of the iron door. If they were not familiar with Derik, they would have mistaken the person at the other side of the room as the angel of death.

"Speak…" Derik spoke softly from the other side of the room.

"I demand to know master Derik's intentions… You were quite capable of saving all of Cato if you sent your undead generals on time a year ago… yet you waited till the last moment, which leads to the death of hundreds of thousands of humans! Our kind!!" Creed spoke passionately with rage burning in his eyes and his aura rising.

Bang!!

The military general felt like a mountain was dropped on his back and he instantly fell on both knees. A bone-cracking sound was heard from the man's knees and he spat out a mouthful of fresh red blood.

"Silence… You will keep your emotions and lower your voice when you speak to me… Do you understand?" Derik's voice was icy cold.

"Yes… I understand…" Creed responded quickly as he had this illusion of a pair of fiery darkish purple eyes peeping into his soul!

"Gold realm!" He screamed silently and his body was already covered in sweat.

"I did not come here to save all of mankind… No, that's what a hero does and I'm not a hero… I'm only doing this to eradicate the being that dares to threaten my existence… and to do this I require capable fighters… The remaining ten thousand civilians I saved is just to make sure Cato does not fade… This is mercy… My mercy… Be grateful" Derik answered indifferently.

His answer made these people shudder in fear! Who would have thought this death mage was so ruthless.

"What about Alda and Baldmar? We can step in and pull them out now… we can prevent the same calamity that befell Cato from happening to them…" Gerald spoke after some time.

"Why would I want to save them? I can simply use the same method I used for Cato on them… This will go smoother that way" Derik responded almost instantly.

"What about Elsa…" Gerald said those words with a sly smile on his face. He was obviously trying to blackmail Derik's feelings for the elf

"What about her?" Derik responded after a short pause.

"Will you let her die? She may be amongst the casualties if you let the same bloody situation that occurred in Cato repeat itself" Gerald was stunned by Derik's answer.

"She won't… I am watching over her… even now… She is safe… The rest does not really matter to me…" Derik answered coldly.

"How? You!!" Gerald's eyebrows were knitted after Derik responded.

"Hahaha! Look at it from this perspective Gerald, my friend… I am weakening them before bringing them over… Gyro lacks the resources to feed these extras for a long time, neither do we have the space to accommodate them… We cannot expand as long as the threat of those dragons remains and I'm not planning to let them go even after this crisis… More than ever, the world needs a united force… I'll forcefully bring them under our rule… There are no negotiations here… Even Cyrus agrees with my method…" Derik's voice faded slowly as he spoke and when he was done, his presence had completely vanished.

Gerald and Creed were stunned when they heard Derik's intentions. They never thought this kid would think this far!

Renewed fear for the death mage appeared in their hearts and they dared not linger here any longer. They could only leave the place and relay Derik's words to everyone.