Honestly, a lot can happen in a short amount of time, and what happened with the girls while he was away was necessary; he realized this when he checked their strength in the morning. Your journey continues at m v|l-e'-novelhall.net
In fact, many things changed in that short period to the point that they were almost unrecognizable. They were at least twice as strong as before, which, for a cultivator, was an extremely significant shift.
When he asked, "What happened to you?" the answer couldn't have been shorter or more direct.
"We were useless, so we just got useful," was Samira's response. She had been feeling particularly bitter since the fight with Kryssia, where she had taken quite a beating.
In these few months, all the women had managed to reach the Grandmaster stage. Naturally, Strax checked why this had happened.
It was quite a simple determination, really... The system had been holding back the girls' cultivation update while he was conscious.
But, well, that could wait for later... Now, however, he had some business to attend to after suddenly waking up from days in a coma.
The first task, of course, he had already done. He checked on how his lovely wives were doing.
The second? He'd also already done that. He talked to Sylvia and received something from the system quite conveniently...
**[Bastard Daughter of the King]**
It was unusual to find someone like that, and it was actually quite beneficial to know he was now in a high and advantageous position. Knowing that Sylvia could indeed be the king's daughter gave him a trump card...
Of course, he wouldn't use a woman as a bargaining chip, much less use her to harm someone—he wasn't that kind of man...
Now, he was heading to the last problem he had to deal with, and, in fact, he was already at the final location.
The hallway of the duke's mansion was dead silent, though there were a few sounds of maids walking here and there, cleaning the corridors, windows, and so on, as that was their job.
"What the hell is going on here?" he muttered to himself as he walked toward Diana's office.
As he approached Diana's door, he could hear heavy footsteps on the other side, moving back and forth as if someone was distressed.
"H-h-hey, calm down! She was your mother's closest friend!" Both women took a few steps back, with Veronica nearly jumping out the window. The memory of his dragon aura flooded her mind, and she felt the same raw, destructive power now.
Strax stood silent for a few moments, struggling to process this revelation. The idea that this mysterious countess had once been his mother's best friend—a mother he'd never known—stirred a fury he could barely contain. His fists clenched tightly, and the dark, red-tinged aura pulsed wildly around him, mirroring the storm of emotions raging inside.
Diana and Veronica barely dared to breathe, overwhelmed by the crushing pressure in the air. Diana, realizing just how close Strax was to losing control, took a cautious step back, raising her hands slightly. "Strax... please, try to calm down. We understand this might be—"
Before she could finish, Strax took a step towards the door, his aura slowly dissipating as he forced himself to regain control. His face remained tense, but his presence began to stabilize. Deep down, he knew that losing control wouldn't solve anything. He needed answers.
"I want to meet this woman now. Even if I have to tear down this entire mansion," he thought.
Just as he lowered his aura, a deep, powerful voice echoed in his mind. "Strax, come here." Strax looked around, startled, trying to determine where the voice was coming from. Diana and Veronica, oblivious to the voice, noticed the sudden change in his expression but couldn't hear what he was hearing.
Strax cast one last look at Diana and Veronica before saying in a controlled, almost restrained tone, "I'll be back later." Without waiting for a response, he left the room, his mind racing. The voice kept calling him at regular intervals, like a persistent, ancient presence he'd never directly encountered before yet felt strangely familiar.
Strax walked through the mansion's corridors with purpose, ignoring the commotion around him. Servants and guards instinctively moved aside, sensing the ominous aura about him. Even the butler, who usually waited at the door of the patriarch's office, stepped back, unwilling to cross his path. Strax didn't have time for formalities.
He pushed open the heavy oak door and entered the meeting room without hesitation. The grand marble table and ornate tapestries gave the room an imposing atmosphere, but the tension was thick and stifling.
Seated in his patriarchal chair, his father looked up, meeting his gaze with an unreadable expression. Opposite him, facing away from Strax, stood a woman with fiery red hair—a vibrant, almost flaming color that instantly drew attention. She held a proud, still posture, as if aware that all eyes in the room were fixed on her.
Strax felt his body tense. He didn't know exactly what to expect from this woman, but something about her presence felt... familiar. Perhaps it was her confident stance or the way she seemed to command the space without even facing him. Yet the thought that she might hold a significant connection to his mother kept his mind sharp and his emotions dangerously close to the edge.
"I see you couldn't wait to make an entrance," his father commented in a neutral tone, masking both irritation and a hint of approval.
Strax didn't answer immediately. His attention was divided, but anger still coursed through him. Ignoring his father's tone, he directed his words to the red-haired woman with a hard, challenging voice.
"Who are you?"
Suddenly before the woman could turn to face him, a system tab appeared before her eyes... A new tab.
[Supreme-Class Mission Unlocked]