Chapter 178: The Event [2]

The Royal Coliseum at the heart of the city was slowly filling up. Dozens of guards stood at the entrance, observing everyone with sharp gazes, ensuring that no commotion occurred that would disrupt the gathering.

The place was extremely crowded, and everyone seemed to be talking at once, making it very difficult to hear oneself. Parents held their children's hands tightly, as cases of children going missing or being trampled in such gatherings were pretty common.

In the midst of this, a massive wyvern descended from the sky, casting an ominous shadow over everyone. They glanced up, spotting two people mounted on the muscular wyvern. Their eyes sparkled in amazement.

"Who is he? Is he a noble?"

"Is he a knight?"

"I doubt it, he isn't dressed like a knight," one man pointed out. "Also, no one from the four noble households possesses magical beasts like this."

The man then stroked his beard, a pondering expression crossing his features. "I heard these wyverns are very rare. In fact, all the wyverns in the human domain have either gone extinct or migrated elsewhere. One of them costs a fortune. So this begs the question: how did this nobody get their hands on one?"

"Wait, now I remember," someone chimed in. "I saw this wyvern heading towards the Royal Island. I think it belongs to a high dignitary who resides there."

While the others were busy whispering among themselves, the wyvern descended to a separate corner where no one was present. All eyes immediately turned to that spot, eager to see the people flying such a powerful creature.

The first person that caught their eyes was a beautiful raven-haired girl dressed in tomboyish fashion. Her clothes seemed to be made of expensive materials, yet they found her style a bit strange. Overall, they didn't get a bad impression of her—some people in the crowd couldn't help but praise her beauty.

Then it happened.

Their eyes fell on Nathan.

The first thing they noticed was his undernourished build. The people's expressions changed into frowns as they watched the man dismount the wyvern with great difficulty.

Some were even terrified that the skinny man might be blown away by the wind. Even though his choice of clothing—a silk purple robe—didn't seem out of place in terms of style, Nathan's undernourished physique contrasted starkly with the imposing wyvern and the glamorous girl beside him.

"He looks so frail."

"Is he even capable of being here?"

Whispers of skepticism and concern rippled through the crowd as Nathan struggled to dismount the wyvern. Despite the initial awe inspired by the wyvern's arrival, all eyes now scrutinized the skinny man, who seemed out of place in his surroundings.

"He's not from a noble family, that's for sure."

"I wonder how he managed to get his hands on such a creature."

"Could he be a guard? No, that doesn't sound right. How would any sane person entrust their child to a fragile old man who seems to have not eaten in days?"

Hearing their whispers, which weren't difficult to make out, Nyx threw them a sharp gaze. Although they didn't feel oppressed by her, there was something threatening about her eyes; it felt as if a demoness was glaring at them. They feared that if they stared longer, they'd be devoured.

"So scary."

"How old is that girl? She seems young, but those eyes…"

"Phew!" After successfully dismounting the wyvern with great difficulty, Nathan exclaimed as he held his back, a loud cracking sound reverberating through the air. The sound was so unmistakable that the people were forced to look at Nyx and Nathan again before looking ahead, recalling those chilling eyes.

"Come on, let's get going already," Nyx said as she held her grandpa's hand, her attention focused forward. "I'll guide you."

Nathan chuckled. "Ah, this old man is fine… he can move around just fine…"

"Hmph!" Nyx sneered, her eyes gleaming with annoyance. "You took more than two minutes to get down from the wyvern… what if someone accidentally knocked you over?"

"I…" Nathan stammered as Nyx tightened her grasp on his hand. Her beautiful little face was as indifferent as always, and her gaze was sharp. A tear escaped Nathan's eye as he flicked it away. Heavens, he really loved his naughty granddaughter a lot. Resisting the urge to pinch her cheeks, he nodded with a warm smile.

"Alright, I'll be under your car—"

However, Nathan wasn't able to finish his sentence as commotion arose within the crowd, diverting his attention to the direction everyone was glancing at with sparkling eyes.

"Look, those carriages seem familiar!"

"Aren't those from the Four Noble Households?"

"Yeah, it's truly them." Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

What everyone was pointing at were four luxurious carriages heading towards the entrance of the Royal Coliseum, each adorned with the distinct sigils and colors of the four noble households of the Vermilion Kingdom. Each carriage had knights riding powerful armored horses guarding them.

As they approached, the air around them seemed to shimmer with an aura of authority, drawing the attention of all present.

There were smaller noble families all over the Vermilion Kingdom, but these four were commonly referred to as the Big Four. Each and every one of them was somehow related to royalty, their history dating back to the creation of the kingdom.

They were almost as powerful as the king himself and had private armies of their own. There were even rumors that if something terrible happened to the Royal family, the throne would be passed to one of these families.

Nathan's eyes, which had been filled with happiness a few seconds ago, became dangerously narrowed as he saw the sigils of the Big Four. Nyx noticed the change in her grandfather's expression and looked at the carriages that had now come to a halt.

Inside one of the carriages, two men with silvery-white hair were seated—one of them was blindfold while the other had short hair that cascaded down his temples.

"You were right," the man with the short hair said, peering outside at the old man and the little girl standing close to the imposing wyvern. "The mad dog is really in the capital," he added with a smile on his face.