"Let the party begin!! Hahahaha!"
The atmosphere in the great hall of the Terra Castle turned into such a festival, following those words. The melodious yet lively tunes of music sounded in the air amongst the passionate singing and dancing of the people filling the great hall where several long tables filled with sumptuous food could be seen.
In the midst of this, Lord Izta was seen sitting in the center of the hall, next to his first wife Rosia. A glass filled with alcoholic beverages was held by his hand, as his eyes looked at the excitement around him.
Sitting across the right side of the table in front of Lord Izta were his other wives and generals – Silica, Camilla, Grisa, and Yuria to be exact. Meanwhile, sitting opposite the beautiful ladies were Emery who sat together with his four friends, plus the Eastern Sage and his little girl Naya.
The rest of the great hall was filled with the 300 golden warriors and 10 captains under Lord Izta, most of whom had just returned alongside the latter from the frontline. They were all currently having fun and enjoying the feast, momentarily forgetting their duties as soldiers.
Contrary to common custom, the party didn't just end within the great hall. It spread to the grounds of Terra Castle where the silver warriors were, and even to the citizens of the city. Simply put, the entirety of Terra Kingdom were celebrating the return of their beloved king, the Champion of the Realm, the Great Gilgamesh.
"Hahahah! Now this is what I call a great night!" Laughing boisterously, Lord Izta eyed the people before him. "My wives are here, and my little brother and sister as well as my old friend are also here!"
Lord Izta raised his glass to the Eastern Sage, a wide smile could be seen on his face. Even though he didn't seem at all enthusiastic about the lavish feast, Fuxi still raised his wine glass and accepted the toast.
Emery and his friends, on the other hand, found it difficult to enjoy the party after knowing about Lord Izta's relationship to the Nephilim faction. Still, despite being worried about the whole matter, they tried their best not to spoil the party.
Julian quietly leaned his body and whispered his worries. "Are we going to party all night? Tomorrow is the appointed meeting time."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Just let the Lord have his fun first. After all, he just came back from the war," Thrax replied as he picked up a piece of steak.
Julian looked at Emery with raised eyebrows. Seeing that, Emery glanced at Lord Izta and helplessly shook his head when he saw the latter's countenance. Realizing the situation, the Roman heaved a sigh.
***
Just as expected, Lord Izta enjoyed the party too much. He was drinking so much that the night ended with him pulling all his five beautiful wives into his bed-chamber, leaving Emery and his friends at a loss as to what they should do.
Apparently, there won't be any discussion happening tonight.
All of them were silent as they looked at the empty chairs where Lord Izta and his wives sat earlier. At this moment, Thrax suddenly opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry, guys. The guy is my idol, so it's a bit hard for me to hate him. So what if he's part Nephilim? I honestly don't really care."
The Eastern Sage didn't seem surprised by the development of events. A few moments after Lord Izta withdrew with his wives, he stood up from his seat and beckoned Naya to stand up. Together, they left the great hall – presumably to their accomodation.
As for Klea, the girl quickly grabbed Emery's arm, gripped it tightly and then looked him straight in the eye. "You don't need a second wife, do you? Don't you even dare," She said, narrowing her eyes.
The next moment, Klea stood up from her chair and dragged Emery into one of the empty rooms in the Terra castle. A dangerous glint flashed across her eyes as she stared at his body hungrily.
However, just as the girl licked her lips and was about to play the dangerous game, the two of them were interrupted by loud moans and screams coming from the direction of Lord Izta's bed-chamber. Emery could clearly see how Klea's mood was ruined by it.
***
Early the next morning, the group had gathered once again. All of them were waiting for Lord Izta to wake up, especially Emery and his friends who were feeling restless. Today, they would meet with the Nephilim faction together at noon. Hence they hoped that they could have a discussion before the meeting.
A few minutes later, a figure finally entered the hall.
"I'm sorry… I was having too much fun last night." Sitting at his seat, Lord Izta smiled at Emery and the others. "Let us talk now!"
The group knew what they wanted. They wanted Earth to be granted independence so that it could create its own faction. What they were considering right now was, what they would be willing to sacrifice for its price.
Lord Izta placed his hand together and looked towards the Eastern Sage saying, "If it leads to a duel, are you willing to help, old man?"
When he heard the question, Fuxi replied in a nonchalant tone. "If it really comes to that, yes I will."
"Then we have nothing to worry about," said Lord Izta while leaning his body on the back of his chair.
Hearing such words, Julian braved himself to ask Lord Izta about his relationship to the Nephilim, and whether he would put himself out for the sake of Earth. The answer he received started with a smack on the table.
"Are you crazy? Of course I will! This was never about blood. This is about our people, our independence."
The strong conviction that Lord Izta had as he spoke such words was satisfying and reassuring to Julian and the others. The group was delighted until the Eastern Sage suddenly opened his mouth.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Izta, you know that in the end, it's all about her..." Staring at his old friend, Fuxi spoke once again. "..are we willing to give her up?"
Lord Izta was silent for a moment before saying, "No. Of course, we won't!"
The Eastern Sage didn't say anything else after that, and the atmosphere suddenly became somber. At this moment, Julian raised his hand and interrupted, "I'm sorry to say this, but who does 'her' refer to?"
The two first generation Earth's acolytes fell silent. But fortunately, Emery seemed to have guessed who was mentioned. "It's Gaia. The Nephilim wanted the Primordial Wisp, didn't they?"
As if confirming the hypothesis, the Eastern Sage said, "I believe that if we were to hand over Gaia, they would gladly leave us alone."
Hearing that, Emery quickly opened his mouth. "No! Why… how could we do such a thing?!"
At that moment, Emery suddenly thought about how Gaia had helped him so much. Even his bloodline that allowed him to obtain his current status originated from her. He, the Fey, was the protector of Gaia. as such, he couldn't give her up.
However, he soon realized that apart from Klea, his other friends had absolutely no attachment to Gaia. This was evidenced by the next words Julian spoke.
"What would actually happen if they took the Wisp away? What would happen to our planet?"
Even though he knew the reason very well, Emery's heart still ached when he heard his friend talk about Gaia's fate in such a rational tone. Meanwhile, the Eastern Sage answered the Roman's inquiry.
"Gaia is like the heart of the planet. If she was taken away, the planet would start heading towards its end. Less harvest, less birth, less spirit energy; those are just a few examples of the consequences."
On the other hand, Lord Izta's expression turned serious. "Look, we will not let them take her away. That's the end of the matter."
It was at this moment that Emery received a notification from the symbol on his hand. It was a message from Headmaster Delbrand, notifying him about the location and time to meet up with the Nephilim.