As Selena and Leyfon planned, the rumor began to spread all around the academies in the last few days.
For such a high-profile person like Leyfon, his apprenticeship would become big news, so it wouldn't be weird for the news to actually reach the ears of the acting count of the Ashton family.
He clenched his fists while gritting his teeth. "This is bullshit. Why is everything coming her way? No. This is still just a rumor. There is no proof that she has become his student yet.
"I can't allow this to continue…" He glanced at the window, looking at the poor condition of the city. Even though they had been saved, it was due to the cloud-repelling device.
Instead of him, the one the citizens recognized as their savior was none other than Selena. That was right.
Selena wasn't aware of it, but when the cloud-repelling device reached this city, the envoy had been told to inform the citizens that the cloud-repelling device came earlier because of Selena.
As a result, people had no hesitation to sing a praise about her, considering she was still the legitimate heir of the Ashton family. If not for the count missing, she would have been here.
The people couldn't trust the Ashton family, who were currently under the leadership of her uncle, claiming him to be power hungry.
With such a poor opinion, his movement had been limited. In addition, other nobles were also scrutinizing him, frustrating him even more.
If Selena became the student of Sage Leyfon, they would be thrilled because this was the true heir to the Ashton family.
"I can't let her be. If this continues, the last bit of pillars that are still supporting my reign will be destroyed. No matter what, Selena has to die." He took a deep breath. "I need to learn more about the rumors to make sure that she hasn't become his disciple yet. Once it's confirmed, I will definitely kill her."
He only had three options. First would be coming to Selena and apologizing to her, but that might take his life away. The second option would be killing Selena before it was too late. As long as he did it cleanly, he could escape the responsibility. No, at this point, he might have to personally do it to ensure the success. Last but not least, he could run away. Unfortunately, with their ability, they might be able to find him in no time.
In such desperation, there was no other option for him. He had to eliminate the source of trouble, even if it meant risking his life.
While Selena and the Ashton family were clashing, other kingdoms were facing the aliens, specifically the tunnel.
In the south of the Holy Kingdom, a group of elite knights encountered a series of hills in the middle of nowhere.
They hurriedly investigated them and found multiple tunnels around the area. As a result, a subjugation mission was immediately issued as the summoners and soldiers worked together to clean up the tunnels before destroying the tunnels entirely.
Just like the Holy Kingdom, the Liaystian Kingdom found the same thing. As they originally predicted, the aliens created tunnels between the borders of the two countries. However, the end of the tunnel was still within one country.
The Holy Kingdom found the tunnels near the border between them and the Beast Kingdom, while the Liaystian Kingdom found the tunnels between their border and the Holy Kingdom's border.
With the additional information from the Azilia Kingdom, their subjugation mission ended in a much more orderly manner. They were organized and even launched a synchronized attack, allowing them to sweep away all the aliens that tried to protect the area.
In the end, the contribution ended up going to Nathan's group and the war minister. If not for them, there would be a disaster in all their front lines.
For this exact reason, King Julius had to personally give the reward. He called for his war minister, only to be surprised that he ended up having a private meeting instead.
"What? You don't want to get the reward?" Julius frowned.
"Yes. Although the battle is hard fought, I owe the young Nathan too much. If not for his help, we wouldn't have discovered the tunnels. In addition, he personally healed a lot of people.
"His healing ability was considered world class, rivaling those of archbishops or even the Pope."
"What? Really?" Julius frowned.
"Yes. That's what I can see. And he is claiming to be able to regrow one limb if he grows stronger. His healing ability might even be at the same level as the Pope's. Because he says it so lightly, as if it's not a big deal, I'm afraid that he doesn't need to pay a huge price, unlike the Pope.
"Besides, his knowledge is extremely valuable. He is lacking in experience, but if he learns for a year or two, I'm afraid that I would have to retire if I don't want to embarrass myself.
"Last but not least, his control over the battlefield is almost perfect. From the way I see it, while his personal ability is not that surprising, compared to the girls in his group, he is the most terrifying person among them.
"Hence, I believe you should reward him instead of me. Of course, we have to fulfill his request by compensating the people who have fallen in the battle handsomely.
"Even though his beast has exhausted his ena, he has a mysterious way to restore that ena to a certain extent, which is something I never thought would be possible… Maybe the fairy queen taught him that. He must have paid some price… just for the sake of saving more soldiers. As the war minister, I can't thank him enough.
"Compassion, bravery, trickery, intelligence, swiftness, and adaptability…" He sighed. "I can't say anything bad about him."
Julius frowned. "In that case, should I call him to the capital and give him a title?"
"That's the problem. He doesn't like to get involved in politics. From what I can see, he is acting reserved to her highness due to this exact reason. However, after the volcanic eruption, it might not matter anymore.
"Besides, after talking to him for more than a week, I think I know exactly what he will accept…" The war minister smirked.