Guild Wars

The quartet looked behind to see the source of the cry, only to see the infant Draco being held roughly in the arms of an old man with a goatee and long black hair. He held a dagger close to the baby, putting pressure on it to try and stab the infant, but a black barrier manifested around the infant to protect it.

"MATTEO!" Dante roared like a wounded beast, his sanity slowly disappearing in front of the sight before him.

Lilith was more straightforward, screeching like a banshee as she charged forward to try and tear the fellow apart, but Elder Matteo simply grinned and manifested his own lesser God Serpent to blast the weakened Lilith away.

Fyre and Dominic were stunned for different reasons. Fyre because she never expected there to be a traitor in their clan who had been hidden all this time, and Dominic because he never thought Matteo would be so crazy, even though he knew the fellow was a traitor.

It was one thing to stab Dante in the back, but Dominic did not have any hatred towards his nephew Draco. That was his own flesh and blood in a way, and even he could understand that all hope for Gremory to ever have a normal life lay in Draco's growth and survival.

That was precisely why his betrayal did not cripple the lineage, at least, he didn't plan for it to. However, Matteo had gone a step too far, so far that even Dominic's eyes were red looking at the scene.

Lingtian roared with laughter. "Brother Matteo! It is so good to see you here!"

Matteo glanced at the fuming quartet with a casual grin and nodded to Lingtian. "It's great to be here, Brother Lingtian, and especially to see their wretched expressions."

In the end, Fyre could only grit her teeth and ask the question on everyone's minds. "Why? Why do this, Matteo?"

Matteo looked like he had been waiting for this question for a long time as he spoke freely.

"Why? Because I hate you, that's why! Years ago, my daughter participated in a skirmish against the Pangu lineage on your orders, "leader" Dante. Yet, she and her entire squad were captured and would almost have been put to death if I hadn't negotiated quickly with Brother Lingtian."

"I pleaded with you during many councils, with all of you, to launch a rescue operation for them. I even almost caved and told you I had a plan with Brother Lingtian to make the rescue easy and without losses, but no matter what I said, you all denied it, saying it was too dangerous!"

"Luckily for me, Brother Lingtian arranged a situation for my daughter to pretend to be the wife of one of the lower clan members, which prevented her from suffering a terrible fate within the Heavenly Imprisonment Tower!"

He pointed the dagger towards the four whose expressions had changed. "Previously that old fool, Litian was in charge, but now it's in the hands of Brother Lingtian. As long as I deal with this wretched brat, I can have my daughter back."

Fyre was holding Lilith who was too weak to even lift her head, while Dominic was panting with fury. He couldn't believe there was someone so stupid in this world!

Dante was silent and then went on his knees again, bowing in Matteo's direction. "Matteo, as a fellow father, I can understand your fury. I plead with you now to drop your hostilities and assist us in capturing Lingtian. Once he is in our hands, we can take back your daughter and everyone who has been harmed by the Pangu Lineage."

Dominic was surprised, then his eyes flashed a complicated look. He knew that his brother, while a good leader, was often outspoken and easy to read, not being very crafty. Most of his craftiness came from ideas and methods he would secretly whisper to his older brother.

But this time, he was truly impressed. Dante must have known that Matteo's daughter likely was either already dead or had suffered a terrible fate and was just being used by Lingtian for this moment.

Rather than reveal this and infuriate Matteo, who would definitely deny it, or try to make Matteo distrust Lingtian through word, which wouldn't work, Dante simply chose the direct method of promising salvation, which was easier to achieve.

For even if Matteo was stupid and completely braindead, he must have his doubts about Lingtian. What if after he did all this, his daughter was not returned? What guarantee did Lingtian give him?

This was also shown on Matteo's face as he visibly hesitated. It would be far easier to capture Lingtian or use him as ransom, or torture the location of his daughter from his mouth, especially since the Pangu Lineage had taken a huge blow today.

Seeing his hesitation, Lingtian's heart skipped a beat. He knew nothing he offered right now was better than what Dante was offering, and he certainly couldn't let this fool Matteo reunite with his daughter.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As such, his eyes became red and his voice was filled with cruelty. "Matteo, don't be a fool. It doesn't matter whether your daughter comes back or not, you have betrayed your lineage with your actions here! Even if you do as Dante says, you and your daughter will inevitably suffer ostracization and hatred later on!"

"They might forgive you, but will the others? You only have one choice, and that is to work with me, for that is the only way you can keep your identity and regain your daughter as well!" Lingtian concluded with insidious laughter.

Matteo's body trembled as he realized the horrifying truth; Lingtian was right! It didn't matter if he wavered now, his ending had been fixed from the moment he dared to kidnap Draco and threaten him in front of his parents.

As Lingtian said, the only path for him now lay with Lingtian himself, so Matteo had to ride it out. Even if he believed in Dante that he and the other three here would never bear a grudge, he had done this right in the open.

There was no coming back now.

With gritted teeth, Matteo's eyes became bloodshot. "Lingtian, even so, I want to see proof of my daughter's safety. You have always made excuses in the past about this, but without it, I would rather return to the lineage and face scorn."

Lingtian's heart skipped a beat and he knew this was a crucial moment, he had to stabilize this fellow in order to win, at any cost!

"No problem! It is easy enough to show that she is fine, just bring any device with a screen and internet and we can make a call back home!" Lingtian said.

Meanwhile, Dante lifted his head, then rose to his feet slowly, glancing at Matteo. "It's no longer about you, Matteo, or about young Rozalia, but your entire branch. Your decision now will affect them as well."

Matteo's face changed once again while Lingtian's pupils constricted to needle points. He never expected Dante to be so cruel, directly threatening the fellow's other family members like this.

However, Lingtian realized he had been foolish. For the future of his own son, Shangtian, he had committed unforgivable atrocities against his cousin and his own niece that would forever haunt his soul.

How could Dante, with the life of his own child in the balance, be any different? It must require Herculean willpower for him to remain where he was and not burn every ounce of his bloodline energy to rush at Matteo and wring his neck.

Matteo suddenly regretted all his actions. In his mind, things should have been simple; Lingtian would come and fight the lineage, Dominic would betray at a key moment, and the Pangu lineage would have the upper hand enough for him to get what he wanted.

Who knew Dominic was so considerate that he let the Pangu lineage suffer more? If the Primogenitor Giant had not wounded all of them like this, Matteo would not even be able to survive standing here like this.

"I…"

Those were Matteo's last words as a white line shone across his neck, revealing itself to be a sharp blade. His words were caught in his throat, quite literally, as his head slipped off his neck and fell to the side.

Baby Draco was about to fall, but was saved by soft feminine hands that held him gently and cradled him. In everyone's shock, they finally saw the person who executed the clean kill while they were all distracted.

"Isabella!" Dominic exclaimed with shock.

That's right, it was Dominic's own wife and the mother of Gremory. She was standing behind Matteo's collapsed and decapitated body with a slight smile on her face, a pair of swords floating around her body that were red and green from hilt to tip.

A thin blue outline surrounded her body, which also surrounded the floating swords. Standing before the crowd like this, they couldn't help but remember that in those wars years past, Isabella had also been famous in their Lineage for her skills, otherwise, she would not have gotten to marry a powerhouse like Dominic.