Chapter 1412: Chapter 1412 We Decline

Rex found what Serevan was talking about incredulous.

Had it been the subjects of the Zahara Consortium, who were spooked by his sudden arrival, he would have understood. Someone with a reputation like him—coming to visit the kingdom was not something ordinary, and it was understandable for them to be scared.

However, that was completely different for someone in Serevan's position.

He's a ruler, he should've acted like one.

For Rex to come here on his own, albeit through sneaking—it should show that he came here in peace. If he wanted to declare war or even bring trouble to the kingdom, he would've done it first before coming to meet them.

In this case, Rex shouldn't have to tell it out loud to Serevan like this.

Realizing the dynamic, Rex averted his gaze toward Serevia who was still silent.

So you're the real ruler, your brother is only a puppet to have an intimidating persona.

Just from one exchange alone, Rex could already crack their dynamic.

Having two rulers within a kingdom is something uncommon and frankly speaking—was also outdated. In this kind of construct, the possibility of a civil war became way higher, and even if there was no civil war, there was always one ruler who wielded more power than the other.

And in the latter case, it became the same as a regular kingdom—one ruler.

Not to mention—his whiskers are pale blue. Serevan is nervous. On the other hand, Servia's whiskers are still pink. Iris said that if their whiskers retained the same color as their ears or furs, they were calm and collected.

Picking up the cues, it became more apparent that Serevia was the ruler.

Rex was already 80% sure but to confirm this, he had a plan in mind.

"Calm down, brother." Serevia intervened, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. "I'm sure the Emperor came here to talk about something, and we ought to listen. Our kingdom is built around our businesses, and we're always open to making a deal"

Once she calmed Serevan down, she turned towards Rex.

She then explained, "I hope you understand, the creatures above us—are here to protect us. When the political talk started, both sides usually became… sensitive. As long as you keep it civil, there will not be any problem. Alas, none of them have sentience, so don't be burdened by their presence"

Upon hearing that, Rex eyed them both before he nodded.

He couldn't quite force them to do anything.

Placing his hands on his knees, he took out more space to be seen as more intimidating.

"By the way, before we begin," Rex said, his gaze shifting between Serevan and Serevia with a hint of curiosity, "who should I be addressing? Which one of you—holds the real authority? Who's the true ruler here?"

Hearing this, Serevia and Serevan were stunned.

But Serevia was the one who was quick to recover, "Me and my brother ruled together, but in the matter of safety—for the entire kingdom, my brother who is adept in it—has a say more. I am here only to listen and advise him"

"Yes…" Serevan nodded, there was a slight hesitance in his nod. "that's correct"

Upon hearing this, Rex nodded.

It's Serevia alright, you're the one who I need to convince.

"Firstly, let me ask you this," Rex said and paused for an uncomfortable amount of seconds. "Your Kingdom… which side is your kingdom decided to be on? Is it our side, the inhabitants of this continent, or the usurper—the Dark Angels?"

Serevan crossed his arms, "You're very direct,"

"Really direct…" Serevia added, sipping on her tea gracefully.

Pausing for a second, Serevan answered, "Our kingdom sided with nobody, we are only the middleman. It doesn't matter which side won the war, we're only serving ourselves and also those that are a part of us"

"I heard you made a deal with the Dark Angels," Rex added. "What do you make of that?"

"Simple," Serevan shrugged. "the Dark Angels came to us with an offer first"

"So this a bidding war to win over your kingdom I see," Rex mused lightly—he did not expect the Zahara Consortium would be this greedy but he was not shunned by this. He has the aid of the System, if this was a battle of resources, he couldn't be beaten. "I understand"

Knowing how this works, Rex placed the Dexterous Cat Statue on the table.

It made a heavy thudding sound, the statue was quite heavy.

"I'm sure both of you know what this is," Rex said—making eye contact with them strongly. "this is the Dexterous Cat Statue that could tap into your bloodline and resurface what you have lost. Allowing you, the Tabaxis to have two forms. I know what your race's past is, you needed to shed your pure appearance and adopt the appearance of Humans to survive. I empathize. And with this statue, you could reclaim your original form while also retaining your current form"

"Since there was no Ancient Human left, nobody would stop you," He added in a firm tone.

Rex had asked for a suggestion from the System for a gift.

Since he came here in peace with the sole intention of befriending the Tabaxis, and perhaps coaxing them to his side, coming with a gift is mandatory. As the System filtered the Shop, it recommended this Dexterous Cat Statue item.

Other than the tragic story behind the reason the Tabaxis has become more human-like in their appearance—and also nostalgia, there is another reason. Becoming more human-like meant that they also abandoned most of their original powers.

A lot of their powers became incompatible with their new humanoid body.

Even though, from the looks of it, the Tabaxis found another way to become stronger, thus propelling their race to the mid-rank Supernatural race, they could be stronger. This statue Rex placed on the table is the key to their growth.

"I can give you ten of these easily," Rex said, patting the cat statue.

Upon hearing this, Kazzir who was still watching from behind choked, "Ten?!"

"Yes," Rex glanced over his shoulder to look at Kazzir. "I can give you ten"

Despite attempting to keep their composures, Serevan and Serevia gasped when they heard that Rex could give them ten. At most, they thought he would offer them this statue and also compensate them in other ways.

None of the two expected Rex offering to give them ten.

Recovering from the initial shock, Serevan frowned, "Big words, I doubt you have ten statues. Our race has been searching for this statue, the remnant of the direct lineage from our Origin for years on end. What makes you think we'll trust your claim?'

"Holy Origin, Your Highness... He's Rex Silverstar!" Kazzir intervened from behind.

His eyes were green from greed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Upon hearing this, Rex smirked and gestured towards Kazzir behind him.

"You could trust me," He taunted, amused that he got backup support from Kazzir. "I'm one who wouldn't break promises, and I'm sure the ten statues are a way better deal—than the Dark Angels could offer your kingdom"

Naturally, the temptation of these gifts was unlike any other.

Serevan and Serevia were completely enticed, their eyes locked onto the cat statue.

At that moment, however, Rex noticed Serevia's whiskers were turning from pink to pale blue.

It was a rapid change and in another moment, her whiskers became baby blue.

Something that caught Rex off guard.

Blue means fear. What is she fearful about? This is nothing to be scared of.

Just as he thought of that, his train of thought broke.

"What are you two hesitating for?" Kazzir yelped desperately. "Accept the offer! It's good!"

Serervan quickly cleared his throat, "Even then, we can not trust you would deliver. Unlike us true Supernaturals, who could be bound in oath by our Origin, you don't have an Origin. If we accept this, we're going to only have your words to depend on"

As soon as Serevan said that, Rex smiled—he was waiting for this.

It was right for him to approach Kazzir first before meeting with these two.

Rex obtained good intel from him and prepared a proper answer to coax these two.

"In a normal case, you're right…" Rex mumbled silently.

Upon hearing this, Serevia frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe because you're a new mid-rank Supernatural race and you weren't kept in the loop," Rex said, his smile grew wider—as these two had no idea—who they were dealing with. "But the Dark Angels has no Origin"

"…"

Silence enveloped the room once he said that.

Serevan exchanged a look at Serevia, utterly confused as to what Rex meant by that.

They asked Rex to explain but his answer made them even more confused.

"I don't understand…" Serevan fixed his sitting position uncomfortably—this topic made him uneasy. "Any Supernatural race that walked this earth could be traced down—to one Origin and the Origin's influence will never fade in them. Even if their Origin has passed they would still be bound by their Origin's power"

Serevia then added, "The Dark Angels made an oath to their Origin, so they are bound by it"

"Yes, I know how the Origin Oath works," Rex nodded. "But I'm telling the truth—the Angels have an Origin but the Dark Angels…? Their Origin is in the making—they are still bound by the First Light but the attachment has become weak. It wouldn't be a surprise if they could even break the oath"

"No, that's not possible!" Serevan slammed his hands on the table. "You're only trying to influence our decision!"

"Am I now…?" Rex leaned back and smirked.

Just his response alone made Serevan and even Serevia even more undecided.

On one hand, they believed in the Origin Oath immensely.

Nothing in the ancient era could break it, and it's also considered sacred by everyone.

However, on the other hand, they couldn't deny the change happening to the Angels.

Both of them were confused as to which one should they believe.

Serevia on the side, frowned hard as she didn't anticipate this at all, 'It was our plan to make the Dark Angels voice an oath to not attack us in case they won against the other big forces in this continent. It was our absolute ticket for safety. But it was only a fluke?'

Naturally, given another viewpoint, Serevia was unnerved.

She couldn't help but second-guess everything.

If the oath was working normally, having Archangel Calignar tell Void to make an oath would be insurance for the Zahara Consortium to survive. Once Void makes the oath, that would mean absolute safety for the kingdom.

An Origin Oath was so strong that Void wouldn't be able to tell his forces to attack.

Breaching the oath would mean the death of his body and also soul.

Serevia was aiming for that.

However, thinking back, Archangel Calignar did give away his oath too easily.

Knowing how destructive and aggressive the Dark Angels were, the nonchalance from them as they made an oath—strengthened Rex's claim. It might really be true when Rex said they were not bound by the oath.

Because of that, they gave away the oath so easily—tricking Serevia and the entire kingdom.

Seeing that they were shaking, Rex decided that this was the perfect opportunity to end this.

"See for what it is," Rex said, clasping his hands on the table dominantly. "If you accepted the Dark Angels, there is a chance they would turn on you. All they wanted was to reign supreme over everyone. What makes you think they're going to stop when they triumphed?"

"On the other hand, if you sided with me, the other high-rank Supernatural races are going to bare their fangs at you for almost siding with the Dark Angels—and they would shun you. But none of them would attack you because you'd have me behind you. Your kingdom, without a doubt, would survive" He added convincingly.

Any sane ruler would accept his proposition.

Upon saying that, Rex looks at Serevia intently—the real ruler of the Zahara Consortium.

"So what do you say?" He asked. "I'm only asking for cooperation and ditch the other side"

Serevia was surprised to see Rex looking at her and ignoring Serevan altogether, but the question distracted her and made her contemplate hard. After a brief pause, she bit her lower lip and answered.

"I'm sorry," She muttered lightly. "we decline your offer. Please see your way out…"

"What?" Rex sucked in a cold breath, shocked.