All eyes were fixed on one place.
Tension and fear were the only things that filled the council, until it felt as if silence itself was the only sound in the hall.
Every gaze was locked on the seat of the ruler of the Ice Region.
And one question echoed in everyone's minds:
Are we going to die here?
Does the Yeti King possess a miracle strong enough to fight the High Bloodlines?
Minutes passed in agonizing slowness, and before the Yeti King could speak, the Dragon King broke the silence again:
"Not only that, Giant Lord, and you too, Vampire Lord.
We have learned that the Yeti King is a traitor to the Middle Regions, and he is in alliance with humans!
He wants to rule the Middle Regions, do as he pleases, kill whoever he wants.
He is a tyrant — insolent, wicked — betraying his homeland and siding with our enemies.
That is why I ask the High Bloodlines to kill him and protect us from his evil."
This time, the Middle Bloodlines were not shocked.
They were used to the Dragon King's brazenness — in fact, the more he spoke, the more shameless he became.
They thought bitterly to themselves:
"So this was the plan all along… We were summoned here just to be told the Yeti King is a traitor.
We will all fight him together, lose alongside him, and then he will be killed — leaving only the Dragon King.
When the Middle Bloodlines learn their kings and heirs are dead, they will rise for revenge against the humans,
and the war will become a truly 'holy' war.
This way, the High Bloodlines will have wiped us out, but no one will know.
We will appear as the heroes of the Middle Regions, sacrificing ourselves for its protection,
and we will become the spark that ignites the war against humans."
They now realized that this council, built by their ancestors as the seat of governance,
had turned into their collective grave.
Some sighed and thought:
"We never imagined that this place, created by our forefathers to lead our regions,
would become the very place where we and our bloodlines meet our end."
Grief, despair, and hopelessness weighed heavily on their faces.
Any glimmer of hope for survival had been extinguished.
The Giant spoke in a booming voice, addressing the Yeti King:
"Traitor! Do you betray all the bloodlines for the sake of humans?
You deserve death!"
He stretched out his hand to crush him, but was stopped by the Vampire Lord's sharp voice:
"Wait!"
The Giant glared coldly and asked:
"What do you mean by this, Vampire? Explain yourself."
The Vampire smirked as he replied:
"Don't you notice there's something strange about the Yeti King?
What if he really does possess something that could allow him to fight us?"
The Giant scoffed:
"A Middle Bloodline fighting a High Bloodline?
Do you think he's one of the humans or the Egyptians?
He's just a Yeti King from a middle-tier bloodline!"
The Vampire replied calmly:
"I don't care. We are here to gather information as well.
Wait — he cannot escape anyway."
The Giant stopped, annoyed, but did not object.
He kept staring at the Yeti King with hostility.
Meanwhile, the Vampire thought to himself:
"Fool… when I tried to attack him, I felt a great danger.
It was as if this Yeti's very blood carries a secret."
He then turned to the Dragon King and asked:
"What ruins has the Yeti King been forbidding exploration of?"
The Dragon King replied nervously:
"I don't know exactly, but he forbids everyone from exploring one particular civilization's ruin."
The Vampire fell silent for a moment, recalling the plan.
He knew everything the Dragon King was saying was a lie, but he didn't care — the goal was to annihilate them all.
Still, a thought crept into his mind: why would the Yeti King stop anyone from entering that ruin specifically?
Could it hold something crucial?
He pressed further:
"And who told you this?"
The Dragon King pointed toward a former heir of the Frost Rabbit Bloodline.
That heir knew he had made a terrible mistake, and that what was about to happen now would lead to everyone's doom.
The Vampire approached him, smiling coldly, his beauty and flawless skin making him look almost angelic —
you wouldn't believe he was a killer about to slaughter them all.
In a low, sharp voice, the Vampire asked:
"Why did the Yeti King forbid access to that ruin? Do you know something?"
The former heir trembled violently.
He understood that his life — and the lives of his entire bloodline — were at stake, but he remained silent.
Seeing this, the Vampire said softly:
"Do not fear. I will protect your bloodline and save them all."
The heir looked at him, realizing too late the truth:
this was no reassurance but a threat — if he stayed silent, his entire bloodline would be exterminated.
Gritting his teeth, he finally spoke:
"That ruin… it is the ruin of the Yeti civilization that was one step away from ascending to a High Bloodline!"
A heavy silence filled the hall.
The information shocked everyone — even the Dragon King himself.
For the first time, the Middle Bloodlines reacted with genuine emotion.
Greed, admiration, and envy lit up their eyes.
"A middle civilization that was one step away from becoming a High Bloodline?
Do you understand what this means?
It means this civilization nearly met the conditions of the Seris World!"
Ruins like this were extremely rare — treasures of unimaginable value in the world of Seris.
Some laughed bitterly and thought:
"Now we understand why the Yeti King kept everyone away.
If we were in his place, we would have done the same — even if it meant the extinction of our bloodline!"
And not only that — the Yeti civilization was on the verge of ascension,
and the Yeti King was of the Earth Bloodline, meaning he could become even stronger,
rise to the High Bloodlines,
and become a true rival — one of the strongest beings in the High Regions.
Their gazes toward the Yeti King were now filled with admiration.
None of them hated him for hiding this secret — on the contrary, they knew they would have done the same.
And for the first time, hope returned to their hearts:
if the Yeti King survived, his future would be limitless — he might even change the fate of the world.
The Vampire noticed this and felt a shock, as did the Giant.
They both reassessed the Yeti King — perhaps he truly had cards to play that could allow him to fight them.
They knew the truth about the High Bloodlines and how impossible ascension was.
And this ruin was no ordinary ruin — it was a legendary one, rivaling even the greatest ruins of the High Regions.
As the council sat in stunned silence, the Vampire suddenly inhaled sharply.
His eyes widened, and he turned his head, sniffing the air.
Then, just as quickly, the scent vanished, as though it had never been there.
But he was certain.
The Giant noticed his reaction and asked curiously:
"What is it?"
The Vampire replied aloud, his voice filled with shock:
"I smell human blood!"
The hall was thrown into chaos.
The presence of humans here was impossible — the barriers protected them and prevented them from entering the Middle Regions!
Thoughts began to race:
Could the Yeti King really be a traitor, working with humans?
Some tried to deny it, but the High Bloodlines could not hide the fear on their faces.
They remembered the power of humans — and of Egyptians — exchanged glances,
then turned toward the Yeti King as if they had already decided to kill him and return to the High Regions.
But before they could think any further, a loud laugh cut through the tension.
It was the Yeti King, smiling arrogantly and laughing as if mocking them all.
All thoughts stopped — all eyes turned to him.
They now understood: the fight was about to begin.
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Next Stop: Failure or Success?
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"If you liked the chapter, tell me your thoughts. I know this topic is very long and you might feel bored, but it is an important part, so stay engaged. And tell me what you think will happen in the next chapter!"