Chapter 54: Lily of the valley

"Hahaha! This mortal is quite amusing!"

Hearing Elvis's song, Saint Quentaro became even more intrigued by him, laughing so hard that snot almost dripped onto his helmet.

"Hmph!"

Harvey, who had been about to lose his temper, clenched his fists and obediently sat back down. Since the Celestial Dragon was pleased, he didn't dare ruin his mood.

"Phew! The next fragrance will surely please everyone!"

With that, Elvis played even more fervently, countless notes drifting outward from him like ripples.

In an instant, a special floral scent filled the entire palace, just one whiff left people utterly entranced.

"You're called Elvis, right? What flower is this scent from? I've never smelled it before!"

A noble sitting next to King Ross asked aloud.

As a minister from the Perfume Kingdom, he was intimately familiar with all kinds of floral scents. Yet what now lingered in his nose was entirely beyond his understanding.

"This is the scent of Lily of the valley flower. It can't be grown anywhere on the Red Line."

Elvis stopped singing and continued, "And this particular fragrance... has some very special effects!"

"Oh? Tell us, what effects?"

The noble grew interested upon hearing Elvis's words.

Thud!

Unfortunately, he wouldn't get the answer he wanted.

His vision began to blur just as Elvis's lips started to move. A wave of overwhelming drowsiness swept over him, and his large head slammed down onto the table in front of him, fast asleep.

Thud! Thud! …!

His collapse seemed to trigger a chain reaction.

One by one, everyone in the palace, including Quentaro, Harvey, and King Ross, began to fall unconscious. Some even started snoring.

"Something's wrong! Protect Saint Quentaro!"

The dozen men in black suits guarding Quentaro immediately surrounded him.

These men were elite guards trained specifically to protect Celestial Dragons. Their physical and mental fortitude was formidable, so Elvis's ability had only limited effect on them.

Soru!

The leader of the guards, unaffected, used a high-speed movement technique and appeared before Elvis in an instant.

"Who are you? What's your purpose?"

He grabbed Elvis by the collar, his expression dark and threatening.

Having guarded the Holy Land for many years, he knew that if anything happened to a Celestial Dragon here, all of them would be executed.

"Hahahaha...!"

Faced with the man's interrogation, Elvis didn't show the slightest fear. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed, louder and louder.

"In that case, die for your crime!"

Thinking Elvis had gone mad from stress, the guard stopped asking questions. He raised his finger and aimed it at Elvis's forehead.

Clang!

On the stage, his finger made contact with Elvis's skin.

But it could move no farther, because the man had been sliced diagonally from his right shoulder to his left chest.

Thud!

As the top half of the man's body fell to the ground, still barely conscious, he finally understood what Elvis had been laughing about, there was someone on the palace dome!

Two light sounds rang out. Ashen and Tesla leapt down from above, landing beside Elvis.

"These guys are yours, Tesla!"

Ashen gave the order, seeing that half the guards had already charged over, while the other half were attempting to carry Quentaro away.

"Yes, Captain!"

Before his voice even finished echoing, Tesla dashed forward.

"You're this excited just from knocking out some useless nobility? Elvis, really?"

Ashen turned to Elvis, who had stopped laughing.

"No! I'm just happy I gambled right!"

Elvis locked eyes with Ashen and spoke seriously.

Yes, he had taken a gamble.

Elvis had gambled on the promise Ashen made to him two nights ago.

That night, Ashen told Elvis that if he personally killed the Celestial Dragon who was coming, he would take Elvis aboard as a crew member.

And he promised to help him rescue Amelia, who had been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons.

With no other options left, Elvis decided to take the risk, to trust this stranger to keep his word.

Last night, Ashen revealed his full plan.

It had two parts. Elvis would perform inside the palace to draw attention, while Ashen and the others handled the guards outside and later regrouped with him.

But when Elvis first stepped into the palace, he had doubts. He suspected Ashen was using him as a distraction to make his own escape.

He had been betrayed too many times, even his closest brother, Harvey, had sold him out for his own future.

Yet when he saw the helpless look in Amelia's eyes, he made up his mind to follow through with the plan.

Clearly, he had bet right. In fact, Elvis felt this might be the biggest and most rewarding gamble of his life.

Boom!

A figure crashed in front of Elvis, breaking his train of thought.

"Captain! All taken care of!"

Tesla clapped his hands and walked back. The figure he had kicked over was Quentaro.

"Ah! Who!? Who kicked me!? Guards!"

Groggy and clutching his waist, Quentaro stood up. Since he wore a helmet, he hadn't inhaled much of the scent, and Tesla's kick had brought him fully awake.

Clang!

Ashen tossed the chains off Elvis and threw him a guard's saber.

"Come on, Elvis. I kept my promise. Now it's your turn."

"Alright!"

Elvis glanced over at the unconscious Amelia in the distance and understood what Ashen meant.

Even if Ashen hadn't reminded him, he would still have killed this Celestial Dragon.

Over the past year, though he'd never seen the man's face, the figure of this Celestial Dragon had become a nightmare in Elvis's mind.

"Ah! What are you doing!? You filthy commoner, do you know who I am!?

Kill me, and you'll be enemies of the entire world! You… "

As Elvis approached with the saber, Quentaro was finally fully awake. Backing away in fear, he shrieked threats.

Squelch!

His voice abruptly cut off. Elvis drove the blade straight into his chest.

Blood gushed from his mouth, quickly soaking his helmet red.

Squelch! Squelch…!

Elvis kept stabbing again and again, mangling Quentaro beyond recognition.

"Enough, Elvis! He's already dead!

Let's go. Take Amelia and Nick and leave this country!"

Ashen grabbed Elvis's arm, stopping him.

At the mention of Amelia and Nick, Elvis finally snapped out of his frenzy. He dropped the blade and said:

"I'll follow you from now on, Captain."

"Hahaha! Welcome aboard the Helgrave Pirates, Elvis!!"

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