"Enough with the false admission of fault. If you haven't done anything to be ashamed of, then there's no need to apologize."
Isabella's voice resounded around the guest hall, causing the Earth Dragon Clan's Patriarch to raise his head as though receiving a pardon. The immortal inheritors behind him were fairly courteous, not so overbearing, and not so compromising as the Patriarch either.
In fact, they had praise for Isabella in their eyes as they heard her words.
"Earth Dragon Queen Isabella, since you have agreed to meet us, I assume that the Emperor of Death is in good health. That's good."
Great Ancestor Rocksunder smiled, walking over to the seats opposite Dragon Queen Isabella and her sisters as he made himself comfortable on it, causing the others also to follow suit.
He turned to look at Shirley, cupping his hands.
"And you have my sincere compassion and understanding for the happenings of that day. I really didn't expect the Fire Phoenix Clan to have made such a mess. I figured that it was hidden from Zenflame's eyes. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to that kind of nonsense."
Great Ancestor Rocksunder gestured as he waved his hand, appearing to vouch for the Fire Phoenix Clan's Great Ancestor Zenflame.
It caused a bit of a reaction from Earth Dragon Queen Isabella's side, but contrary to his expectations, they seemed astonished rather than infuriated.
But on the other hand, Shirley seemed as calm as she was in the beginning, seemingly not acting out of rage as she did back then.
Nonetheless, his utterance was quickly met with a glare from his own side as they felt that he was too insensitive.
"Whatever it may be…" But Shirley opened her mouth, replying to Great Ancestor Zenflame with an unperturbed gaze.
"I have grown tired of this matter. I have burdened my husband too much when just the fact that he allows me to participate in something unknown and perhaps, even life threatening as the Candidacy should be appreciated by the Fire Phoenix Clan, but they chose to be overbearing instead, showing their real face once he portrayed himself to be dead and even wanted him dead after he revealed that he was alive."
"Whether he was an Anarchic Divergent or not, no amount of excuses can make up for their sins, yet the righteous world doesn't do anything about it. A simple pat on the back; exiling them from the Phoenix Alliance for a hundred years won't simply cut it for my heart to rekindle gratitude towards the Fire Phoenix Clan."
Shirley's frail hands that rested on her thighs began to tremble before she controlled herself and stared at him.
"Right now, I'm full of hate, enough to exterminate them from this world, so I suggest you people don't repeat the same mistake from the bottom of my heart."
"Rest assured, Shirley Davis." Great Ancestor Rocksunder stood up and spoke with gait, "We, as proud Earth Dragons, will abide by our words and wouldn't bind Dragon Queen Isabella to anything. If she wants out, we will respect that decision as well as long as she leaves a certain portion of the inheritance behind for the Earth Dragon Clan to prosper, and for what amount of portion, we'll let her decide. We'll accept even one percent if that's what she wants to donate."
"…"
His words stunned Isabella and the others, while Shirley seemed unperturbed, as though she wouldn't even give people a chance to prove themselves anymore.
"A good choice of words. I never knew the Earth Dragon Clan was elegantly coercive. After all, the image I had of you people was like a brute with brawn for brains."
"Mingzhi, you can't insult them like this." Isabella perfunctorily uttered.
"Yes, yes. I apologize if that offended your four when it was meant to be a compliment." Mingzhi corrected with a sly smile on her face.
However, that only caused Great Ancestor Rocksunder to laugh ever so lightly.
"No need. That 'brawn for brains' is the most common among our kind as we simply have no need to rely on our brains for the most part, so your compliment that we're elegantly coercive would be the insult."
"Hehe~ So amusing."
Mingzhi giggled. Her melodious laughter made the atmosphere slightly harmonious, causing both parties to smile.
"Isabella."
At this moment, Crystia, the other female inheritor of the Earth Dragon Clan, opened her mouth.
"I believe you are a person who can see right from wrong. With the same belief, I'll hope you'll accompany us to the Candidacy to gain victory together."
"As I said, I am fine with it."
Isabella smiled lightly, causing Patriarch Klavius Rocksunder and the others to be excited. If they had the strength of a King-Tier Immortal Emperor during the Candidacy, then they were sure that she would be at the top of the hierarchy, even among the immortal inheritors.
With such an individual in their ranks, their chances of winning would've greatly risen. They couldn't ask for more and were satisfied with it.
"However, as my sister Shirley said before, this decision is no longer mine alone for the making. I'll await my emperor's decision and inform the Earth Dragon Clan of his decree. Until then, I suggest that you people wait obediently and not hasten it."
Isabella continued with a firm tone, her voice leaving no leeway for negotiation.
Her sudden change in demeanor caught them off-guard, but her words stung even more, causing them to become speechless.
They knew how the Emperor of Death was disappointed at the actions of the Fire Phoenix Clan. Would he still send his woman to the Candidacy knowing that there were ungrateful clans pushing them into a fiery pit instead of properly supporting them?
Even they would not send their family's women, even unmarried ones, anywhere dangerous unless it concerned the fate of the clan, but to the Emperor of Death, the Candidacy was far from his concern.
The guest hall became silent all of a sudden, causing Patriarch Klavius Rocksunder's expression to become awkward.
The Earth Dragon Queen's Emperor-Tier aura was already too much to bear, so why was there a need for this fatal silence?
"Hehem~" He coughed, "In that case, we understand. We will wait for your words to be relayed, but until then, can I take it that we're still on good terms, Earth Dragon Queen?"
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