OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 266: House of Cards

Chapter 266: House of Cards

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Aquila stared at him with an expressionless face.

He and the nine other leaders were similar in disposition.

They were all quiet, masking their emotions.

But that didn't work on Emir.

In slowed time, he saw how they all truly reacted before donning their current cold faces.

That Eagle showed absolute rage; Shinobe's man was calm, the same as Kalahari's woman.

Red Dragon sneered while mouthing:

"Utter arrogance..."

Southern Cross, Kremlin, and Iron Reich were the only ones that smiled, the three men apparently enjoying the tension.

Their thoughts were obvious on their faces.

'It seems they think of me as crazy... That'll do.'

Lionheart and Maharajah frowned in displeasure, while Phoenix had a few flames spurt out of her barely covered body before she was able to take control and snuff it out.

'Interesting...'

Everyone in this room was important.

For they were all in the CER rankings.

Celestials who could flip the Earth on its head if not for the UEF's tight leash on their necks.

Emir was warning, or rather, he was threatening them.

Disrespecting them straight in the face by stating that he alone could take all of them to their graves.

"If you think bluffing like that would work, then I can only call you stupid."

Emir showed a grin at Phoenix's comment.

"May I know your name?"

He asked even though he already knew, and Phoenix understood that. "Phoenix."

She repeated the obvious through gritted teeth.

Emir didn't push her any longer and shrugged his shoulders.

It appeared that his attempt to calm her down was met with failure.

Suddenly, however, Aquila burst out laughing.

"??????????????????!"

Everyone's gaze in the room had left Emir and turned to the Eagle.

He was covering his face with his hands as loud chuckling escaped his lips.

"Hahahahaha... hahaah... haha... heh."

Then slowly, his hands dropped, and his smiling eyes met Emir's.

He, who once was the angriest, now presented an innocent smile.

It almost made the onlookers think that he didn't care for his dead 'partner.'

"Azazel's leader... Can you really teach me fear?"

Phoenix quickly interjected at Aquila's words while staring daggers at Emir:

"Seriously? You think he can deal with all of us? I can kill him myself!" Red dragon sneered.

"Yeah, right."

Her brows twitched as she snapped her head towards him.

"What? You-"

"Move and you die."

Phoenix words and body froze on the spot as Emir's threat reached her.

Aquila raised his hand, a gesture that calmed her down.

"Answer me, Emir... Can you teach me fear?"

|| ||

The prince didn't reply; he only shrugged his shoulders.

It didn't matter what his answer would be; a 'yes' or 'no' that couldn't be backed was the

same.

So since he had nothing else to say, he kept quiet, allowing them to arrive at their own conclusions...

Whatever they may be.

But this didn't mean that he didn't answer.

His silence was the answer-one that couldn't go wrong since it was up to them to interpret

what it meant.

Not only that, his unblinking stare was also a factor.

His eyes, which pulsated absolute darkness, never left the Eagle's.

Maybe they affected his thinking, allowing Emir's words to be justified.

Or perhaps Aquila thought that it was the result of arrogance gained after reaching the Seraphim rank.

Sure, Emir was treading into the unknown, but he was still a Seraphim.

A strong one, capable of even killing a six-core Tyrant, but at the end of it...

He was a Seraphim.

Nothing more, nothing less.

This thought process would come from the common sense of most Celestials.

It was the correct way to judge this circumstance.

However, that would be the case only if Emir's abilities were known.

They didn't have detailed access to the professors' test, so they truly had no idea what he

could do.

Their ability to judge, measure, and plan against him was null.

Furthermore, he gave no chance to pry into his past as Lyra hid everything about him.

So in the extremely off chance that Emir's words were true...

Could they handle the fact that at least seven of them would die?

This wasn't just about losing manpower.

These people led entire districts in the underbellies of Earth; their people controlled supply routes; and they handled the common rogue monster that'd endanger the economy.

Their existence provided leeway for the UEF to focus on the frontlines.

Without them, Earth's survival would be at stake.

If such a play of fate really happened, the Order would gain an advantage-a massive one that

could crumble the intricate balance of the war.

This was all planned with that in mind.

And Emir knew that he was being overbearing, or rather completely audacious, in every

possible way.

Yet that was on purpose.

He aimed to lead those opposing him to think certain things in an advantageous order.

The first thing he made sure of was making them know that the road they stood on wasn't a

one-way street.

They couldn't attack him for breaking the rules while not expecting deadly retaliation.

But still... all of this could've been for naught if Aquila had decided to attack without thinking

much of the consequences.

So, Emir laid out the groundwork for how his attack would pan out.

That, combined with his blatant threats and still demeanor, resulted in their current

situation.

Especially the last words he left Aquila.

Fear.

Would he be taught about that or not?

It was something he couldn't confirm as it was a gamble...

One that only Arthur would've liked.

And it appeared that was true.

Such a gamble didn't appear to match Aquila's taste.

'Good... Now I need to step off the gas for a lil bit.'

Emir approached a nearby couch and relaxed his back onto its soft cushion.

"I can, but I'd rather not waste my life over nothing..."

His plan wouldn't work if he kept quiet.

"So listen to reason." One would be correct in thinking that he stopped them from attacking, at least temporarily,

but that was it.

Next, he needed to make sure that they would never attack him and move on from the dog's

death completely.

After all, these Celestials would not completely back down from such threats.

The top of the hunter world, with 'unbreakable' rules binding them together.

They survived till this day due to those rules, and if they allowed Emir to bypass them then it

could happen a second time, a third even.

His arrival brought chaos to the order they once had.

And they might realize that they would be better off killing this source of chaos instead of

negotiating with it.

Keeping a bomb amidst themselves wasn't a smart decision.

They could use it against their enemy and it would do a lot of damage, but they didn't know

when it would turn against them.

It wasn't just that either; Aquila could still get swept up in his emotions and decide to attack

for the sake of his dead dog.

So with that in mind, Emir timed his response right before their thinking could once again

shift in that direction.

"The girl I killed was not someone that could be trusted; her death would only better your situation, Aquila."

The Eagle offered no response and only looked at him, his eyes no longer smiling.

"While it was true that my actions can be interpreted as breaking the rules... it wouldn't really

disrupt the HG alliance in any way shape or form."

"So in my view, what I did wasn't wrong..."

"You-"

"However!"

Emir cut him off while raising his hand towards his second heart.

"I can see where you're coming from..."

He paused for a moment, his face mirroring Aquila's innocent smile.

'How ironic is it that I'm suggesting this while my brother 'died' because of it?'

After shaking his head he continued:

"So I'll do you a favor and swear an oath, one that wouldn't allow me to attack any of you

'unjustifiably' ever again."

"Do you accept?"

His words were true.

By now, he had already established himself as a big player in this house of cards.

The dog's death would allow him to 'shape' Templar's attention, and that in turn would affect

one of the future minor disasters.

Emir truly didn't have anything against those in the room.

He only wanted to bully them a little bit.

Yes, that was all...

Rage wasn't a drive for what he did, no, not at all.

"Hahaha..."

Aquila quietly laughed while sitting back down.

He then put one of his legs over the other and supported his head with his hands.

The others looked at Emir in a similar light.

Everything he said was too absurd.

He was doing them a favor by swearing this oath?

It wasn't the other way around?

If the man in front of them wasn't shameless, then they didn't know what was.

Sure, an Oath would guarantee that such an action would never be repeated, but...

What of the first time?

There had to be a consequence; they couldn't simply sweep it under the rug.

"What do you guys think? If he swears an Oath then this chaos won't be repeated."

Phoenix was the first to object.

Unlike her fiery personality, her hair was plain black, the same as her eyes.

She wore a 'bedlah,' over her slim, pale body.

The bedlah was a fitted top and hip belt above a full-length skirt with frills.

"That doesn't matter! Oath or not, he broke our rules, so he should face the consequences!" Maharajah spoke right after her.

He was a brown-skinned man who wore a 'Sherwani.'

It was a long-sleeved collarless coat fitted with what appeared to be some waist suppression.

"She's right... Why have rules if you won't enforce them?"

'So he's a dog too... Quite typical.'

Emir hid his sneer while Aquila raised his hand, stopping the rest from commenting.

"Since it looks like everyone has something to say, let's not waste time; just do a vote. Fair?"

All those present nodded in unison.

"Fair."

"Phoenix and Maharajah both want Azazel dead, so let's skip them and start with you,

Shinobi."

Aquila gestured for him to step forward.

"What do you say?"