The X Guide-Chapter 169: Another War Zone (1)

Unlike Khal, Devion was easily swayed. It was not a positive trait, he knew that. Other than being reckless, he was easily influenced by the circumstances.

Khal had already criticized it to him before, and he did not think that he had changed much. Devion has changed a lot compared to him ten years ago, even just a year ago.

Compared to Khal, Devion knew his mind was not that complicated. However, he was also stubborn and often ignored something to the point of frustrating everyone around him.

Khal was the one who took the hit the most, being the only one by his side since he inflicted this curse.

He thought that it would remain the same. That their relationship would remain the same until the curse decided to fuck them over again.

It was nothing new; Khal had begun to adapt to him. Devion was the same.

And so, labeling what this was... seemed not really important. When he told Ayen before that they were mere fuck buddies, it was more of a joke to someone that he did not think would remain in their life.

There was no need to be honest or anything. Ayen was merely a passerby...

And how wrong he was.

Again, Devion was easily swayed. And Ayen was not hard to like at all. He might be hard to get along with at first, but not to the point of them struggling with it.

Devion watched the two as they kissed. His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed.

He might be truly starting to like Ayen. Devion smiled.

Devion was easily swayed, but he was confident this feeling was not because of the influence of their circumstances. It was as though he returned to when he realized that Khal was not just some rival in his life.

That he was not just thrilled with the idea of a rival flirting with him.

It was real.

The shadow vanished like smoke, and Devion continued inside.

"Want some sushi?" Devion’s figure went to their side and presented the dish he prepared. His heart was still beating like crazy, but his expression remained the same.

The two glanced at him and then at the sushi.

"You’re not tired of it?" Khal playfully jabbed at him. Well, they had been eating sashimi or sushi in the past couple of days.

Devion rolled his eyes at him. "Says who ate more than me."

It was true.

What else could he say? Khal was defeated this time. He turned to Ayen, who also nodded. Ayen could only eat a few, but his taste buds had been trained recently, finding them better at each meal.

Their first arrival at the red zone ended smoothly. The three slept without doing anything. Ayen was quite sleeping in a room after weeks of wandering.

This side of the world was still peaceful. However, the same could not be said on the other side.

"What? Can you repeat that again?" A man who looked in his sixties sat at the seat of honor; his sharp gaze landed on the man who entered the room in the middle of the meeting.

The man swallowed slightly and repeated what he said.

"A Green Zone... fell."

It was not just any green zone, either, one that was strategically important for the government. A dungeon that constantly provided the government with mana cores.

It was typically called a dungeon mine.

A collective gasp spread through the room. The expression of the man in the seat of honor noticeably stiffened before his face became filled with rage.

His hand instinctively took the glass in front of him and threw it at the man who reported the news. The man dodged, of course, and the glass shattered on the ground.

The man in the seat of honor ignored what the man did and brushed his face in frustration.

"Those clan bastards!" He snapped and hit the table with his hand. Because of the great material, the table was not damaged, and his forces were suppressed to a certain degree.

"President, what should we do? We can just let them gain the upper hand this early!" The others began to say their opinions and argue.

It was such a headache; the president’s head throbbed from everyone’s voices.

"Silence! Can you all just stop arguing for once? " His voice, which contained mana, overtook the voices and instantly made everyone fall silent.

While most of the people here did not have the prowess to speak of, the president was a bona fide A-class esper. Although he was already past his prime, he could still overpower everyone here.

He swept his eyes around the table.

"We certainly have to make a move. We can’t let the clan take over such a strategic zone." The President’s tone was stable despite the obvious rage in his eyes.

The clan, especially the elite clans, was always a thorn in his side. And now, they dared to take over a strategic green zone; he would make sure that they pay a price.

His tone calmed most of the tension in the room. The President looked at the one who reported to him, one of his secretaries, and asked.

"Have you heard from Arstem yet?" The president frowned heavily at his thoughts of him; he almost cursed the esper out loud.

The others were also dissatisfied with Arstem’s disappearance in this critical situation.

The secretary secretly sighed, but still answered.

"We are using every means to contact the Commander General." He paused, calming himself down from the raging gaze the President was pouring into him. "His team said that the Commander General left and did not say when he will return."

With this, they were also powerless. Arstem Viktor might be a Commander General, which should be under them, but the others were S-class espers. Despite their status, they could not easily order others like a dog, as they were doing with the others.

The president was clearly displeased. He never liked Arstem since, especially as the rumors of him being a doting fool. He hated those higher-level espers the most, who did not respect his position at all.

Just like... The president could not continue, even if it was only his mind.

Arstem was manageable, but those two...

The president clenched his fist and threw the thought about them to the back of his mind.

"Make sure to contact him as soon as possible. Also... Contact Clynne from the institute. Those ungrateful bastards from the institute are getting too comfortable."

Everyone... was pissing him off.