All the guests were looking at a corner without making a sound. Many of them were communicating through energy particles; only their lips were moving.
As Sella helped Suman stand up, she furiously glared at the son of Black Earth’s leader.
There was a black footprint in the middle of Suman’s chest and blood was trickling down his chin. The cakes, glasses of wine, and roasted meat on the table had all been blown into pieces.
The fruit wine’s aroma drifted in the air.
"That is enough, Doris," Suman said with a deadpan expression. "Sella is but a good friend of mine." He might be an untalented mortal, but he showed no fear standing up against a formal wizard.
"Are you mocking me?!" Doris’s face turned red from rage. "You have never treated me seriously, even when we were in Coran City…You must learn to respect me…" He rubbed his cheek and looked daggers at Sella.
"Master Doris, please do not…" A girl wearing a long dress came to Doris and tried to calm him.
"Get away from me!" Doris shoved the girl, and she fell to the ground.
The wineglass she was holding fell from her hand and drenched her dress wet. A maid walked to her at once and lent her a helping hand to clean the mess.
The other guests decided to stay away from Doris upon witnessing what happened, knowing that Doris had lost his mind.
"Doris…" At this instant, Shozo entered the main hall apace after he stepped out of a ball of black flame that appeared beforehand.
"This is my party…" he warned with a deep voice.
A black shadow appeared behind Doris and released a strong mentality wave.
"Master Shozo, it’s not that I’m disrespecting you, but it’s the girl who hit Doris first."
Two incredibly powerful mentality waves clashed.
The atmosphere inside the hall was growing increasingly heavier as the two mentality waves tried to overwhelm one another.
An invisible vortex was created between Shozo and the black shadow.
But as soon as Angele stepped into the hall, the two calmed down and the hall became silent once again.
Mincola, standing behind Sella, shook his head slightly. All the guests were looking at Mincola, Sella, and Suman.
Mincola only gave Angele a slight nod when he saw him look at him. Both exchanged eye contact without being noticed by others.
Angele immediately walked to the crowd and stepped forth.
"Master Shozo, what happened?" he asked in a low voice.
"Do not worry about it, Angele. There is just a small problem. I will take care of it," Shozo replied with a forced smile.
"Actually, a friend of mine is part of that group…" Angele turned to the side and his eyes fell on Mincola.
Shozo noticed Mincola’s presence when he looked at the three. He nodded slightly and looked at Angele again. "Like I said, I will take care of it."
"Thanks."
Angele no longer said anything else but nodded and retreated into the crowd. He wanted to steer away from trouble but Mincola had helped him a lot back in the aerial port city.
The black shadow must be someone part of Black Earth and seemed to have personal issues with Shozo, so the situation at present was quite complicated. It was no longer simply a conflict between heirs of their respective organization and Thousand Waterfall City, but this conflict had already touched the political conflicts within organizations.
Angele was the third elder’s, Vivian’s, only heir, so he was far more notable than anyone else inside the hall. Isabella and Ivan were merely one of the children their parents had, easily replaceable if anything happened.
Angele decided to make use of his backing to help Mincola when necessary. Vivian had won the war against the lords for Elemental Hand. Everyone inside knew about her achievements, so they would not give Angele too much trouble if he desired anything.
Wizards’ strength was not simply determined by their own rank. Vivian herself was a rank 4 wizard, but her mentality and spell power were both at the summit at this rank.
The young man called Doris finally settled down a bit and began exchanging words with Shozo through energy particles. The black shadow behind him started releasing their mentality again as if to showcase their power to everyone else in the hall.
"Fine, you are right. I should have thought twice before inviting them here," Shozo said aloud. An agreement seemed to have been reached. "Sella attacked Doris first, so she should be the one to apologize."
Doris rubbed his cheeks once more. It seemed that the girl had slapped him too hard.
"Master Shozo and I have reached an agreement." He suddenly pointed at Suman. "This untalented bastard is the reason why I got slapped! I think you all witnessed this unpleasant event. Sella, if you leave Suman, I will not punish you for slapping me in the face!"
"That is impossible!" Sella bit her lips. "Suman and Mincola are my best friends!"
"Sella." Shozo scowled. "Whatever, do what Doris says and leave Suman now. I love you, but you cannot act too selfishly. Also, do not hit Doris ever again."
"Master Shozo!" Sella paled. It seemed that Shozo was not going to cross swords with the son of the leader of Black Earth. Even though Shozo loved Sella, she was merely one of his many cousins. Shozo was a wizard, so he would go with the decision that would benefit him the most.
Sella was someone important to Shozo and sending her to Doris would resolve the matter at hand. He did not want to fight with that black shadow at a dinner party he himself hosted.
Standing at the side, Angele had just finished communicating with Mincola.
"I told Master Shozo that you are my friend, so you will be fine. But I suggest you do not try to help that girl. This is none of your business."
Mincola knew Angele was helping him. He only shrugged when he looked at Angele.
Shozo and Doris had already decided how to peacefully resolve the issue while Angele was communicating with Mincola.
"All right then. I will leave Sella to you. You can do whatever you want with Suman and that young man. This matter ends here now. I do not owe you anything anymore."
Shozo did not mention anything about Mincola. He hesitated for a second before he finished speaking, but it seemed as though he did not care too much about Angele’s friend.
"Thank you, Master Shozo. Capture them for me now!" Doris commanded after nodding to Shozo’s words.
Both Mincola and Angele’s expressions changed.
Angele no longer had any other choice if he wanted to uphold his promise.
"Master Angele." Lyn immediately grasped Angele’s hand and shook her head.
Shozo realized what Angele was about to do, so he quickly communicated with him through energy particles. "Come on, Angele! This is not a joke. Step down and calm yourself. Forget about your friend." Shozo could not comprehend why Angele was insisting on helping out Mincola.
Angele knew that the black shadow behind Doris was a rank 4 wizard and was uncertain if that person would not kill him simply because he was the only son of the third elder. It was impossible for him to best a rank 4 wizard. When Vivian learned of the situation, he would already be long dead.
Mincola was his friend at Dark Wizard Tower and had gifted a lot of important resources to Angele.
Angele was doubtful of what would happen to Mincola if he got captured. It looked like Doris was mentally unstable. At any time, Mincola could possibly be executed.
Angele squinted his eyes, hesitant on what right choice to make.
He was currently a rank 1 wizard. Members of Elemental Hand treated him simply because Vivian was his mother. Members who had helped him were merely currying favor with Vivian.
Shozo had his own plans and had only done what Vivian would do in such situations. There was no point in becoming enemies with Black Earth’s leader just for a friend. The benefits would never justify the cost of a trade like that.
Angele was slightly dejected knowing that if he was the strongest wizard in the hall, then the outcome might have been completely different.
Several guards wearing black armor that had dark flame symbols on their chest entered the main hall. They were holding black spears of great length and quickly surrounded the three "culprits" in the middle.
*CHI*
Purple flames gushed out of the tips of their spears.
The flames connected with each other and formed a chain, preventing the three from escaping.
The black shadow was pressuring them with the strong mentality wave. They could only watch the flame chain approach.
Doris’s expression changed several times as he stared at Sella. He looked depressed, excited, and happy at the same time. It seemed like he was trying to recall the days he had with the girl.
Angele was still trying to figure out a way to help Mincola but knew that Doris probably would not ask the guards to stop even if he asked.
He looked at Mincola. The man had already lowered his head as if he was about to give up.
The purple flame chain would tie them up in seconds.
There was no time to waste. Angele stepped forward and yelled, "Wait!"
His voice attracted all the guests’ attention.
Angele had a blank expression on his face as he stared at Doris. It seemed like Doris was woken up by his loud voice.
"Master Doris, that man is my friend. He didn’t try to help Sella or Suman after the unpleasant event happened. I’m wondering if you can forgive him and release him from the chain." Angele pointed at Mincola.
It meant nothing to Shozo even if Doris decided to kill Mincola. However, Angele would never just stand there and watch someone that helped him die.
Doris glared at Angele and a guard approached him, telling him who the young man was. He pursed his lips after learning about Angele’s background.
The other guests were curious about how Doris would deal with the situation.
Doris shrugged and waved his right hand. "Take them away." He stopped glaring at Angele and turned his head around after giving the order.
The result was not what Angele had expected.
Angele was the only hope the three had but it seemed like Doris was not afraid of Vivian’s power.
Angele watched Mincola, Sella, and Suman being tied up by the purple flame chain. They could barely move under the strong pressure from the black shadow’s mentality wave. The guards dragged them out of the hall with the chain as though they were dragging dogs.
He gnashed his teeth as his expression turned grim.