Emperor's Reckoning

Refl sat slumped on the cold, hard floor of his cell, his hands bound tightly with the special metal that he knew all too well. He had been captured by his enemies, and he knew that there was no escape from this prison.

He had always been a man of high status, feared and respected by all those around him. But now, he was reduced to nothing more than a prisoner, trapped in this small, dark cell with no hope of escape.

He tried to stretch his legs out, but the cramped space of the cell made it impossible. He couldn't even stand up fully, his head brushing against the low ceiling.

As he sat there, he tried to think of a way out, but every plan he came up with was quickly dashed against the cold, hard reality of his situation. He was trapped, and there was no way out.

Refl, however, didn't sustain as much injury as he thought they would inflict, in fact, he didn't even have any bruises.

He looked up, seeing the flickering fire of the torch on the wall. It was the only source of light. He sighed before he heard a condescending laugh from the corridor. The steps were getting clearer before a figure stood right before him.

"I see that you have taken a liking to your new abode, Refl," said the man before giving a smirk.

The light of the torch revealed his face. He was a man of about the same age as Refl from the point of view of mere appearance. He had a Burgeon Swan embroidered on his cultivation robe and by the way, he was carrying himself, it was too obvious that he was too a top individual in the notorious bandit group.

Refl closed his eyes and didn't answer.

Seeing his reaction, the man clicked his tongue. He smirked again, "Refl, Refl, Refl, I can't believe that you did what you did, yesterday, hahaha!"

Refl showed the man a glare but he still uttered no word.

"Oh c'mon now, don't be so sulky all the time," said the man with a demeaning tone. "I mean, look, we may be bandits, but we didn't even harm you once you decided that you lowered your arms. An honor equal to a knight I'll say."

Refl didn't answer. He knew that the man before him rattled some words to etch his annoyance on him. However, the former was already checkmated, he hardly had any move left inside this prison cage.

The man furrowed his brows. His advancement brought nothing but his own rage instead. He slapped the bars and the sound of the impact echoed throughout the corridor.

Refl nonchalantly looked him right in the eyes. The glare that the man gave him couldn't make him flinch.

"What's your plan, Refl? You're here for what? Is your coming signify your end of a pursuit in destroying us? Tell me, Refl!"

Refl took a good look at the man in front of him before opening his mouth, "I am here because of a mistake."

"Mistake? Heh," the man smiled sarcastically, "You think I would believe that? That's a pathetic lie, Refl."

"I said what I said," said Refl.

"You really are asking to die, Refl," said the man. "But the boss said to keep you alive, however, I'll let you know that once he decided your fate to die, I'll be the one to send you off!"

Refl kept his nonchalant. "If you don't believe what I said, then don't bother."

"Hmph! Why don't you hear yourself talk? Who would believe our 'archenemy' would come to our door like that? I say that you are pretending right now."

"Pretending what?"

"You must have devised a plan to attack us already," said the man.

"Not me," said Refl.

"Huh? Not you?"  the man furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"A drunk man sent me here," said Refl with a sigh.

"... what?" the man was flabbergasted by his words. Refl the man who was honorable in Second Heaven was sent to the camp of the Burgeon Swan by a drunk man. The story was getting impossible to believe.

"I can't believe it either, but it is what it is," said Refl. "Though, I'm just glad that I'm not on his bad side... I think."

".... what are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"

Refl shook his head, "I'm not the one who killed Gamael."

"Then who....?" the man verged on the gap of the bars as he looked at Refl with his sharp eyes.

"Boss Ferece! Boss Ferece! This is an emergency! You are summoned to meet the captain," a bandit came rushing inside the corridor.

"Shut up!" Ferece shouted with a wave of his hand before glaring back at Refl. "Who...?"

"Eek!" The bandit gulped, "It's an emergency, Boss Ferece!"

"What the fuck is it?!" asked Ferece whilst maintaining eye contact with Refl.

"B-Boss Rezali and B-Boss Poger, their Ruby Summoning Stone just died."

Ferece's pupils shrunk to a dot almost instantaneously. He had been filled with unbelievable thoughts from Refl, and now one of his underlings just announced yet another petrifying news. However he was not the only one that was shocked by the news, Refl was, for better or worse, as well.

Refl had overheard that two of the top management would come and check Gamael's camp. Both of them were worth more than a thousand bandits, they were more than sufficient if anything bad were to happen. He was worried that Guh City would be filled with blood, to search for Lyon. However, he had never thought that both of them would die.

Ferece's shock had hardly worn off before he asked, "Refl! What kind of trap did you set in Gamael's camp?"

"Heh," Refl smirked. "Trap? Why would I risk my own life against the life of the two of them? I've set not a single trap."

"Tch!"

"Do you believe me now, Ferece?" Refl said with a sharp tone.

"Huh?"

"A drunk man sent me here," said Refl. "He is neither my friend nor my foe... do your best to keep living, because he has some matter to settle with you."

"What...?! Who is he!?" asked Ferece.

"You don't know who he is," said Refl. "But he knows who you are, and what you did."

Ferece was contemplating his words before he waved his hands valiantly, "Empty threats! I'm not as weak as Rezali and Poger!"

"Hahaha," Refl was amused by Ferece's attempt to keep his cool. "You think you're more powerful than both of them combined?"

"Even Old Gu of Nirvana School would have to think twice to strike me," said Ferece.

The bold statement made Refl furrow his brows. Judging from the pitch of his tone and the emotion and circumstance, he appeared not to be lying. The power of the Burgeon Swan had indeed even made the headmaster of the Nirvana School wary but couldn't do anything. The control of Second Heaven seemed like not a dream anymore for the Burgeon Swan, but a nightmare for him.

"B-Boss, I don't think the captain would be happy if we keep him waiting for too long," said the bandit.

Ferece furrowed his brows before giving one last glance at Refl. He turned. "Burgeon Swan will rule the Second Heaven, and you will be the first one to die under that rule."

Refl could barely look at Ferece's shadow before the steps were gone. He had not believed that Rezali and Poger would die so soon after Gamael's death. Burgeon Swan was in it now. They would have to halt everything and think about the countermeasure. The death of three top management was a direct strike against their reputations.

Refl sighed. He couldn't do anything to contribute to attacking the Burgeon Swan and it dawned on him that if Lyon and the others failed, he will die, pretty humiliatingly so after considering his status and impact in Second Heaven. Yet even so, he had already made the best choice by not retaliating the moment he came into the headquarter of the Burgeon Swan unannounced. The only reason he was not killed right away was because of the mysteriousness of Gamael's death and his status as the opposing party of the Burgeon Swan— that it would prove to be of use somehow.

"I hate it when I need to leave everything to fate... Luck was never my forte."

...

Meanwhile, back in Guh City.

Lyon was standing with his arms crossed looking at the group of people who stood to neither oppose nor support him. A couple of corpses had fallen by his hands and he didn't shed any doubt in his nonchalant attitude.

"Darling!"

A sweet call from the sky made him raise his brows. He turned before smiling at the woman that was his wife.

However, the return of Selena and the three students brought a fact that made the cultivators in Guh City shiver.

The top individuals in Burgeon Swan lost!