Chapter 5531

Right then, Drystan betrayed Enaricus.

“Oh? Every last celestial gem you possess?” Jared lifted an eyebrow, allowing a thin smile to curl across his lips. “That’s almost convincing, I’ll grant you that. But tell me why should I trust a man who changes allegiance as quickly as smoke changes shape?”

“I-I can escort you to the treasury,” Drystan stammered, palms up in surrender. “Everything is there. Once you’ve taken the gems, let me walk away. I swear I’ll cause no trouble.”

“Very well,” Jared murmured after a pause long enough for sweat to form on Drystan’s brow. “I’ll accept your offer this once. Betray me, and you won’t draw a second breath.”

“I-I wouldn’t dare. I’ll be perfectly obedient,” Drystan gushed, nodding so hard his jowls quivered.

Moments later, the desperate lord led Jared and Flaxseed through the skeletal corridors of the ruined Sixth Hall, its once-proud arches reduced to jagged frames clawing at a sky veiled with ash.

Charred beams smoldered, cracked tiles hissed, and the stench of burnt stone hung thick as tar. Every footstep stirred flakes of soot that drifted like black snow in the poisonous air.