Brandon looked over at Wilbur. "Can you excuse me for a moment, Mister Penn? Let me prepare for this a little."


    "Of course." Wilbur smiled.


    Brandon left with Dillon and the others. Following that Wilbur and Elise were served an array of delicious snacks and coffee while they chatted and waited.


    Elise could not help but marvel at what she had just witnessed. This was what true power looked like, enough to tame a national president.


    The charm radiating off a man like this was positively irresistible.


    Elise gazed at Wilbur, nothing but pure adoration in her eyes.


    Just then, Ja was waiting by the side of the banquet hall with her assistant nervously. She was heavily made up, sporting a sexy and revealing outfit.


    At the same time.


    Over on the outskirts of Morburn, in the basement of a mysterious-looking manor, a group of people was crowded around what seemed like a huge coffin, excitement, and nerves on their faces.


    The group ranged from all ages, all of them d in military uniforms. One of them,


    a man in his fifties, even had Admiral''s insignia on his shoulders.


    Behind him were all soldiers of pretty decent ranks such as colonels and lieutenants.


    The cover of the coffin had been opened. It was covered in runes, emitting a faint glow as the rune swirled.


    In the coffiny an old man in a suit, but his figure waspletely dry as if he had been dead for many years.


    "Master Abar, will the elder really wake up?" one of the lieutenants asked shakily. The admiral, whose name was Abar, said, "The elder will wake up for sure. We''ve waited all these years and prepared so much for this day toe."


    "As long as the elder wakes up, the Faste n will regain its glory once again. We shall take Brandon down and reim our control over Westeria," another lieutenant said fervently.


    "Atrus may be dead, but I heard that Brandon is now friends with Wilbur Penn, the cultivator who killed Atrus. Wilbur Penn is even more powerful than Atrus, mind you," a younger boy said weakly.


    Abar sneered. "Atrus and Wilbur Penn are nothing as long as elder wakes up. He was already at the Emperor level when he was still alive, and we had prepared so much. As long as he wakes up, he will only have grown more powerful then. Do you think he would be thwarted by one measly Wilbur Penn?"


    "That''s right! Besides, Brandon only has three hundred Special Forces officers and two barely-healed Sanctuary level cultivators with him this time. Meanwhile, we have an army of two thousand men, and all of us are armed. The five royal fleets under our control have also reached Morburn shores. They will be able to take down any force that tries to stop us once we get Brandon," another lieutenant said.


    Just then, a colonel let out a sneer. "As long as we manage to do that, we''ll announce Brandon''s crimes to the country and make sure Master Abar reims the throne."


    "What crimes?" someone asked.


    The colonel smirked. "What crimes? We can sentence Brandon to whatever the hell we want once we have him captured."


    Just then, Abar shouted, "Cut the crap! Let''s start the ritual."


    Everyone chorused in unison, taking out their daggers and slicing their wrists open to squeeze their blood onto the ground.


    Upon the contact between blood and soil, the entire basement including the surrounding walls lit up withplicated inscriptions.


    This basement was actually a massive formation, radiating an overwhelming energy that filled up the entire space.


    It was important to note that the entire basement was built using a material that held powerful energy and was extremely rare. It had taken them greatbor and time to build a whole basement out of this material.