Chapter 200: The Panther and Sovereign’s talk

Two days later, at the site of the feast.

Bum-bum! Bum-bum! Bum-bum!

Drums and laughter echoed throughout the Redwood Basin.

More than a dozen drums were being hit at the same time, and their sound was enough to shake the ground.

Three chairs stood atop the stage, already claimed by Rion, Haria, and Haden.

Around them, around a hundred tribe members danced with wide grins stretching across their faces.

The group leaders, scout leaders, Marin, Valak, Varok, Arok, Zaelyane and Taien sat under a beam shelter much grander than the others.

The collective laughter and chatter of all the tribe members overpowered the sound of the drums and the children that weren’t there the last time now ran around performing their mischievous games and acts.

Rion watched them dance and laugh with a wide grin, and Haria stared at Haden, who was watching everything with a faint smile, from the corner of her eye.

She wanted to speak to him, but it had been years since she was so close to the person that she used to call Father, and because she was the one who had forced them apart, she wasn’t able to say anything.

Rion, who had his Zone active, could sense her dilemma and choose to help her. “Big sis… what would you do now?”

Haria turned her head towards him and mumbled in confusion, “What do you mean?”

Rion leaned back in his chair, turned his head towards her, and said, “Didn’t you want to see the outside world? Now that the barrier is no more, nothing is stopping you from doing what you always wanted to do.”

Hearing his words, Haria pressed her lips into a thin line, and Haden was the one to respond.

“Do you want to take her with you?”

Rion looked at Haden and answered with a shake of his head, “Even though big sis would be of great help, I won’t take her with me.”

Haria frowned. “Why?”

Rion smiled and said, “I want to go and come back as fast as I can, so what I need is speed, not strength.”

Haria chuckled and stated with a smug expression, “Speed? Have you even seen my true speed?”

Shaking his head, Rion muttered, “I haven’t, but I still won’t take you… Because you don’t want to leave anymore.”

Haria fell silent, Haden stared at her with a calm expression, and Rion looked into his eyes to understand his thoughts, but he was unable to glean anything.

The bubbly laughter and the rhythmic beats echoed around them, and Haden asked, “Is that true?”

Haria looked at Haden with a complicated expression, her lips trembled as she opened them and responded, “Do you think I am worthy of crossing the mountains if I couldn’t even step beyond the barrier?”

Haden furrowed his brows. “How do they even relate to one another?”

“Huh?” Haria stared at Hadem with a dumbfounded expression, and he said, “The barrier was created by beings beyond our understanding… walking past it might be an achievement, but failing to do so doesn’t make one unworthy.”

Haria fell silent at his words, her eyes dark in despair.

For the past four decades, she hadn’t gone close to him, thinking that because of her failure, she wasn’t worthy of the Sovereign’s parental love, but… for Haden, such a failure meant nothing.

Should he be disappointed in an ant if it failed to kill a human? Haria’s situation was similar, the only difference being that it wasn’t just any ant but an ant that was close to him.

Haria lowered her head, and seeing that, Rion commented, “You must be feeling stupid, huh…”

She shot him a glare and growled, “Shut up!”

Rion chuckled and looked at Haden, only to find him staring at Haria with a frown.

Haden’s lips parted, and he spoke, “I still remember the day when you decided to stay away from us… at first I thought that maybe you just wanted to live away, but over time I realised that it was a much deeper reason than that.”

Haria’s hands clenched in her lap, nails digging into palms. She turned her head towards him, tears streaming down her face, and Haden continued, “However, even after knowing that, Lara and I never tried to talk to you…”

“Why?” She asked while rubbing off her tears.

A faint smile creased his lips, and he added, “You seemed much happier…”

He turned his head towards the crowd. “With us, you were always trapped under my name. Similar to Rion, you didn’t make many friends, but just as you left… things changed.”

Rion’s smile lessened slightly, and Haden said, “As the strongest… I am viewed differently, and that is fine. However, it becomes a problem when that difference spreads to my family…” A faint smile creased his lips, “But there is nothing I can do.”

Both Rion and Haria fell silent at his rather despairing words, and suddenly, Marin’s words echoed in his head, <Have all of you planned to look sad between all of this?>

Haria quickly flashed a smile, and Haden let out a faint chuckle.

Rion chuckled while shaking his head and asked, <You are saying it like we are looking for a reason to get sad.>

<Haha! Of course not. I am simply advising to continue this sad chat later.>

A faint smile appeared on his face, and Marin stated, <Anyways, get ready.>

Rion furrowed his brows. <What for?>

<Hmm? Your speech?>

Rion looked at Haria and Haden from the corner of his eye and seeing that there was no reaction, he asked, <Why didn’t you tell me before I like you told big sis and father?>

<What are you talking about?>

Rion frowned. <What do you not understand about this?>

Marin sighed audibly and explained as easily as he could, <You are the high commander, the one with the highest achievements and because of that, you will be the only one to deliver a speech and start the feast.>

“I hate this…”

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200 Chapters RAHHHHHH

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