Randolph looked at the suddenly angry blonde woman with a puzzled expression, but he was soon shocked again by the information contained in her words.
Randolph had considered many possibilities before, but he never imagined that someone capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Dragon God Orsted would be a human!
Moreover, since he was human, it meant his youthful appearance wasn't an illusion—he really was that young.
Judging by his somewhat immature face, was this boy even fifteen years old?
Randolph considered himself quite talented; otherwise, he wouldn't have inherited the title of "Death God" among the Seven Great Powers and remained active for so long.
After defeating the previous "Death God," countless people had challenged him to take his place. Eventually, he grew tired of it and returned to his homeland, the Dragon King Kingdom, to live a retired life as a chef.
But even someone as talented as Randolph, at the age of fifteen, was probably doing cheap mercenary work in some corner of the Demon Continent.
Meanwhile, this fifteen-year-old was already going head-to-head with the second-ranked Dragon God and holding his own.
No, if what the Dragon God said was true, even Randolph in his current state wouldn't stand a chance against this boy. As the Dragon God had said, Randolph wouldn't last three rounds against him...
"What kind of monster is this...?"
It was no wonder Randolph felt this way. Not long ago, the Dragon God standing before him had repeatedly expressed similar thoughts.
"Although it wasn't my intention, I do bear more than half the responsibility for this incident.
I deeply apologize for the trouble caused to everyone. Once I've dealt with matters in the Milis Holy Kingdom, I will personally visit the Dragon King Kingdom to offer my apologies.
I'm truly sorry for troubling you to come all this way."
Just as Randolph was marveling at the monstrous boy, he and the Dragon King Knights were shocked to see the boy, whom they considered an "invincible monster," bow his head and sincerely apologize to them!
Strong individuals usually have high self-esteem—this is almost universal. When one possesses great strength, pride naturally follows, and strong individuals have every right to be proud.
Most strong people, even when they've made a mistake, wouldn't admit it, as it would damage their image.
In Randolph's eyes, Wood, who could fight the Dragon God to a standstill, was undoubtedly one of the world's top-tier powerhouses.
And Wood was so young! Shouldn't a young prodigy, having achieved so much without facing major setbacks, be even more arrogant and dismissive of others?
Yet, looking at the humble and sincere Wood before them, Randolph and the others were completely stunned.
Despite possessing immense power, Wood maintained such a modest attitude and even apologized to those far weaker than himself for his actions.
"Now I finally understand why you possess such incredible strength.
Putting aside your power, your character and demeanor are truly admirable. With such humility, it's no wonder you've remained relatively unknown in the world."
When a powerhouse capable of rivaling the Dragon God humbly apologized, Randolph and the others couldn't afford to act high and mighty. They immediately responded with mutual praise.
Though it might seem like mere flattery, Wood's actions had genuinely earned Randolph and the Dragon King Knights' respect.
Especially the Dragon King Knight captain, who had previously tried to assert his authority, now felt deeply ashamed.
When he thought his side was stronger, his first instinct was to use force to intimidate. Yet Wood, who far surpassed them in strength, treated them with the opposite attitude.
Despite wearing knightly armor, the Dragon King Knights felt that Wood embodied the virtues of a true knight more than they did.
Thanks to Wood's humble and courteous behavior, his favorability in Randolph and the Dragon King Knights' eyes skyrocketed.
"Sister, do you think if I get married someday, I could have a child as strong and well-mannered as Wood?"
The Dragon King Kingdom's knights were won over by Wood's demeanor, and Therese, as a former Holy Knight, was no exception. She even secretly asked her sister Zenith if she had used any special techniques to raise Wood.
"If I told you that both Wood and Rudy were largely self-reliant from a young age, and that Paul and I didn't teach them much—that most of what they know was self-taught and they grew into who they are today—would you believe me?"
Zenith had once been known as the "model of a noble lady," and her manners and behavior were impeccable.
But in truth, Wood's excellence had little to do with her as a mother.
When Wood was very young, it was Lilia who mostly took care of him. As a child, he had already taught himself a great deal and even became an adventurer to support the family.
Wood had always been Zenith's proudest child, without question.
Although Rudy was Wood's twin and the eldest son, and his talent and strength were exceptional even by the continent's standards, in terms of character and personality, Rudy fell far short of Wood.
As their mother, Zenith was one of the people who knew Wood and Rudy's personalities best.
It wasn't that Rudy was bad, but he could be cowardly and evasive, shirking responsibility. In the past, he had also been somewhat indifferent to family bonds, though he had gradually changed.
Of course, the most important point was that Zenith believed Rudy had inherited Paul's troublesome womanizing tendencies, something she, as a devout follower of the Milis faith and a believer in monogamy, could never accept.
Wood, on the other hand, though the younger son, always felt incredibly reliable. He took care of everyone in the family and was always the first to step up in any situation.
To be honest, while Paul was the "head of the household," Zenith often felt that Wood was far more dependable and mature.
"If you ever visit our kingdom, I'm sure the king would be delighted and welcome you with the highest honors."
After understanding the cause of the disturbances, Randolph and the others didn't linger. Before leaving, Randolph reminded Wood that if he ever visited their kingdom, he should let him know first.
"With your strength, defeating him should be no problem. Becoming one of the Seven Great Powers would be as easy as snapping your fingers. Why not just defeat him and take his position?
As far as I know, humans—no, most creatures in this world—are quite susceptible to fame.
Becoming a world-renowned powerhouse isn't something you'd pursue for vanity, is it? From what I've heard, challengers for the last three spots among the Seven Great Powers are always lining up."
Watching Randolph and the others leave, Orsted looked at Wood curiously and asked.
Among the group from the Dragon King Kingdom, aside from Randolph, Orsted didn't think much of anyone else.
The Dragon God was proud. While Wood might apologize for his reckless actions, Orsted wouldn't. He was the proud dragon god, and even if he were to apologize, it wouldn't be to a bunch of insignificant weaklings.
"Most people you're talking about definitely don't include me. I have no interest in the so-called title of 'Seven Great Powers.'
It's just a meaningless label created by Laplace to deal with the Human God. If you care so much about it, why have you always been the eternal second?"
In Wood's view, if Orsted really wanted to be the top of the Seven Great Powers, his chances were quite high.
The first-ranked "Technique God" was merely Laplace's other half. The complete Laplace was only one of the "Five Dragon Generals," while Orsted, though not the first Dragon God, possessed the bloodline of the original.
And after all these years, his strength might not be inferior to that of the original Dragon God.
Wood and the others were returning to the Milis Holy Kingdom mainly to bid farewell to the head of the Latria family, Claire, and to help Cliff stabilize the church.
As for the Human God's follower, Lartal, during Wood's coma, Orsted had used dragon secret techniques to extract all the information he knew.
It turned out that as a so-called follower of the Human God, Lartal didn't know much about the Human God.
This wasn't surprising, given the Human God's cunning and cautious nature. His "followers" were merely pawns he manipulated.
Typically, the Human God would directly contact his followers and assign them tasks, but the followers couldn't reach him themselves.
However, Lartal did provide some useful information. From his mouth, Wood and the others learned about another follower of the Human God.
This follower had a higher status and had been a follower for much longer. If they could find this person, they might uncover more about the Human God.
At the very least, they could learn more about the Human God's network of followers, just as they had with Lartal.
Upon returning to the Milis Holy Kingdom, Wood and the others quickly stabilized the country's situation.
The beast tide had already retreated due to the battle between Wood and Orsted, and the main forces of the "rebel faction" had been wiped out by Wood and his group, leaving the remaining members powerless.
However, when it came to selecting a new pope for the Milis Church, there was significant internal disagreement.
The original "pope faction" naturally recommended Cliff, the grandson of the old pope and Rudy's close friend from the magic academy, to take the position.
But this proposal was met with strong opposition.
In the eyes of most people in the Milis capital, the church bore significant responsibility for the recent disaster.
The old pope's failure to properly oversee the church had allowed suspicious individuals to infiltrate, leading to internal strife and the ensuing chaos. Many innocent people had been caught in the crossfire.
Moreover, when the Milis capital was under attack by the beast tide, the church hadn't shown enough responsibility or protection for the people, instead focusing on fighting the "rebel faction," resulting in many unnecessary deaths.
Finally, in the eyes of the people, Cliff, as the old pope's grandson, was both unfamiliar to them and too young to take on the role of pope, the highest position in the Milis Holy Kingdom.
"If you ask me, the position of pope should go to Lord Wood."
"That's right! If it's Lord Wood, I'd support it with both hands and feet!"
Indeed, the strongest competitor for Cliff's claim to the papacy was none other than Wood, who had been dragged into the situation unintentionally.
The reason it was unintentional was that the people supporting Wood weren't orchestrated by him—they were acting on their own.
During the church's internal strife and the beast tide invasion, Wood's reputation had skyrocketed, to the point where he was seen as the savior of the entire Milis Holy Kingdom.
Those who had been saved by Wood naturally supported him, and even those who hadn't met him were swayed by the fervent praise of his fans, leading to Wood's image being almost deified.
"Lord Wood is indeed powerful, and his contributions to the Milis Holy Kingdom and the church are undeniable. But have you forgotten?
Lord Wood is from the Greyrat family, a noble family of the Asura Kingdom. He's not a citizen of the Milis Holy Kingdom."
The pope faction hadn't expected such strong opposition to Cliff's succession, so they could only come up with this weak excuse.
"So what? Lord Wood is also the grandson of the Latria family. I've heard from the Latria family's guards that Lady Claire, the head of the family, intends for Lord Wood to inherit the Latria family."
"That's right! And what does Cliff have besides being the old pope's grandson?
Lord Wood is the divine messenger sent by the Milis God to save us. Compared to the Milis God, what is the old pope?
The pope's grandson and a divine messenger aren't even in the same league!"