You think Elder Thaloren wasn't pissed?
Oh, he was furious.
Ethan had killed two of their orange-tier Legendary heroes—two of their best—and now they were the ones who had to come crawling back with apologies? How humiliating was that?
How could he not be angry?
Anyone would be!
But as the High Elder of the Abyssan Naga Temple, Thaloren carried the weight of his entire people on his shoulders. That meant he didn't have the luxury of throwing a tantrum like Orykas. He couldn't afford to get mad like a regular person—he had to get mad smart.
And this? This was what smart anger looked like.
A no-win trap, gift-wrapped as a favor.
Was it really that subtle or complicated? Not really. Anyone who thought it through carefully could probably see it. But the brilliance of it wasn't in how hidden it was—it was in how utterly inescapable it was.
