[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-journey-to-become-the-zenith":3,"chapter-journey-to-become-the-zenith-journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-169":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Journey to Become the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1828506,2432,"Chapter 169: The Valkyrie’s Questions","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-169",169,"\u003Cp>The Valkyrie’s Questions\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s shake on it.\" Victor extended his hand that bore the fresh knife cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Eon knew what he needed to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the knife Victor handed him, he lightly cut the palm of his own right hand as well, and their hands clasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood touched blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pact sealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The amber lamps trembled softly as if the fire itself bore witness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s voice came low and final.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The pact has been formed. Your life and everything else is now mine. If you breach this contract formed by blood, then expect to lose everything you have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not ordinary silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that comes after fate changes shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the hardened men gathered along the chamber walls seemed unwilling to breathe too loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eon had not merely pledged service.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had offered eternity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And everyone present knew it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lane’s dark eyes lingered on Victor with something like awe hidden beneath possessive affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Videl watched with a strange fierce pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brinda leaned back in her chair, purple eyes narrowed, as though reassessing the man she had flirted with moments before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Clara—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara felt something colder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tremor she refused to call fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because what she had just witnessed was no ordinary alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked too much like a king receiving fealty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then suddenly—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hand caught Victor’s wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lane’s body moved at once, instinct ready to place herself between them, but Victor gave the faintest signal with two fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lane halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reluctantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She simply pulled Victor out of the chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out into the narrow stone hallway where torchlight burned low against damp walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sounds of the den dulled behind heavy doors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the crackle of flame and distant footsteps remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once she was certain no one listened, she turned sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Purple eyes cold as winter steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same eyes Victor had first seen when they met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Valkyrie had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the hell is this?\" Clara’s voice was ice cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor merely tilted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean?\" he asked with a small smile, shoulders lifting in a careless shrug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That smile almost made Clara snap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not joking around Victor, tell me what this is all about.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her stern face, her cutting tone, the rigid tension in her shoulders—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it was easy to see why people called her Valkyrie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor looked at her a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost amused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not joking around as well,\" he said. \"I’m telling you I don’t understand your question. You’ve got to be more specific than asking me something as vague as what the hell is this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara stared at him in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now he played with words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell me Victor... are you the leader of these people?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No embellishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if admitting he ruled part of the underworld was as trivial as stating the weather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara felt her pulse jump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How long were you the boss of the underworld in Fantom City?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor actually looked thoughtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if searching memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hm.\" He tapped his chin lightly. \"It was after we finished that dungeon for mine and Lane’s evaluation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His golden eyes drifted, remembering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After we were done with that, some things happened with some slave traders...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint dangerous smile touched his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And one thing led to another.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shrugged again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since they decided to mess with me, I, in turn, decided to just take everything they had.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was his explanation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No grand conquest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No long campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No elaborate ambition confessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had conquered Fantom City’s underworld...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because people annoyed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somehow Victor said it with such natural ease that it sounded almost reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Clara was too sharp not to hear what lay beneath the casual phrasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took everything they had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was not the language of an adventurer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the language of a conqueror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Torchlight flickered across his sharp features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black shirt beneath his gold-trimmed jacket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every word made him feel older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ancient almost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara’s throat moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had followed him believing him reckless, arrogant... brilliant perhaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something she had not measured correctly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor seemed to notice her silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned slightly closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\" he murmured. \"You look as though you’ve discovered I have horns.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Against her will Clara almost reacted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead she narrowed her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This isn’t funny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s smile softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. It isn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a breath neither spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence between them held more than accusation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It held shifting trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Clara hated that she could feel her certainty unravel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because part of her wanted to condemn what he had done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another part—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A more dangerous part—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Admired it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor folded his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You dragged me out here just to ask whether I run the underworld?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then quieter—almost against her will—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why didn’t you tell me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor looked genuinely surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would you have believed me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That answer struck harder than if he had mocked her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because she knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wouldn’t have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Victor knew she knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint smirk returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides,\" he added, voice low, \"some truths are better shown than spoken.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara’s fingers curled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every answer only deepened the mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she remembered what had started this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eon kneeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blood oath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A kingmaker’s gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That man just swore his life to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s gaze did not waver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You talk as if that’s ordinary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s expression turned unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing about me is ordinary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words should have sounded arrogant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They sounded like fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara had no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a storm of questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when she replayed his earlier explanation—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some slave traders offended me, so I took everything they had—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shock returned in full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man before her, though he never said it outright...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Practically admitted he conquered Fantom City’s underworld just because he could.\u003C\u002Fp>",1012,"2026-06-09T06:06:36.928Z",1,"novelbin.me","8e7dd9e3d55dced9227e6f2c65591624fb7944aad3724e8b04c353d01c517d10","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-170","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-168",253,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fjourney-to-become-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]