Emperor of Soul Pets

Chapter 12: The Phoenix Princess

The banquet hall was as silent as a graveyard. No one dared make a sound as they stared at the flaming figure at the center of the room.

"It's the Phoenix"

"So the rumors are true. She is the Phoenix Lady."

Rao Wu raised a brow, his curiosity peaked by the crowd's random murmurs. What did they mean by phoenix? The little boy, who had yet to learn the importance of tact openly asked Aeriole. "Why are they calling you Phoenix?"

"I'll explain later," Aeriole promised with a bitter smile. She then turned to look at Hao Feng and once again reiterated, "Order your Flamebeak Eagle to stand down. You know it can't hurt me."

Hao Feng was blue in the face. He never expected to eat so much crow from this interaction. Not only did he lose to some no-name brat, but now he was being threatened by the Phoenix Princess. Hao Feng could use his identity to bully anyone in this building, but the Phoenix Princess was a special entity.

Humanity was heavily indebted to the Von Basten family. The Von Bastens were not as rich or as powerful as the other kingdoms, but no one dared bully a Von Basten because of the immense responsibility this family held. Should the Von Bastens ever quit, humanity would certainly lose more than half its population.

Before the dinner, Hao Feng's father repeatedly drilled into his son the Von Bastens' significance, and to never provoke them. As a result, Hao Feng could only swallow his embarrassment and rage and then muttered, "Return, Flamebeak Eagle."

"Kii~" The Flamebeak Eagle let out a mournful cry, and then stopped struggling, ultimately surrendering to Aeriole.

Aeriole, upon hearing the Flamebeak Eagle's surrender, promptly released the proud bird. She then watched as the bird flew over to Hao Feng and mournfully cried on his shoulder.

Hao Feng, however was too angry to acknowledge the Eagle's mourning. Stifling his boiling temper, the child pointed at Rao Wu. "With all due respect, Ms. Von Basten, this boy tried to kill me. Surely, you will not interrupt justice being carried out?"

"Hah!?" Rao Wu's expression distorted. He looked incredulously at Hao Feng like he had never heard such bullshit in his life. "What the he—" Rao Wu was about to let the pompous brat have a piece of his mind, but Aeriole's outstretched hand gave him pause. He glanced at her, and saw her looking at him with pleading eyes. Evidently, she wanted to handle this case. Rao Wu hesitated, but ultimately decided to rely on her, seeing as this was her territory.

Seeing Rao Wu concede to her, Aeriole's lips momentarily blossomed in a beautiful smile. She then turned to regard Hao Feng with a stern expression. "Do not play with my intelligence, Hao Feng. There are several witnesses who can testify that you attacked first."

Hao Feng flinched. If it were just him against the nameless boy, he was certain most of the children would either support him or keep silent. However, with Aeriole taking the kid's side, the neutral parties would most definitely take her side. The child bit his lips, but in the end, he did not give up. Instead, he said provocatively, "I was only going to give him a warning! A small burn can easily be cured! But his Dusklight Wolf was clearly going to kill me!"

Many children murmured in the surroundings. Indeed, they had felt the cub's killing intent. If it weren't for the scholarly boy's water column, Hao Feng's neck might already be a beautiful fountain.

Aeriole blanched, unable to come up with a quick retort. Indeed, even if Hao Feng attacked first, everyone knew his Phase one, Flamebeak Eagle's flames could only cause bad burns at best. It was still far from being life-threatening. As a result, Rao Wu's attempted murder was far too lopsided.