I'm not just human!

"Could he have run into some bandits on the road? Augustus has indeed been a bit unsettled lately, with quite a few bandits who have signed secret pacts lurking in the lower city..."

Yaxo gritted his teeth, seemingly deciding to go and see for himself.

But just then, his gaze suddenly turned to the darkness deep within the stone-paved road, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Glenn still couldn't figure it out. After all, he was only an Elephant-level transcendent, unlike Axo, who was a demigod-like being who had transcended the level of life.

"Xiafa is here!"

Yaxo muttered something and quickly stepped forward.

Sure enough, the next moment, Xia Fa's figure appeared under the streetlight.

He came to the banquet dressed in a fine suit and carried a basket of fruit.

Yaxor quickly stepped forward, took the fruit from his hand, and smiled:

"We'll all be family from now on, why be so polite? Come on, let's go to the banquet hall first."

Glenn also stepped forward and put his arm around Xiafa's shoulder:

"Xia Fa, I almost thought you weren't coming."

Xia Fa smiled slightly:

"How could that be?"

Actually, with just over an hour left, he suddenly realized that wearing his linen shirt and tailored trousers to the banquet at the Augustus family's residence was definitely not appropriate, so he specially went to buy a sophisticated high-end suit.

Afterwards, he also scouted out the area around the palace before arriving promptly at eight o'clock.

Following Axor and Glenn, Shafa stepped through the grand gates of the Augustus family and immediately saw the fountain in the middle of the square, as well as a statue of a stern-faced middle-aged soldier.

Before he could even take a closer look, he was pulled by Axel into the magnificent hall of the palace, and then along a side corridor into the luxurious banquet hall.

As soon as Xia Fa entered the banquet hall, he immediately felt that pairs of blue eyes, both male and female, were staring at him.

Those gazes were all filled with scrutiny and appraising.

Chapter 167 Xia Fa's wealth, the rumors of the Secret Emperor, and two overlord-level secret contracts.

Even though he had eaten at the homes of nobles of all sizes many times, this was the first time Xia Fa had ever seen such a magnificent and elegant banquet hall.

The bright red carpet was elegant and grand, embroidered with laurel leaves and cornflower patterns in gold thread.

The walls are snow-white, and the paintings in golden frames are masterpieces that have stood the test of time.

Those famous paintings actually moved, and the people in the paintings... whether they were artists, emperors, or generals, all turned around in the frames and looked at him.

The dome was adorned with dazzling ukiyo-e prints, and golden candelabras hung down, their candlelight illuminating the banquet hall as if it were daytime.

Of course, what excited Xia Fa the most were the extraordinary dishes laid out on the oval table—

Truffle foie gras, Burgundy red wine steak, stuffed pheasant, meringue tart, oysters with lemon juice—all of these dishes use supernatural creatures as ingredients.

Xia Fa even faintly sensed the aura of demigod-level supernatural beings in some of the ingredients.

"Truly befitting a family banquet of the second most powerful family in the Augu Kingdom..."

Anyway, he was just there to attend the banquet. After a period of randomly freeloading meals and being trained under the spotlight in the sacred land of the desert, Xia Fa had already developed a thick skin.

He completely ignored the stares directed at him and, with Glenn's enthusiastic guidance, sat down at the south side of the oval table, among a group of blond, blue-eyed young men and women.

Xia Fa also observed a pattern: at the Augustus family's banquet, the northernmost part of the long marble oval table was occupied by a group of old men, each with an astonishing aura.

The further south you go, the more young people you'll find in those seats.

In the middle of the oval table sat a group of middle-aged men and elegant ladies. Some of them were sizing up Xia Fa, but most of them didn't seem to care and continued chatting amongst themselves.

As for those old men, they didn't even glance at him. It was unclear whether they were used to this kind of thing or simply didn't care because Xia Fa was just a mere insect-level superhuman.

Xia Fa glanced at the dining table and was able to roughly understand the attitudes of the Augustus family members. However, he didn't care, since his purpose in coming here was to kill Pompeii.

"Brother, wait a moment. The banquet can officially begin once the patriarch arrives."

Glenn was as enthusiastic as ever, whispering to Shafa with a smile. The young members of the Augustus family around them also noticed Glenn's attitude; some remained expressionless, while others raised their eyebrows.

Immediately afterwards, many people looked at Frederick, the most promising and strongest among the younger generation of the Augustus family.

Frederick was seated quite close to the middle of the oval table, next to his uncles and elders from the Augustan family, which alone showed his status in the family.

The young members of the Augustus family couldn't help but recall Frederick's words earlier. Before Shafa arrived, Frederick seemed to have looked down on Shafa, who was only at the Insect level.

Unfortunately, the head of the family hasn't arrived yet, and the elders generally don't care about conflicts between the younger generation. If Frederick suddenly attacks Shafa and things get ugly, that would be terrible.

Of course, this is the thinking of the kind-hearted younger generation.

Some people, on the other hand, were watching the show with amusement, hoping that Frederick would step forward and make things difficult for Xiafa.

This was purely out of jealousy. Xia Fa, due to good luck and his own strength, made great contributions at the Fog Carnival and actually obtained the title of Viscount. You should know that many of the young people in the Augustus family are not even the lowest-ranking baron.

They all have to wait to inherit their titles from their fathers, and who knows when that will be.

Glenn talked to Shafa to ease Shafa's tension, although he could tell that Shafa didn't seem nervous at all. At the same time, he was also sizing up Frederick.

If Frederick dared to stand up and make a move, Glenn decided that he would stop him no matter what.

As for Frederick making a sarcastic remark, Glenn can't do anything about it; at most, he can only help Shafa refute it.

The sound of the pearwood chair being pushed back suddenly rang out, and Frederick stood up abruptly, his unique demigod aura and pressure spreading out.

He turned around and fixed his gaze on Xia Fa.

Whether they were the elders of the Augustus family or the uncles and patriarchs, they were still talking amongst themselves or sitting quietly waiting for the patriarch to arrive.

No one paid any attention to Frederick, who suddenly stood up, assuming he might be going to the toilet.

Frederick casually pushed aside the pearwood chair and strode towards Shafa.

Glenn was startled and was about to stand up to block Xiafa.

He wasn't very familiar with Frederick. Frederick was his distant cousin, but Frederick had been training at sea on the planet Caligi for years, and the two had hardly ever met.

Other young members of the Augustus family showed signs of worry, fearing a conflict or argument might break out, while others waited to see what would happen, but remained calm on the surface, even feigning concern.

Frederick was incredibly fast; he bypassed Glenn in an instant and arrived in front of Shafa's seat.

Xia Fa remained calm and composed, sitting motionless on the pearwood chair.

Although he came to kill Pompeii, he wouldn't mind showing some of his strength beforehand if anyone dared to offend him.

"You must be Xia Fa? It's a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Frederick, Frederick de Augustus. From now on, we're family."

Unexpectedly, Frederick suddenly bent down, extended his hand, and smiled sincerely, seemingly eager to befriend Shafa.

This caught Xia Fa off guard. He had long since realized that this handsome and resolute young man was a demigod and thought he was about to cause trouble. He never expected him to be so polite.

As the saying goes, one shouldn't hit a smiling face, so Xia Fa stood up and shook hands with him.

Frederick's tone was full of admiration:

"I've heard about your performance at the Fog Carnival. You're a true hero among young people. When I was in my twenties, I was just indulging in pleasure all day long. Now you're a viscount, and I'm still waiting to inherit my father's viscount title. You have no idea how envious I am of you."

On the south side of the oval table, a group of young members of the Augustus family were dumbfounded.

What's the situation?

Didn't Frederick have some reservations about this guy named Shaphat before? He even thought he wasn't worthy of joining the Augustus family!

But why are they being so nice now, acting like they genuinely want to make friends?

Glenn was stunned. He sat back down, somewhat confused about the situation.

Only Axor and Cardan, located on the south side of the oval table, watched this scene from afar and exchanged glances.

Frederick has spent so many years at sea training, not only becoming a demigod, but also developing a very mature mind.

Based on their understanding of Frederick, having watched him grow up, they knew he must be very proud and looked down on Shafa.

Despite his disdain, Frederick still put on a good show and gave Xiafa plenty of face.

With this kind of mentality... Frederick certainly has the qualities to become a family elder.

To represent the Augustan family, the elders naturally had to be adept at navigating social situations, or at least avoid offending people everywhere.

In Axor's mind, Frederick was even more mature than Cardan. Of course, this was also related to the fact that Cardan became a demigod at the age of twenty-five, after all, he lacked a few years of training.

After greeting Shafa, Frederick went straight back to his seat. If the head of the family hadn't been absent and the banquet hadn't officially started, judging from his expression, he probably would have raised his glass to Shafa from afar.

Xia Fa was somewhat amused and exasperated, but this was for the best. Without any inexplicable provocations, he could better observe and pay close attention to Pompeii's actions, and then seize the opportunity to strike decisively.

"By the way, what about Pompeii..."

Xia Fa was somewhat puzzled. When he entered the banquet hall earlier, he glanced around and saw that the maids and servants had almost finished their work. Since all the dishes had been served, except for a dozen or so people who were responsible for pouring wine, the others had all left the banquet hall.

But all the maids and servants were very young, and Shafa did not see Pompeii among them.

Just then, Xia Fa suddenly noticed a familiar figure in a passageway outside the banquet hall, wiping the painting on the wall with a handkerchief.

Although the figure was only turned to the side, Xia Fa's spiritual intuition suddenly kicked in, giving him a strong warning.

"Pompeii is indeed here..."

The reason his spiritual intuition suddenly reacted was because he had divined Pompeii three times and had developed some vague mystical instincts that would be triggered when he encountered Pompeii.

Therefore, Xiafa didn't even need to see Pompeii's profile; he only needed to rely on his spiritual intuition and physical judgment to know that it was undoubtedly Pompeii!

"He probably won't come to the banquet hall during the meal, but he should come to clean up when the meal is almost over. He's probably acting as the Augustus family's cleaning servant..."

Xia Fa first withdrew his gaze, and then began to ponder in silence.

If I were to walk over there now, it would seem too abrupt and might alert Pompeii.

Pompeii must possess some life-saving treasures or sealed artifacts bestowed by that extraordinary monarch wearing the ghost mask. If he becomes alerted and escapes, things will become very troublesome later.

But after the dinner, Pompeii will definitely come over to clean up the fish bones, leftover bones, or used napkins that the Augustus family members spat out. At that time, the success rate of making a move will be extremely high!

Having made up his mind, Xia Fa stopped paying attention to Pompeii to avoid arousing his suspicion.

Anyway, until now, I've been in the dark while Pompeii has been in the light.

The extraordinary monarch wearing the ghost mask only knew that Bald and his son were killed by a signatory of the Silver Throne, but he did not know that the signatory was himself.

As for the extraordinary monarch's spiritual intuition on the Bluebeard ship this afternoon, it never once touched him in the small compartment below deck, Xia Fa was certain of that.

After all, if a ruler, especially a transcendent monarch, were to sweep over him with their spiritual intuition, the strange currents running down his spine and the burning sensation in his heart would have already surged out desperately.