Evan shook his head, dismissing the strange thoughts that had been flooding his mind, and stood up from the comfortable lava chair.

Without batting an eye, he casually stored the chair inside his storage ring, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Well, first of all, it’s completely your fault for attacking an innocent Shadow Undead who was simply chasing its target. So, I’d say the Shadow Monarch is actually the innocent party here and has nothing to do with what happened in the past.”

He mercilessly criticized Phoenix Clan actions, shifting the blame onto them while also trying to clear his—or, more precisely, Azroth’s—name.

Ashivor opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

He wanted to complain about many things—like how Evan had just stolen his chair in broad daylight and how he was criticizing them instead of blaming the Shadow Undead of the Realm Devourer for suddenly appearing in their territory.

In the end, however, Ashivor simply shook his head and chose not to say anything.

Seeing the old man remain silent, Evan took it as an unspoken agreement with his reasoning and nodded in satisfaction.

“Now that the trivial matters are out of the way, let’s get back to business.”

His expression turned serious, and he spoke in a deep voice.

“You have many people under your command who are active in the Frozen Monarchy, right?”

Ashivor nodded and it seemed he already knew what Evan was about to ask next because he spoke before Evan could continue.

“You want to know the number of high-level Core Evolvers under Winterclaw’s command and the structure of his army, correct?”

He paused for a moment before taking out a crystal from his storage ring.

“All the important information you need about Winterclaw is in this crystal. You can check it.”

Evan’s eyes lit up with delight as he caught the crystal and immediately examined it with his spiritual sense.

As he scanned the crystal, he discovered that it contained a lot of information—including details about the secret passages within the capital of the Frozen Monarchy.

There was also data on the individuals serving under Winterclaw’s command, but Evan didn’t check that information just yet.

After briefly scanning through the contents, he put the crystal away and asked.

“How accurate is this information?”

Ashivor thought for a moment before he replied.

“This information was gathered over many years, so most of it should be accurate. However…”

He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“You should know that Winterclaw would never reveal the full extent of his power. There are definitely things hidden—secrets that no one, not even us, knows about.”

Evan fell silent, thinking about Mythrenor—whom Anastasia suspected of being affiliated with Winterclaw.

After a few moments, he suddenly asked.

“Have you received any recent news about a powerful elf visiting Winterclaw?”

Ashivor raised an eyebrow before shaking his head.

“I don’t know. I receive information from my people at the end of each month, and there are still a few days left before they send me their next report. But if you want, I can contact them later and let you know.”

Evan nodded and spoke seriously.

“If they confirm the presence of an elf, tell them to stay away from him.”

Ashivor was confused by Evan’s words. He wondered if the elf in question was Eilistraea or someone from the Elven Empire. However, he chose not to ask any further questions and simply nodded.

Then, as if something just occurred to him, Evan turned to Ashivor and asked.

“By the way, is your Phoenix Clan planning to participate in the fight against Winterclaw?”

Even though Evan already knew the answer, he still asked—because he had a plan to drag them onto his pirate ship.

Just as expected, Ashivor shook his head without hesitation and spoke firmly.

“We have no intention of getting involved in this mess. The best I can do is provide you with information—but only under the condition that we won’t be implicated in this conflict in any way.”

Evan wasn’t surprised by this response and simply shook his head with a regretful expression.

“Is that so…? What a pity.”

Seeing the disappointed look on Evan’s face, Ashivor’s mouth twitched.

‘This guy is acting like they are already guaranteed to kill Winterclaw…’

Evan shifted his gaze toward his cheap sister, who had been standing off to the side, her expression blank as she tried to process the absurd series of events that had just taken place.

A smirk formed on his lips as he spoke.

“Sister, do you want to come with me and burn Winterclaw’s people to ashes? I am sure your ancestors would be proud of you for killing those who serve that beast.”

Blaze snapped back to reality at Evan’s words and stared at him dumbfoundedly.

She was definitely tempted to witness such a massive battle firsthand.

But at the same time… she knew that going anywhere with her cheap brother was no different from selling her soul to the King of Hell.

If she followed him, she would die without even knowing how.

She was about to refuse, but before she could say anything, Evan’s next sentence stopped her in her tracks.

“If you are afraid that Winterclaw will target you specifically because you are from the Phoenix Clan, don’t worry. To him, you’re nothing more than a bug—no, wait… a chicken.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, smirking mischievously.

“Besides, he won’t even have time to command his army—he will be too busy dealing with a powerful opponent.”

Blaze’s fist clenched tightly, and she looked at Evan with a forced smile.

She really wanted to give him a dropkick for calling her a chicken, but alas… what could she do?

Her rank was lower than his, and if she tried anything, she would be rubbed to the ground without even being able to put up a fight.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she asked in a low voice.

“Who are you talking about?”

‘The fish took the bait…’

Evan’s smile widened slightly, and half an hour later, he walked out of the separate dimension with a villainous smirk on his face.