Author here :
Hello guys, the 2 or 3 incomming chapters will maybe make you feel like "wtf how can there be such coincidence?!", but don't worry, it will be explained soon.
Have a great day everyone.
Year 5, Day 94
The young miss and I have finally been accepted into the Thousand Swords Sect after passing all the tests.
Unfortunately, we will have to part ways here.
She has become an outer disciple, and as soon as she reaches the divine sea realm, she will become an inner disciple, which shouldn't be too difficult with the sect's resources.
As for me, I have only been accepted as a marginal disciple due to my celestial spiritual root.
In fact, according to the elder who evaluated us, I will maintain my cultivation speed until the nascent soul realm, but I'll start struggling once I enter the divine sea realm.
Even so, I will have a hard time reaching the peak of the divine sea realm.
Nevertheless, he also told me not to lose hope. There are certain miraculous herbs that can allow my spiritual root to improve.
Even if I don't find any, I might still be able to reach the pinnacle of the divine sea realm if I dedicate myself to cultivation and find the right opportunities.
As long as I reach this realm, my spiritual root will no longer matter. I still have hope!
...
A large shadow flew over the volcanoes and the lava rivers, leaving only a blur in its wake.
The two-winged green beast let out a short growl as it flew at full speed.
Shortly after, it spotted a small basin formed by three volcanoes. The area was filled with dense fog, but it knew this was not natural.
The nature wyvern folded its wings and curved, diving towards the center of the valley.
...
The four commanders were currently standing in a large building made of metal created by the mages of the Great Army.
In front of them, there were about fifty people tied to chairs with runic chains, looking at them with apprehension, fear, and anger.
"Elder Kyriakos should arrive soon," said James.
The other three nodded and waited in silence for Elder Kyriakos' arrival.
A few moments later, they felt a commotion outside, and shortly after, a large being covered in green scales entered the room.
He had a fierce serpentine head and two wings sprouting from his back and attached to his arms.
As soon as he entered, the four gave a formal salute and made way for him, forcing the prisoners to widen their eyes in surprise.
However, it wasn't out of fear but sheer astonishment, as if they had seen something incredible.
At the same time, they felt a sudden urge to bow before the being who had just arrived.
Similarly, the elder wyvern also felt a sort of connection with them.
"It's like with my brothers and sisters, but much weaker."
He was almost certain there was a kind of bond with these weak people in front of him.
He suddenly smiled, revealing his razor-sharp teeth.
"Interesting!"
...
The four commanders looked at each other and saw that each had the same incredulous expression after the elder's departure.
Alice looked at the prisoners, now numbering 49, and sighed slightly.
"It seems that this has somewhat exceeded our jurisdiction."
...
"Let's summarize the situation. Within a fifty-kilometer radius, we have eliminated or absorbed all the significant monster groups with rank 3 powers. Generals Nevra and Ruvia have also gone to deal with the spirit beast to the southeast, and they should bring it back shortly. Finally, we have sent two expeditions to the two native villages."
Sylvera stood as he presented the current progress of the war to the various war chiefs.
"Has there been any news of the invisible enemy?" asked a confirmed rank 4 orc, leader of the Yvengoth troops.
Sylvera shook his head.
"Unfortunately not. Either they have left the area, or they are hidden very deeply."
He then turned to Ruvia, who had joined the assembly a few days ago.
"How is the construction of the relay stations progressing?"
The general gave a kind smile and approached the round table, where two maps were spread out: one representing the entire plane, and the other the area within a hundred-kilometer radius.
"It's advancing quickly," she said, taking a pen and drawing an arc on the second map, with their camp as the center.
"As you know, communications only hold for about 25 km. To cover the entire area, the first ring of transmitters will be at forty kilometers from the area, with a relay station every forty kilometers, for a total of six transmitters. Counting the one at the camp, this makes a total of seven transmitters to design."
She paused briefly and took another pen, marking the location of the transmitters with a red dot and drawing a circle around each one, showing the entire assembly that the area inside the ring was fully covered.
"Currently, everything is almost finished, and all relay stations are operational. The engineers are just having some difficulties finding a stable frequency because the spatial instability causes some interference, especially with our proximity to the edge of the world. Nevertheless, this should be resolved by the end of the day."
When she finished, she took a few steps back and withdrew from the table.
The leaders looked at the map in silence, thinking about the next steps.
"General Luminara, I'm sure you've already thought about this, but let me ask you a question," said a peak rank 3 being with blue skin and tentacles instead of hair.
He did his best to speak as politely as possible. Although his status as a chief theoretically placed him above her, he knew very well that she could crush him at will.
Fortunately, Sylvera had encouraged them to engage and ask questions, swearing on his honor that there would be no repercussions if they gave their opinions.
"Given the importance of these relays, are you certain of their security? Even though we have eliminated the monster groups in the area, this invisible enemy remains very dangerous and, above all, unpredictable," he said with some apprehension as he looked at the magus.
To his great relief, Ruvia did not seem offended and simply returned to the table.
"Currently, each station is guarded by a regiment of the Great Army of Alandal and has a special detector capable of detecting anything below the advanced stage of rank 4 within a 25 km radius as long as they don't have special abilities. With that, the first ring can be considered almost watertight."
Her voice did not tremble, a sign of her absolute confidence.
"Don't worry too much about these unknown types," said Sylvera. "A dozen wyverns patrol the area constantly and can reach any location in less than two minutes. Plus, our men also have means to hold off for some time, even against a pinnacle rank 4. As general Luminara said, the first ring is secure!"
At the same time, a strange man covered with green scales entered the room, closely followed by another person covered in red scales with two horns, two wings, and a tail.
He quickly led his prisoner to the table and turned to Sylvera.
"My respects, Marshal, I come to report on the mission's progress."
He spoke in a clear and calm voice, while his prisoner trembled like a leaf when his gaze met those of the other rank 4s.
"The first expedition successfully completed the first stage of the mission and infiltrated the southernmost village. They will remain undercover for a week and gather as much information as possible. However, the second expedition encountered some obstacles," he said, pointing to the second village.
"The strength of the natives was stronger than expected, and they didn't dare infiltrate by force for fear of being exposed. Commander Alice Miller surrounded the area with fog, prompting the natives to come out and managed to capture an expedition team, of which this guy was the leader."
Ylaran immediately felt shivers all over his body as he was observed by so many powerful beings.
"Elder Kyriakos," Sylvera said in a dark voice, "this doesn't explain this guy's presence here, and I hope for your sake that you have a good reason," he said in a dark tone that made Ylaran's soul tremble and seemed to lower the room's temperature by a few degrees.
Kyriakos trembled under Sylvera's sharp gaze but managed to maintain a semblance of posture.
"It seems that I am somewhat connected to these guys. Not just him, but all the others of his kind. I feel a weak connection with them," his voice trembled slightly, and he didn't dare look the Marshal in the eye.
"It's a bit like the bond I have with the other wyverns, but much weaker. I didn't know if I was the only one to feel this, but I decided to bring him here to learn more. Maybe it will enlighten us on the next steps," he said, lowering his eyes.
Sylvera squinted and examined Ylaran from head to toe with a suspicious look.
After several seconds of heavy silence, he removed a metal cover on the bracer of his left forearm, revealing a small green screen and several buttons.
He entered a certain combination, and a slight buzzing sound resonated in the room while all the war chiefs patiently waited for the person to pick up.
chrchrchr
Beep
"Hello darling! This is the first time you've called me directly; did you miss me?"
A beautiful soft voice came from the bracelet, and immediately, all the war chiefs froze in place, questioning their life choices as they perfectly recognized the person on the other end.
Nevertheless, Sylvera pretended not to hear and continued.
"Isabella, can you please come to the command room? Elder Kyriakos has found something strange that might concern your entire race."
"No problem darling. I'm talking to that old man Ilbert; I'll be there soon! Love ya."
Beep Beep
As Sylvera closed his bracelet, he suddenly looked at everyone present with a sharp gaze and released a huge aura that sent chills down their spines.
"I'm counting on you to keep everything that happened here and everything that is about to happen under silence, understood?!"
...
A few moments later, Isabella stormed into the room at full speed and threw herself onto Sylvera, who had sat back in the main seat.
While the war chiefs only saw a blur pass by, she was already curled up on his broad chest, wrapping her long tail around his waist.
"So darling, why did you need me?" she said, caressing his scaly face with her clawed fingers.
Sylvera let out a slight sigh and nodded towards Ylaran and the humanoid wyvern.
Isabella turned and paid attention to the two people at the entrance of the room for the first time.
She didn't bother much with Kyriakos, whose image of a dignified and upright leader was quickly crumbling, but rather focused on the strange being covered in red scales and scrutinized him carefully.
Ylaran felt his spirit tremble again, as if the strange woman in front of him could clearly see through his entire being.
At the same time, he felt the same sense of proximity he had with Elder Kyriakos but much stronger, yet much weaker.
Even though he felt much closer to this female, he was almost certain that the gap between them was much larger. Deep in his being, he felt he should kneel and swear allegiance to her right now.
Likewise, Isabella felt exactly the same thing but in reverse.
Inadvertently, she felt superior to him and thought it was perfectly normal that she could decide his life and death at any moment.
She suddenly snapped out of her trance and got up to approach Ylaran.
As she got closer, she released an extremely powerful and suffocating aura in his direction.
It wasn't her pinnacle magical beast aura, but that of a fire drake at the peak of its glory, driven by her convictions and self-confidence.
It was extremely sharp and targeted. No war chief felt anything. Only Sylvera and the divine incarnations noticed something.
With each step she took, Ylaran felt the pressure increase and his mind influenced by an unknown thought: that of serving the woman in front of him.
He tried to resist it with all his will, but the closer she got, the stronger this thought became.
When Isabella finally stood before him, he naturally knelt and bowed.
There was no trace of fear and panic in his eyes, only fanaticism and admiration.
At the same time, Isabella made a cut in the palm of her left hand with the claws of her right hand, releasing a thin stream of blood.
Neither of them was really aware of what they were doing.
If Ylaran was somehow hypnotized by something deeply embedded in his genes, Isabella felt she had a ritual to perform and decided to follow her instinct.
"I, Ylaran, swear on my honor and bloodline to serve you until death."
After reciting his oath, he lifted his head and directly drank the blood flowing from Isabella's palm.