Soon, the elves sat across from the Niveus sect members in an uncomfortable silence. Oddly enough, some miscellaneous sects were also in attendance, after all, it wasn’t just the god clans who participated in the campaigns.

But, maybe not so fortunately, those miscellaneous sect members were part of the big sects Dyon despised so much. Although Hashim and Lehabim didn’t dare look Dyon in the eyes anymore, much to Orbis’ amusement, their presence was still a stain on an already annoying situation.

Dyon had tried to see if Eli’s older sister, Venus, was here. But, it seemed like she decided to forego the experience. Also, Dyon hadn’t even bothered to search for Eli because he was very clear on the fact that he was much too weak to join the campaigns just yet. He was probably focused on his gardening right about now – the thought of which brought a smile to Dyon’s face, much to Evelyn’s irritation. 𝑖𝘦.𝑐ℴ𝘮

‘Mocking me? We’ll see how you mock me when you learn who my future husband is.’ Evelyn snorted in her heart. She was a cold and calculating individual despite the warm outer appearance she displayed most of the time. To her, her virginity was only a card to play to gain power. What she lost initially would be given back to her many fold. All she needed to do was be patient. ‘When he comes back, you’re dead. Enjoy walking around with that hypocritical smile for now.’

Despite Evelyn’s silent warning, Dyon didn’t seem aware of any changes. In fact, he was quite busy quietly chatting away with Ri, letting Akash take the reigns.

“We should speak about what our tactics will be for this campaign. Who will defend. Who will attack. And when we’ll do each.” Akash, finally finished gathering her thoughts, began to speak.

And yet, Evelyn’s gaze seemed transfixed on a Delia that didn’t seem too intent to look back.

But suddenly, a voice snapped her out of any ill-intentions she had.

“I thought I told you to tread lightly when it came to my little sister? Did you not take enough notes? Do you need a repeat lesson?” Dyon looked up from his conversation with Ri, staring daggers at a now flustered Evelyn.

And yet, just as Evelyn was about to respond, the loud booming sounds of a commotion filled the senses of everyone in attendance.

Akash stood up. “There shouldn’t be anything going on right now. We haven’t gotten any reports!”

Dyon’s brows furrowed before a thought crossed his mind, causing his eyes to narrow. ‘The Saeclum clan.’

It was no secret that the Saeclum clan, due to their soul cultivation speciality and their unique techniques, were the prime scouters for not just Rod Tower, but every tower. The fact there were no reports, and yet something was clearly happening now could only mean one thing: they hadn’t reported it on purpose.

Evelyn turned an angry gaze toward Dyon. After her interaction with him, she had done her due diligence in delving into his background. As such, his run-ins with the Saeclum and Ragnor clans weren’t secrets to her now.

“How fantastic. Now we can’t trust our intelligence because you think you can go around being arrogant wherever you want. Didn’t you think of your actions ever having consequences?” Evelyn said angrily. Although she hated Dyon to the core, her reasons for being angry, at least right now, seemed valid to her and the Niveus sect members.

Dyon ignored Evelyn. After all, if he hadn’t killed Saeclum he would have died. Was he supposed to just allow that?

“Let’s go.” Dyon flashed out of the room. What he needed was speed now, every second counted.

Ri ran right along with Dyon as they flashed to the absolute peak of Lotus Tower to look out at the situation.

“This…”

Dyon’s brow furrowed in agitation. There were too many!

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers raged toward Lotus Tower. But, it shouldn’t be possible to move such large amounts of troops all together. Even without the Saeclum clan they should have detected this. And aside from that, there was no explanation for how all of them survived!

“This is the same method they used with the scaled elephants… I knew this was a possibility… But I was really hoping… Dammit!”

Dyon took a deep breath feeling Ri’s hand slip into his. This Alidor had been planning this for a long time, Dyon had only just stepped into the mix. Although he had thwarted the first part of Alidor’s plan, a true genius wouldn’t crumble after one setback. It seemed a great battle was about to begin.

**

In the distance, the army of hundreds of thousands continued to charge forward, getting closer with every passing second.

The rumbling of their footsteps, the clouds of grey and black dust, even the raging noise of their war drums and bestial cries were like a cacophonic prelude to a bloody battle.

Soon, they were close enough for Dyon to see two familiar figures floating above them in the skies.

‘Bas and Liska…’ Does that mean he’s here? Why would he be here? ‘No. That’s not it.’

Dyon’s mind was working on overdrive. The Elvin and Niveus armies were still scrambling within the tower to get ready, and even Dyon’s army was caught unaware. ‘What a nice game you’ve played Saeclum clan. I’ll remember this.’

“Ri, I’m about to test out something really dangerous. I need you to remember that as long as you feel my celestial will in you, I’m alive. Alright?”

Ri furrowed her brows while looking at Dyon’s determined profile. “You idiot. What happened to my half?”

Dyon looked over to Ri. Right now, it was just the two of them in front of an army of almost a million. And yet, on their side, they may have amounted to twenty thousand. Twenty thousand who weren’t even properly prepared.

“This is just something I have to do alone. It’s too dangerous.”

Ri looked up at Dyon’s gentle smile, feeling her heart break.

Updated from 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮