Chapter 115: ¹¹⁵Astrea’s Eastern Gate
"My name is Ethan Valen. And you... are standing in my way."
Ethan’s voice wasn’t loud. Yet the sheer weight behind his words slammed into the cobblestone border road like a sledgehammer.
A thin trace of Sin Mana intentionally leaked from beneath his skin. Invisible to the naked eye, it condensed the surrounding air enough to choke anyone in the vicinity.
Behind the barricade, the commander in the dark blue cloak held his breath. His arrogance dissolved in an instant.
Cold sweat beads the size of corn kernels dripped down his temple, ignoring the biting early spring chill that lingered in the air.
He stared into Ethan’s dark brown eyes. The abyssal darkness within them looked ready to swallow anything whole.
High on the driver’s seat, Valera Voss narrowed her golden eyes. A predatory smirk spread wide across her lips.
Her left hand held the leather reins, while her right hand—wrapped in black bandages hiding the lingering demonic scar—was already gripping the hilt of the massive Zweihander strapped to her back.
"Give the word, My Lord," Valera whispered hoarsely, her voice thick with bloodlust.
"Give me the word, and these dogs won’t have heads left to report back to their masters."
Tension skyrocketed. The half-dozen knights behind the commander reflexively unsheathed their swords a few inches. The metallic clinks shattered the eerie silence.
The mysterious rider behind them stood frozen like a statue, ready to bolt the moment a slaughter broke out.
However, Ethan gave no order to kill.
His dark coat billowed gently. Without turning around, he raised his right hand—giving an absolute two-finger signal.
"Tch..." Valera clicked her tongue in disappointment. Her jaw tightened, but her fingers let go of the Zweihander’s hilt. Ethan’s word was law.
"This outpost isn’t the right place to exterminate pests," Ethan said calmly, his eyes never leaving the commander whose face grew increasingly pale. "Besides, I refuse to dirty my hands on low-ranking foot soldiers."
Ethan turned slightly toward the wooden carriage door behind him.
"Kaelia. Get out."
The command was brief, leaving no room for argument.
Inside the cabin, Kaelia von Ashford swallowed hard. She knew her role perfectly: to act as a political shield and high-born deterrent.
Swallowing her pride, she patted down her uniform and pushed the carriage door open.
Thud.
The fiery red-haired girl stepped down. Her dark red tunic adorned with pure gold embroidery screamed opulence.
Her golden eyes swept over the soldiers with the absolute arrogance befitting a Duke’s daughter.
"Hah? Are you blind, Knight?" Kaelia hissed as cold as ice, playing her part flawlessly.
She crossed her arms over her chest, casting a condescending glare. "How dare you order my carriage to stop and demand an inspection as if I were a common smuggler!"
The commander retreated a step, the sword in his hand suddenly feeling heavy as a mountain. "M-Forgive us, Lady Ashford... We were merely following protocol... There were reports of a suspicious carriage—"
"Garbage reports," Ethan cut in flatly.
Ethan took two steps forward, closing in on the commander who was choking under the suffocating Sin Mana pressure.
He pulled a thick parchment from inside his coat, letting the dark blue wax seal of the Royal Palace of Astrea flutter prominently in the wind.
"This is an official summons from the Palace," Ethan stated firmly, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the guard post. "Signed by the Crown. I was summoned personally."
Ethan tilted his head with a murderous glare. "So tell me, Commander... does the bribing faction behind you possess higher authority than the Crown?"
Checkmate. To agree was treason. To deny it meant letting them pass.
The commander’s face went deathly pale. Confronting Ethan was one thing, but disobeying Palace orders right in front of the Ashford heiress was a direct ticket to the gallows.
"N-No... of course not, Lord Valen," the commander stuttered frantically. He hurriedly sheathed his sword and bowed deeply.
"This is... purely a misunderstanding! I beg your forgiveness for our insolence!"
He spun around and shouted in sheer panic, "Open the barricade! Clear the path right now!"
The soldiers scrambled frantically to dismantle the wood and iron, not daring to meet Ethan’s or Kaelia’s eyes.
Ethan smiled coldly. He tucked the document back into his coat and waved his hand for Kaelia to get back inside.
Valera snorted loudly from the driver’s seat. "Tch. Boring!"
She snapped the leather reins in annoyance, venting her disappointment. "Hyah!"
Rumble! Rumble!
The Valen wooden carriage creaked as it rolled through the barricade. The guards and the rider behind them stood frozen in stunned silence.
Inside the cabin, Kaelia leaned back near the window. Her hands were tightly clasped, her heart still hammering against her ribs.
Across from her, Ethan sat relaxed with his eyes half-closed, as if the commotion earlier was nothing more than a passing fly.
"Hmm... they weren’t ordinary border patrol," Kaelia whispered, breaking the silence.
Ethan didn’t open his eyes. "Of course they weren’t."
"You noticed?" Kaelia continued. "The crest on that commander’s shoulder wasn’t a standard patrol badge. And their posture was far too rigid... like executioners waiting on a schedule."
"The way they set their feet and gripped their blades was suspicious too," Valera added from the driver’s seat, her mutated ears catching their conversation. "They were noble hounds trained to kill, not gatekeepers."
Kaelia bit her lip. "Whichever faction sent them, they already knew you were heading here, Ethan. They intended to eliminate you before you could set foot in the Palace."
Ethan opened his eyes slowly. His dark gaze locked onto Kaelia.
"Let them," Ethan said flatly, the temperature inside the cabin abruptly plummeting. "It only proves that the Palace summons made them panic. An overly eager welcoming committee is a sign of weakness. They are afraid."
Kaelia exhaled, leaning her head back. Ethan was right, but stepping into a domain infested with unseen daggers still made her chest feel suffocatingly tight.
The carriage pressed forward. The pine forest faded, replaced by lush green spring trees. The cobblestone road widened.
A thick oak signpost stood tall: "ASTREA — EASTERN GATE".
Caravans of merchants, mercenaries, and low-ranking nobles began crowding the road. Blue and gold banners of the Kingdom of Astrea fluttered arrogantly everywhere.
Kaelia stared at the banners through the dusty window, a complex gaze in her eyes.
"The last time I traveled down this road... I was only nine years old," Kaelia murmured softly. "Father brought me for a summer festival. Back then, I thought this place was the center of the world. It was so breathtaking."
She shot Ethan a cynical smile. "The signpost might look grand, but inside, the Capital of Astrea smells far worse than the darkest sewer. Behind those pristine white walls, poison is brewed in golden teacups, and knives are thrust with a smile."
Ethan met her gaze without a trace of emotion. "Good. That means we’re in the right place."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"If this place is filled with people holding blades behind their backs, it means enemies won’t be hard to find," Ethan replied coldly. "We won’t need to hunt. They will hand over their necks themselves."
"My Lord... the watchers are getting dense," Valera called out from outside. "Over a dozen eyes are lurking behind the trees and merchant wagons. They’re using concealment magic, but the scent of their fear can’t fool my nose."
"Ignore them. Keep moving," Ethan replied tersely.
At the end of the road, a gargantuan fortress finally cleaved through the morning mist.
White stone walls twenty meters high soared into the sky, piercing the clouds. In the center, the Eastern Gate gaped open like the maw of a stone dragon. Heavy ironwood gates adorned with carvings of a crown and crossed swords stood in magnificent glory.
A sea of people jammed the space before the gate. Shouting guards, whinnying horses, and the loud clatter of wheels clashed in a chaotic din.
Valera pulled the reins, slowing the Valen carriage down as she took a spot in the queue. Her hands remained on standby, scanning the archers on the towers and the foot soldiers below.
"We’ve reached the gate, My Lord," Valera reported. "Security is quite tight, but with that summons, it should be quick."
Kaelia stared at the giant walls. "Welcome back to Astrea..." she muttered cynically.
Ethan remained silent. To him, these towering walls were no sanctuary; they were merely physical obstacles that had to be crossed to sever the head of the snake within.
The queue shrank. When the Valen carriage’s turn arrived, the dark blue wax seal from the Palace worked like magic. The guards hurriedly stepped aside without daring to ask questions.
Clack-clack-clack...
The carriage passed through the dark stone tunnel, emerging into the dazzling splendor of the Capital of Astrea.
The hustle and bustle of the city expanded tenfold. Multi-story stone buildings stood tightly packed. Wrought-iron shop signs swayed. The aroma of roasted meat, fresh bread, and spices mingled with the road dust.
The wheels of the Valen wooden carriage rattled smoothly across the paved cobblestone streets.
Kaelia stared out the window at the bustling cityscape, her mind racing. Meanwhile, Ethan stared straight ahead with an ice-cold gaze.
They had officially set foot at the heart of power.
𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
The storm had only just begun.