Chapter 257: Border Standoff
Chapter 257: Border Standoff
The colossal war-skiff, Dawn-Breaker, tore through the sky above Stormveil City with unstoppable momentum.
The sheer force of its propulsion created a deafening sonic boom, leaving a trail of displaced clouds in its wake.
On the deck, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.
Carmilla stood at the forefront alongside Myrielle, Seraphine, and the High Preceptors, their eyes locked on the eastern horizon.
But as the borders of Stormveil City finally came into view, the immense speed of the golden leviathan was forcefully brought to a halt.
RUMBLE—!!!
The skies ahead were not empty.
They were completely choked by a massive, impenetrable wall of warships.
Hundreds of heavily armored aerial vessels bearing the roaring tiger crest of the Thunderwood Noble Family formed a blockade that literally blotted out the morning sun.
Thousands of elite Core Formation and Spirit Manifestation guards stood at the decks, their weapons drawn, and their auras blazing like a unified storm.
At the forefront of this overwhelming armada hovered a towering figure.
Thorian Thunderwood.
His muscular frame radiated the pressure of a middle stage Domain Master Realm expert.
"Dean Carmilla!" Thorian’s booming voice reverberated through the sky like a rolling thunderclap. "Hand over Rhain Voss."
On the deck of the war-skiff, Carmilla’s red robes fluttered wildly in the howling wind.
Her bright eyes narrowed sharply at the sight of the blockade.
"Patriarch Thorian!" Carmilla shot back, her melodious voice carrying an unyielding tone. "We have known each other for decades. For the sake of our long-standing friendship, I advise you to order your fleet to step aside. Do not force my hand today."
A deep sigh escaped Thorian’s lips.
"Carmilla... if I had a choice, I would gladly let you pass," Thorian spoke, "But this is not my decision. I am acting under a direct, undeniable decree from the Emperor himself. If I let you pass, my entire Thunderwood Family will be punished by the Royal Court. I am compelled to oblige."
Carmilla’s expression turned chillingly cold.
BOOM—!!!
Her overwhelming Domain Master Realm aura erupted like a volcano, falling over the entire Thunderwood fleet.
The violent red essence distorted the space around the Dawn-Breaker.
"Then tell me, Thorian," Carmilla challenged, her bright eyes blazing with lethal killing intent. "Are you truly prepared to lose your family members today? Because the Stormveil Academy will not let Rhain go without fighting to the bitter end! If you want him, you will have to step over the corpses of every single Preceptor standing on this deck!"
Behind her, High Preceptors Aldren, Octavius, Mordecai, Erasmus, and Amarantha stepped forward in perfect unison.
Their own Domain Master auras erupted wildly, merging with the dozens of Half-Step Domain Masters to create a terrifying wall of spiritual pressure.
Thorian gritted his teeth, his massive fists clenching.
He knew that an all-out war with the Academy’s elite would mean rivers of blood for his family.
But before the devastating clash could begin...
Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—!
From the southern horizon, another massive fleet of warships tore through the clouds.
Gilded vessels bearing the crest of a soaring hawk surged forward, rapidly fanning out to completely encircle the Dawn-Breaker from the flanks and the rear.
Patriarch Caelan had arrived with the full military might of the Valemere Noble Family!
Caelan hovered high in the sky, his gold-streaked hair whipping in the wind as a calculating, smug smile stretched across his face.
"Brother Thorian!" Caelan called out smoothly, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You need not worry about enduring heavy losses today! The Valemere Family is more than happy to join hands with you in this endeavor!"
Carmilla glared at Caelen, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
"Caelan," Carmilla hissed, "Does the Valemere Noble Family truly want to join this blockade? Are you so eager to drown your own people in blood?"
Caelan let out a loud, mocking laugh.
"Hahaha! Dean Carmilla, you misunderstand the situation," Caelan stated, his tone thoroughly haughty. "This is not about the Emperor’s decree. I have received a personal order directly from His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. And as you well know, I never disobey the Crown Prince."
Caelan hovered closer, the combined oppressive weight of the Valemere and Thunderwood forces creating an inescapable net around the Academy’s war-skiff.
"Be sensible, Carmilla. Hand over Rhain Voss," Caelan warned smugly. "Look around you. Even with the Dawn-Breaker and your High Preceptors, the Academy’s forces alone cannot possibly stop the full, combined military might of two great Noble Families. Surrender the boy, and spare your Preceptors a meaningless death."
On the deck of the Dawn-Breaker, the atmosphere turned incredibly grim.
Just as the situation seemed entirely hopeless, and the scales of power had tilted devastatingly against the Academy—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The skies to the west violently rippled.
A third, overwhelmingly majestic fleet pierced through the clouds, their hulls painted in deep crimson.
But it wasn’t just warships.
Nine figures shot ahead of the fleet like descending meteors, landing seamlessly in the empty space between the Dawn-Breaker and the opposing armadas.
Every single one of those nine figures radiated the earth-shattering pressure of the Domain Master Realm!
Emberford Noble Family!
Matriarch Seraphine stepped forward, taking her place at the forefront, leading the nine Domain Masters of her family that she had secretly summoned beforehand.
Her mature, breathtaking features were completely devoid of usual gentleness as her imperious gaze locked onto Caelan.
"Patriarch Caelan," Seraphine’s calm, authoritative voice echoed across the battlefield. "You said the Academy cannot stop the combined might of two great Noble Families. But tell me... what would happen if we were added to the equation?"
The entire battlefield went dead silent.
The smug smile on Caelan’s face shattered instantly.
Thorian stared at Seraphine, his eyes widening in shock.
"S-Seraphine!" Thorian bellowed, utterly bewildered. "Are you mad?! Do you truly want to help this boy, knowing full well that it means going against the Emperor himself?"
Seraphine met Thorian’s shocked gaze without a single ripple of hesitation.
She tilted her chin upward, her voice carrying a profound, unquestionable conviction.
"As a mother-in-law," Seraphine responded calmly, her words ringing clearly in the ears of every single cultivator present, "it is my natural duty to protect my son-in-law."
The words dropped like a nuclear bomb.
Patriarch Thorian and Patriarch Caelan froze, utterly stunned.
Son-in-law?
Lyra’s wedding to Rhain had been fixed?
The Emberford Noble Family had officially tied their thousand-year legacy to the very boy the Emperor wanted dead!
Patriarch Caelan’s face twisted into an incredibly ugly grimace.
"Have you lost your mind, Matriarch Seraphine?" Caelan mocked, pointing a trembling finger at her. "Are you really willing to make your precious daughter a widow so soon? That boy could die at any moment against the royal wrath!"
Seraphine’s eyes turned instantly frostbitten.
"As long as I breathe," Seraphine retorted coldly, her Domain Master aura crashing against Caleen fiercely, "no one will touch a single hair on Rhain’s body."
She tilted her chin upward, looking at the two Patriarchs with utter contempt.
"And do not compare me to you cowards. Unlike you, I am not afraid of the Emperor."
Hearing her arrogant declaration, Thorian and Caelan gritted their teeth, cold sweat immediately breaking out across their foreheads.
They wanted to rebuke her, but they could not.
Because they knew she was absolutely right.
No one in the entire Solathane Dynasty knew when her unfathomably powerful, missing husband might return.
That man was a taboo existence.
If the Emberford family was harmed, and that monstrous entity returned to find his wife and daughter in danger... even the Emperor’s head might roll. Not even the Royal Court could bear those consequences.
Despite the fear gripping their hearts, the two Patriarchs knew they had crossed the point of no return.
They absolutely could not return empty-handed to the Royal Court.
"This is your final warning, Dean Carmilla! Matriarch Seraphine!" Caelan shouted, "Hand Rhain over, or we attack!"
Tensions instantly reached a boiling point.
Over twenty Domain Masters simultaneously released their auras.
The catastrophic clash between the titans of Stormveil City seemed inevitable.