“Both sides wounded?” Alaric’s mouth twitched once, beyond his control. A low laugh scraped out of him, deep and cold enough to settle into the bones.
“I allocated three thousand elite celestial men-at-arms to you. You had plenty of provisions and first-rate weapons… On top of that, you two peak True Immortal Realm Level Nine war champions were there holding the line. You were defending the Northern Abyss Dreadhold, a prison built on dangerous terrain and packed with wards. And in the end, you come back and tell me it was merely both sides wounded?”
The question dropped into the hall. A crushing pressure swept across everyone present.
Marshal Stone and Marshal Grey hurriedly pressed their foreheads flat against the cold flagstone.
Neither of them dared take a full breath. Neither dared lift his head to meet Alaric’s gaze. Neither dared offer even half a word in defense.
The facts stood right there in front of them. They had suffered a disastrous defeat, and the prison had fallen. There was no escaping the blame. Any excuse would have sounded thin enough to break in the air.
Alaric slowly rose. The hem of his ornate golden robe dragged across the floor as favonovel.com moved.
The fabric scraped over the flagstone, giving off a dry, cold rustle. Every step landed like a heavy hammer against the chests of everyone in the hall. The pressure turned suffocating, sharp enough to bite.
He walked at an unhurried pace until favonovel.com stood before the two of them. From above, favonovel.com looked down at their battered bodies with cold eyes. His gaze was sharp as an ice blade, stabbing straight into the depths of both men.
His chest rose and fell hard. Inside it, everything banked there for days surged at once-the fire, the forced swallowing-down, the bitter grind of defeat. It pressed so hard against reason that favonovel.com nearly cut them down on the spot.
The Three Dreadholds had fallen one after another. One after another, Jared had broken through them by force.
Under Alaric’s command, Marshal Gold and Marshal Vale had died in battle one after the other, cutting deep into his core fighting strength. Every scout sent beyond the walls and every clandestine agent buried in the dark lost contact and died. The flow of intelligence snapped, leaving a blind gap where reports should have been. And now the last two foremost war champions had dragged themselves back in ruin, both gravely wounded, while the bulwark of the Northern Marches lay completely shattered.
Step by step, Alaric had given ground. Loss after loss had been carved out of him. He had not only failed to wipe out the rebels of Freevale; favonovel.com had allowed Jared to grow stronger with every battle.
Jared’s forces kept swelling, pressing closer and closer to the heartland of the Celestial Alliance, close enough now to threaten the very foundation beneath the High Sovereign.
A defeat like this left his prestige in the dirt and his authority visibly damaged.
How was favonovel.com supposed to keep the cultivators of the several divisions under his hand?
How was favonovel.com supposed to keep the rule of the Celestial Alliance from loosening at the seams?
Alaric drew in a cold breath and forced his teeth together, grinding down the murderous violence churning beneath his ribs. Reason dragged itself back into place. No matter how high that inner fire climbed, this was not the moment to cut down principal war champions on impulse.
The great enemy stood before them, and this was exactly when useful men had to be kept in play. Cutting off his own arms would cost more than it paid.
The killing intent sank back into the dark, set aside for a later reckoning.
“Strategist!” Alaric forced the edge out of his voice until it turned cold and level again.
From the shadowed side of the hall, Zaccai stepped out quickly, his body already bowed. He wore a blue-green scholar’s robe, his expression grave and solemn. He bent in salute and waited with full respect for the command. “High Sovereign…”
“Send the order across the entire domain,” Alaric said coldly. “Every territory under the Celestial Alliance will enter the highest wartime state of readiness at once. This applies to every patrol scout, garrison cultivator, and border-patrol company currently outside. No matter how far they are, no matter what post they hold, they are to withdraw at full speed immediately and fall back to the inner high hall! Not a moment’s delay will be tolerated!”
“Activate every defensive ward, killing array-sigil, and saintlight bulwark across the entire territory at full power. Layer them over one another and lock down every entrance and exit. Without a handwritten order from me, no one enters or leaves the Alliance’s territories on their own authority. No one is to march out and fight without authorization. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot, and the punishment will extend to their entire clan!”
“Your servant obeys… I will transmit the order across the domain and see it carried out at once…” Zaccai bowed and accepted the command.
“One more thing.” Alaric’s gaze returned to the two men still kneeling on the floor. “Take the two of them away and send them into the private healing realm. Use high-grade divine pills and nascence elixir. Spare nothing in treating their wounds. Once their injuries are fully healed, they return at once to the defensive line of the North and hold the border fortress! They will redeem their failures through service. No mistakes. No shirking!”
Hearing that, Marshal Stone and Marshal Grey both froze for a beat, the order striking them from an angle they had not been ready for. They had been certain that after such a crushing defeat and the loss of the prison, severe punishment was waiting. At best, their cultivation would have been crippled. At worst, they would have been cut down on the spot to uphold military law.
They had never imagined the High Sovereign would let the past offense go, much less grant them resources to heal and still keep them on to guard the border. That mercy struck them harder than punishment would have. The reprieve settled over them, and beneath it, the weight of their failure pressed their heads even lower.
The two men hurriedly slammed their foreheads to the floor in a heavy kowtow, their voices scraped raw, every word stripped of calculation.
“Thank you, High Sovereign, for sparing our lives!”
“The two of us will defend the Northern Marches even if we die there, and we will atone for our crimes through service!”
“We swear to serve the High Sovereign to the death. We will never betray your trust!”
Alaric did not spare the two men another glance. He turned and walked back, step by slow step, toward the gilded throne.
In silence, favonovel.com sat. His fingertips lifted again and came down lightly against the armrest. Once. Then again. The rhythm was slow, dull, and heavy. It sounded like some ancient funeral bell counting down the final moments, each tap driving the entire hall into a tighter silence as unease began to spread.
“Strategist, speak plainly. From here, how should we arrange our response to Jared Chance’s rebel host?” Alaric asked in a low voice.
Zaccai stepped half a pace forward. His voice lowered as favonovel.com weighed the situation, each point laid out cleanly. “High Sovereign, by your servant’s assessment… Jared Chance’s company has won battle after battle and broken through the Three Dreadholds in succession, so their momentum looks enormous… But they have paid a terrible price themselves. Their vital strength has been badly depleted…”
“In last night’s bloody battle at Northern Abyss Gaol, Jared suffered grievous injuries. The meridians through his chest were damaged. His cracked bones and internal wounds will not be easy to heal… Gwendolyn forced herself to unleash the Frost-Deity final art. Her spirit was damaged, and favonovel.com spiritual power was drained dry…”
“For a short time, the two of them simply have no strength to start another war. Their fighting power is not even thirty percent of what it was. They absolutely will not dare to rashly invade the heartland of the Celestial Alliance… For now, our heartland is safe. We do not need to rush into taking the offensive…”
“Will not dare?” The corner of Alaric’s mouth curved with cold mockery. “He dared to storm the three heavily garrisoned Dreadholds. He dared to slaughter the war champions under my command. Is there anything left in this world that favonovel.com would not dare to do?”
Zaccai gave a faint shake of his head, and something deep and calculating passed through his eyes. “High Sovereign, the true core of the matter right now has never been Jared. It is time… The two Grand Elders are in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Golden Immortal Realm, and they have already reached the final closing stage…”
“They are only one last step away from completing it and emerging from seclusion. As long as the two Golden Immortal adepts successfully appear and take command, overlooking the Northern Marches… No matter how overbearing Jared’s chaotic force may be, no matter how extraordinary his talent is, his cultivation is still only at the True Immortal Realm. In the end, favonovel.com is nothing but an ant trying to shake a towering tree. He cannot withstand a single blow…”
“Between a Golden Immortal and a True Immortal, there is a chasm as wide as heaven itself. It is a difference in the level of nascence. No secret art, no divine arms, and no talent can make up for that…”
“Alaric’s fingertip paused for the barest moment. His eyes darkened, and for a while, favonovel.com gave no answer.
“Your servant has only one plan,” Zaccai said, his tone leaving no room to bend. “Defend to the death and wait quietly for them to emerge from seclusion… Draw in the outer line of defense across the board. Abandon the remote outposts. Gather every fighting force in the Alliance heartland, and hold the high-hall stronghold…”
“Do not waste strength clashing with Jared’s battered remnants. Do not start a battle. Defend only. Do not attack. Drag out the time with everything we have, until the day the two Grand Elders break through and step out. That will be the day Jared is destroyed, the day Freevale is leveled flat, and the future threat is cut off forever.”
Within the High Hall, only the dull sound of fingertips striking an armrest remained.
Again and again, the sound echoed without end, pressing down until the chamber seemed sealed shut.
Alaric stayed silent for a long time. Killing intent sat deep in his eyes as favonovel.com weighed the gains against the cost.
At last, his voice dropped, and the decision came down. “Good… Send the order exactly as you said. Have the entire army pull the defensive lines inward. Hold position and do not come out Seal down the entire domain, and defend the Alliance heartland to the death. Watch every movement in Freevale around the clock. At the first stir of wind or grass, report back at full speed… No delays!”
“Your servant accepts the order…” Zaccai bowed and withdrew. Immediately, favonovel.com began shifting the fighting strength of the entire domain into position.
Alaric leaned back against the black throne and slowly closed his eyes. His fingertips still did not stop. They kept tapping lightly against the armrest.
Beyond the windows, the twin uncanny moons cast a cold, bleak light. Night lay heavy, and the chill soaked into the hall.
He spoke under his breath, his voice light, almost flat, yet every word carried a vicious finality. “Jared, you destroyed the Three Dreadholds and killed two of my trusted war champions… You cost my celestials countless elites. I will remember this blood debt… Enjoy your little triumph for a few days if you like. I am in no hurry. But remember this. You will never win. The final winner in this world is destined to be the celestials. Destined to be me…”
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