Night had fallen.
Ethan dragged his weary body to the Council Hall on the top floor of the City Lord’s Manor. His shoulders slumped under the weight of exhaustion—not from battle, but from sothing far more draining.
Shopping with four energetic girls.
He’d learned a harsh truth: escorting four lively young won around the city was more exhausting than facing a formidable opponent. The sisters were endlessly curious, full of questions, laughter, and boundless energy. He barely kept up.
Over the course of the day, he also discovered sothing important—the four sisters weren’t from within the city walls. They had been taken in by the old City Lord, Regis, years ago. Strangely, none of them even knew who the eldest among them was.
When he stepped into the hall, a sarcastic voice greeted him.
"Well, well... look who finally decided to grace us with his presence. The busy man himself," Dana quipped, arms crossed and brow raised.
Nora Vance, Clara, and Dot stood beside her, their eyes laced with a subtle resentnt as they turned to face Ethan. He instantly understood—clearly, they had co looking for him earlier.
"Nora! Clara, Dot... what are you all doing here?" he asked, surprised.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
Little Empty suddenly leapt onto his shoulder, puffing up indignantly. Ethan gave the little creature a pat on the head before gently lifting it down.
"Alright, alright—you too. I didn’t forget you."
His eyes scanned the room again. "Hey, where’s Inugoro? Did he head back to his tribe?"
At the ntion of Inugoro, the lively atmosphere took a sharp dive. Silence fell like a blade, and Ethan’s smile began to fade. A sinking feeling clawed at his gut.
"What’s wrong?" he asked, his voice quiet, cautious.
The silence stretched unbearably until Ormund finally stepped forward, voice thick with emotion.
"Inugoro... he’s dead. He died saving ."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
Boom.
Ethan’s body tensed as a surge of killing intent erupted from him. The air grew icy and oppressive, forcing the others to take an involuntary step back. Even Uncle Jed, a peak War God-rank powerhouse, was startled by the raw force radiating off him. He quickly waved his hand, casting a protective barrier around Nora and Dot, who both trembled under the weight of Ethan’s fury.
Nora, still an ordinary civilian, was especially vulnerable. Dot, on the other hand, had begun studying spiritualism under Dana. After consuming the Primal Elent Seed in the ancient underground city, she had awakened a natural affinity for the world’s energies. Coupled with her gift for understanding beast speech, her spiritualist physique had erged naturally. Even Clara had started studying beast taming under Dana. Though Dana wasn’t a true beast tar, spiritualism required knowledge of beast taming—and she was more than capable of guiding them.
Ethan’s voice cut through the silence, low and dangerous.
"Who killed him?"
Uncle Jed’s protective gesture hadn’t gone unnoticed. Ethan gritted his teeth, his words forced through clenched jaws.
Ormund answered, every syllable strained. "Astrid... the Golden Falcon. The one we saw when we first entered the city. During the trial, she ambushed . I didn’t stand a chance. Inugoro took the blow for ."
He opened his shirt, revealing a massive, bowl-sized scar across his chest.
"If he hadn’t stepped in, I’d be dead. The blow would’ve pierced my heart. I withdrew from the trial because of it."
His voice cracked at the end, his body trembling as tears welled in his eyes.
Ethan turned to Julian, his mind working.
"The Golden Falcon... Astrid. Wasn’t she the one who won the Beastfall Trial three years ago?"
Julian nodded grimly. "That’s her. She’s also on the Beast Race’s roster for the Four Domains Sacred Assembly."
Ethan fell silent, his thoughts already in motion.
"Has the Central Dominion Guard left the city?" he asked, his voice even now.
Julian nodded. "They’re all out. Normally, they don’t leave the barracks without orders, so it won’t raise suspicion right away. But if they’re gone too long, soone’s bound to notice the lack of activity."
"Good," Ethan said. "Let’s go too."
He turned on his heel, barking out orders.
"Uncle Jed, Ormund, Dana, Julian—you’re with . The rest of you, get so rest."
Just as he was about to exit, a figure stepped forward.
"I want to co too!" Bongo said.
Ethan didn’t even hesitate. His tone was cold and final.
"No."
He didn’t bother softening the blow. Bongo was just an ordinary girl. Taking her along would only endanger her.
Dana caught up to him quickly, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"Let her co. She won’t slow us down. She might even be the key."
Dana didn’t say more—but Ethan rembered how priest Gorr avoided her at all costs. No one understood why, but Dana wasn’t one to suggest things lightly.
Ethan glanced back at Julian, who gave a subtle nod.
He relented.
The group slipped out of Beastfall City under cover of darkness, their movents unnoticed. Ten miles out, they rendezvoused with the Central Dominion Guard.
Only then did Ethan speak.
"Target: the Violet Lightning Cloud Beasts."
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
They had expected him to imdiately set out for revenge against the Golden Falcons. But now... he was after a completely different beast tribe?
No one questioned him—not openly. Along the march, Ethan’s icy silence had been warning enough.
But in truth, this wasn’t sudden. When Ethan reviewed the map on Julian’s sand table back in the city, his system had alerted him:
[Ding... System Notification: Detailed monster distribution areas detected in the Southwest Region. Do you want to scan and update the map?]
He’d confird the update. On the newly refreshed map, the Violet Lightning Cloud Beasts were the closest flying beast tribe to Beastfall City. That made them his first target.
After a night-long forced march, they encountered few wild monsters. Any intelligent beast kept its distance—after all, a 20,000-strong human force wasn’t sothing to provoke.
As the first light of dawn painted the sky, Ethan studied the map again.
Two hundred kiloters remained.
They were well within the Violet Lightning Cloud Beasts’ patrol range.
He stood on Ormund’s back, surveying the landscape. "Ormund... descend."
"Understood," the white tiger growled.
Ormund twisted midair and landed gracefully. Julian reined in his Swift Lightning Spotted Deer. Uncle Jed and the rest followed suit.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Ethan, still standing atop the majestic white tiger. There was admiration in their gazes—envy, even.
It was the first ti many of them had seen a human riding a pure-blooded beast, let alone a flying one.
Uncle Jed had confided earlier: he wanted one too.
Ethan looked down at them, smiling as he stroked Ormund’s ear.
"Are you envious?" he asked, his voice teasing.
The soldiers exchanged glances, unsure how to respond.
"Answer ."
His voice stirred sothing in them, a subtle pressure that nudged at their hearts.
"Envious!" they answered in unison.
Ethan’s smile deepened.
"Then keep being envious. Because Ormund isn’t my mount. He’s my brother."
Below him, the massive white tiger trembled, a deep emotion rippling through him. Ethan’s words struck sothing raw.
"You are all my brothers too," Ethan continued. "And today... I’m taking you to catch your own."
He pointed ahead.
"Each of you—will have your own Violet Lightning Cloud Beast."
For a mont, silence prevailed, then shock.
Mounts? Violet Lightning Cloud Beasts?
They were fast, yes. Illusive, yes. But also Sovereign-rank beasts. Powerful. Proud. Pure-blooded. Not just any monster one could ta.
Most of these soldiers were only Exalted-rank at best. How could they possibly subdue such creatures?
Even Uncle Jed, a powerhouse in his own right, was stunned.
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