Chapter 163. The Mysterious Man of the Divine Race, Withdrawal
At that mont, deep within the Magic Serpent Fortress, a chill that never dispersed all year round filled the air.
Aiya and the Grand Elder were fully focused on maintaining the Binding Array at its center.
Within the array, a mass of black mist ford from countless vengeful souls churned without rest. It was the Hatred of a Thousand Souls, which they had spent months suppressing.
Just then, a figure appeared inside the fortress without the slightest warning. He wore dark golden knight armor, and a faint glow flowed through the gaps in the plating.
Aiya and the Grand Elder had not sensed him at all. Only when he had already walked up behind them did they suddenly realize he was there. They spun around at once, their eyes filled with disbelief.
“Who are you?”
Aiya tightened her grip on her staff. Her pointed elven ears trembled slightly. The aura on this man was both holy and cold, far beyond anything she could comprehend.
The man ignored her question. His gaze fell on the Hatred of a Thousand Souls within the array, and he nodded slowly. His tone was calm, yet it carried unquestionable authority.
“Now we won’t be short of troops again.”
As if it sensed a fatal threat, the Hatred of a Thousand Souls surged violently. Countless shrill wails erupted from within the black mist as it hurled itself desperately against the edge of the array, yet it still could not break free.
The man paid it no mind. He turned to look at the dragon and the elf.
“That is enough. You’ve worked hard during this ti.”
He raised a hand, and a gentle yet irresistible divine power flowed from his palm. Like a giant invisible hand, it pierced straight through the array and forcibly dragged that struggling mass of black mist into his grasp.
The Hatred of a Thousand Souls writhed madly in his hand, yet it was held fast, like a trapped beast with its throat seized.
Still holding the black mist, the man casually swept his gaze across the low-tier undead wandering throughout the fortress and said flatly, “You can deal with that trash yourselves.”
Before his words had even fully fallen, light flashed around him, and he vanished without a trace together with the Hatred of a Thousand Souls, as though he had never appeared at all.
Only Aiya and the Grand Elder remained in the fortress. They looked at each other and saw lingering shock in one another’s eyes.
“What was that...?”
The Grand Elder’s voice carried lingering fear, and the skin beneath his dragon scales went cold in waves.
“The divine power on him... it did not belong to any known Divine Race.”
Aiya stared in the direction where the man had vanished. The gemstone at the tip of her staff was still faintly warm.
Could it be that the Ancient Council had admitted a new Divine Race?
It was not sothing they dared speculate on too much.
After dealing with the undead in the Mine Pit, Aiya and the Grand Elder followed the guidance of the token to the Silver Oakleaf Royal Capital, where they t William in the temporary command headquarters.
The mont William saw the two of them, he imdiately bowed in salute.
Aiya looked at him and spoke calmly. “William Kroll, after so ti, I will send soone to fetch you.”
William nodded. “Yes, Lady Aiya.”
Aiya gave him a long, deep look. A faint green light rose around her, and in the next instant, she disappeared from where she stood.
The Grand Elder turned to William, his gaze lingering for a mont on the prince’s tense profile, then suddenly asked, “William, did the surrounding nations resort to brute force outright?”
At those words, a bitter expression appeared on William’s face, and he nodded.
“Yes. Not long ago, they directly sent eight Domain-Level Powerhouses to descend upon the Kroll Royal Capital and forced my father to sign an unequal territorial division treaty.”
But after hearing this, the Grand Elder suddenly laughed. His laughter carried the weariness of soone who had seen too much of the world.
“That is perfectly normal. On this continent, it has always been the strong preying on the weak. There has never been any reason to speak of.”
He walked over to the war sand table and pointed at the regions that had been divided away.
“They dared do this for one reason only. They believe Kroll does not yet have enough Domain-Level Powerhouses to stand against them.”
“But rember this. When your fist is not hard enough, reason belongs to others. Once your fist is harder than theirs, reason will naturally stand on your side.”
William remained silent, his fingertips sliding across the flags on the sand table that represented the enemy nations.
The Grand Elder patted him on the shoulder.
“Daenerys has already reached the critical stage of breaking into the Domain. When the ti cos, I will give her so leeway and let her enter contracts with a few more Domain Giant Dragons.”
William raised his head, even more puzzled than before. What exactly did he have that was worth so much attention from the Grand Elder of Dragon Island?
But as things stood, he had no right to choose.
After seeing the Grand Elder off, he returned to the command headquarters and picked up the mountain of intelligence reports once more.
The withdrawals from the Northern Frontier, Southern Frontier, and Western Frontier were in full swing. Every legion was strictly carrying out the order to strip the land bare.
Grain, ore, and even dismantlable equipnt were being transported without interruption to the Kroll Royal Capital, then sealed away in several Secret Realms.
However, when William ca to the report regarding the Secret Realm in Silver Oakleaf’s Southern Frontier, his fingers paused slightly.
Inside that Secret Realm, two Gold Legions were undergoing special training. They were an important reserve of Kroll’s future military strength.
Now that the Royal Territory had contracted, would Father King transfer those two legions away as well?
He shook his head and put the thought aside for the mont. Father King had his own considerations. What William needed to focus on now was properly wrapping up the withdrawal.
Ti slipped by quietly amid the constant bustle. A full two months later, the banner of the last legion from the Western Frontier finally appeared at the border of the Royal Territory.
At that point, every Kroll legion stationed outside had fully withdrawn, forming a ring-shaped defensive periter centered on the Royal Territory.
Standing atop the walls of the royal capital, William looked at the troops returning from afar. Their armor glead with a cold light beneath the sun. Though fatigue showed on their faces, their eyes remained sharp.
The resources they had brought back were enough to sustain the Kroll Kingdom for several years. More importantly, its effective fighting strength had been preserved.
“Your Highness, the withdrawal has been completed.”
Kru ca to his side and handed him a list.
“All recovered resources have been entered into storage, and the loss report has also been completed.”
William took the list, his eyes sweeping across the numbers on it, and let out a soft sigh.
The losses were not small, but being able to withdraw intact while surrounded by powerful enemies was already a blessing.
“Pass down the order. Let every legion rest for three days. After that, they are to enter combat-readiness training.”
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