Chapter 192: Untitled

"What is she doing back there?" As the heavy steel battleship flashed through the upper sky, cutting a sharp path through the thin gray clouds, Eren’s curious voice resounded clearly from inside the spacious command cabin.

The Thousand Beast Citadel possessed an active runic portal leading directly out of the Nether Realm, but it brought them straight into the sovereign airspace of the Senos Monarchy. From that specific drop point, they still had to manually fly the massive vessel across the sprawling, mountainous borderlands toward the Bastion.

"She’s experimenting." Ethen smiled coyly, his expression completely relaxed and entirely unfazed now.

He looked casually toward the secured back of the battleship, where Morgana was sending wave after invisible wave of highly concentrated mental energy toward the battered, humanoid form of Ao Lorn.

The captive Dark Gold Dragon was tied up tightly in the center of the dark cargo hold, his body heavily restrained by thick, rune-etched iron chains while Morgana continued relentlessly testing her innate ability on him.

Her unique class ability allowed her to systematically break down, subvert, and completely dominate the sovereign will of dragons, forcing them to obey her absolute command. Ethen had always known this fact well.

It was an absurdly powerful ability, one that completely ignored the usual biological hierarchies established within the Nether Realm and beyond. If used properly and honed to its absolute peak, Morgana could potentially make summons from realms far above her own cultivate and fight exclusively for her. That conceptual authority alone made her ability absolutely terrifying to witness in active practice on a live battlefield.

"Oh." Eren smirked bitterly and shook his head, leaning his broad shoulders back against the cold metal bulkhead of the cabin while crossing his arms over his chest. The agonizing, throat-tearing screams echoed continuously everywhere.

Those raw noises coming from the captive Demi God vibrated through the thick iron floorboards beneath their heavy boots with every psychic strike.

Even with his newly awakened and hardened temperament as an Angel, he couldn’t help but feel some genuine, lingering pity for Ao Lorn as the dragon was slowly broken down.

Naturally, Eren didn’t think Ethen was simply some sick, twisted person who enjoyed mindless physical torture for the sake of cheap entertainment or petty, arrogant cruelty. There was most likely a highly calculated, strategic reason behind this ongoing, brutal psychological dismantling, likely meant to secure a victory.

Still, simply hearing those raw, broken screams coming from a divine creature of that caliber sent an involuntary shiver straight down his spine as he looked out the window.

Meanwhile, at the exact same time, in the Bastion’s grand main hall, a solemn, heavy atmosphere had spread completely throughout the massive stone room, silencing all the usual chatter.

The explosive news regarding the successful capture of Duke Ao’s direct son had already spread rapidly among the highest-ranking council members, veteran officers, and leading faction heads. Aside from the encrypted tactical information sent directly by the Dawn faction, they received threats.

They had also received immediate, blood-soaked threats from the supreme dragon clan demanding his immediate, unconditional release. "Hehehe." Despite the looming, terrifying threat of a catastrophic war that could engulf the human territories, a quiet, arrogant mockery rang through the shadows of the assembly hall.

They had actually captured a legitimate prince of the royal dragon clan and were currently dragging him directly to their doorstep in heavy, rune-forged iron chains like a common criminal.

That was no small accomplishment; it was a generational feat that shifted the entire balance of power on the continent in a single day forever.

The Beast Kin and humanity had been locked in a tense, brutal Cold War for years, fighting endless, bloody proxy battles across the untamed border territories without a clear victor.

Capturing a high-value hostage of Ao Lorn’s imperial status was a significant, undeniable victory that proved the Bastion’s rising martial dominance and gave them absolute leverage over the furious dragon courts.

"They’re almost here." A man seated at the absolute helm of the Bastion smiled, his posture completely relaxed and supremely confident upon his high, elevated throne.

Through the hall’s massive, open architectural opening, a dark battleship quickly approached today.

The vessel could be seen cleanly breaking through the gray clouds and shooting directly toward them at a truly astonishing speed.

Unfortunately, the speeding vessel didn’t make it very far across the open sky before the atmosphere itself began to violently warp and twist under an immense, suffocating pressure.

A massive, gold-scaled claw suddenly tore through the fabric of the sky without a single warning sign or fluctuation of ambient mana, eclipsing the sunlight over the entire mountain range. It came directly from above, descending rapidly toward the flying battleship with enough raw, cataclysmic kinetic force to destroy it completely.

The man seated at the helm simply smiled, entirely unbothered by the apocalyptic strike dropping directly from the stratosphere toward his most promising young talents and their high-value captive.

He stretched out his right hand toward the massive open archway, his fingers curling slightly as he effortlessly manipulated the surrounding atmosphere with absolute, unquestionable sovereign authority.

The heavy storm clouds covering the entire sky suddenly began to move, reacting instantly and obediently to his silent, sovereign command as though they were extensions of his own physical body. They gathered together with unnatural speed, swirling and compressing until they formed it.

A massive, impenetrable shield that blanketed the sky for miles in every direction formed a perfect defensive barrier.

BOOM!

The descending dragon claw collided violently with the dense, cloud-formed shield suspended high above the mountain fortress, creating a shockwave that threatened to deafen everyone standing on the ground below.

A blinding, radiant light flashed across the entire sky, completely washing out the colors of the Bastion and turning the daylight into a searing, pure white flare that burned the eyes. The sheer concussive force of the celestial collision caused the heavy battleship to be violently thrown off its established course.

Spinning wildly through the turbulent, shattered air currents, its engines sputtered and groaned under the crushing atmospheric pressure as it began falling uncontrollably toward the Bastion below, plummeting like a stone dropped from the absolute peak of heaven.

Fortunately, Eren reacted quickly to the sudden, terrifying plunge, relying on his newly forged divine instincts to stabilize the rapidly deteriorating situation inside the spinning, free-falling metal command cabin.

Blinding Angel might erupted from his body in a brilliant corona of pure light as he braced himself against the ship’s groaning interior hull, unleashing his vast, newly awakened energy to steady them.

He actively supported the falling battleship with his divine energy, slowing its terminal descent just enough to prevent everyone aboard from being killed on impact against the hard stone.

Even so, the massive iron ship crashed directly into the Bastion’s grand main hall, smashing through the polished floors and shattering the surrounding support pillars with a deafening, metallic screech.

BOOM!

A thick, suffocating cloud of pulverized stone dust and shattered marble debris instantly filled the entire viewing area, completely obscuring the wreckage of the ship from the waiting council members. A few tense minutes later, the gray smoke slowly settled.

Four distinct individuals emerged from the twisted wreckage of the hull, coughing away the dust. Working together in the center of the destruction, they dragged the battered, half-beast, half-human body of Ao Lorn directly into the hall and dropped him unceremoniously in the absolute center.

"Good job." The man at the helm smiled warmly at them, completely ignoring the ruined, cratered architecture of his grand assembly room in favor of praising the successful capture.

Then, his calm, calculating gaze shifted slowly toward the shattered entrance of the hall as the dust finally settled. Something ancient and truly terrifying was coming.

A massive, scaled foot broke through the cloudy darkness lingering outside and stepped heavily onto the threshold of the hall, cracking the stone beneath its immense, divine weight.

Its physical presence alone caused the entire atmospheric pressure of the room to change in a single, suffocating heartbeat, forcing the air out of the lungs of everyone present.

Draconian energy radiated from the towering figure, spreading rapidly throughout the enclosed room like an invisible, crushing weight that pinned the mortal officers to the floor. Everyone present in the assembly immediately felt their bodies tighten, their muscles locking up in primal terror.

Breathing became difficult as the heavy aura pressed down.

Then, another perfectly gentle energy suddenly cut through the room. It spread across everyone present, pushing back the oppressive draconian force without harming anyone under its protective embrace.

The man seated at the helm threw his head back and laughed aloud. "Duke Ao! Have you come to bargain?!" He stared with hysterical confidence at the giant figure standing silently within the shattered entrance. For a moment, neither side moved a single muscle. Then the glowing system notification appeared vividly before their eyes. [You are in the presence of two Almighty Gods.]