Chapter 372: Lion’s Den

The Kingdom of Dawn was a wounded beast bleeding from three massive, fatal gashes. The deaths of the Second, Third, and Fourth Generals had sent shockwaves through the military hierarchy. The army, once a unified force of unyielding barbarians, fractured into paranoid factions. Soldiers eyed one another with suspicion, and supply lines ground to a halt as commanders scrambled to secure their own borders.

It was the perfect environment for chaos.

Over the next week, the capital of Snowfall descended into a living nightmare. The Shadow Hounds, expertly trained in subterfuge, worked in tandem with Kael’s Pillar Knights to orchestrate a string of brutal, targeted raids on the city’s outer districts.

BOOM! CRASH!

Explosions of wind and ice tore through the city watch barracks. Soren and Caelum moved like ghosts, leaving behind the distinct, eagle-crested insignias of the Britannia Kingdom on the corpses of the guards. The barbarians, enraged by the "foreign" attack, retaliated blindly.

But the true weapon was the court.

Inside the grand throne room of Snowfall, King Bjorn "The Frost-Blooded" sat upon his throne of carved ice, his massive, ten-foot frame trembling with rage.

"THE BRITANNIANS DARE?!" Bjorn roared, his voice shattering the frost crystals hanging from the ceiling.

The nobles, now completely under Kael’s slave runes, knelt before the King, their eyes hollow and their words carefully crafted poison.

"My King," Lord Vane, the mind-controlled head of the treasury, spoke up, feigning a trembling voice. "The raids bear the mark of Britannia’s Royal Griffins. We intercepted a message... they plan to invade while we are weakened!"

"LIES! They signed a treaty!" another general shouted.

But the mind-controlled nobles whispered louder, planting seeds of paranoia. They have been moving troops to the border. The treaty was a sham. They killed our Generals.

Bjorn’s blind, bloodshot eyes flared. His arrogance and paranoia consumed him. "MOBILIZE THE WESTERN LEGION! I want half the army at the Britannia border! If they want war, I will bring them a slaughter they will never forget!"

Whoosh. The wheels of war turned exactly as Kael had designed.

The Astral Void Realm.

While the kingdom burned with paranoia, Kael sat on the Monarch’s Throne inside his Inner World.

BZZZT!

A month had passed inside the realm, equating to just six days in the real world. Kael was surrounded by a dense mountain of depleted mid-grade mana stones. The Astral Void Realm had greedily absorbed their essence, expanding the sky and thickening the ambient mana.

Kael’s mind was a whirlwind of soul energy. He was practicing a new technique he had just purchased from the system—Soul Net: Grasp of the Abyss. A dense, invisible web of soul power that could paralyze a target’s consciousness.

Ding!

[Host’s progress: Spirit Soul Rank 4 (98% to Rank 5).]

So close. He could feel the wall of the next rank cracking under his immense spiritual pressure.

Kael opened his eyes, stepping out of the realm.

Splash.

He bathed in scalding, herb-infused water, letting the blood and stress of the past week wash away. A silent maid, a local barbarian girl the pillar knight Garrick bought, dressed him in new, dark robes lined with frost-wolf fur.

At the dining table, Kael cut into a piece of roasted boar, taking a sip of wine as Garrick stood before him.

"My Lord," Garrick reported, his face grim. "The Second, Third, and Fourth Generals deaths have taken the toll that you predicted. The army is divided. However... the identity of the Fifth General remains a complete mystery. The Shadow Hounds have searched the archives, the brothels, and the barracks. There is no record, no name, and no location. It is the kingdom’s most tightly guarded secret."

Kael chewed slowly. A secret general. Interesting.

"And the First General?" Kael asked.

"He is stationed at the Northern Border, surrounded by an entire legion of elites. Attacking him directly would be suicide."

Kael set his fork down, his silver-flecked eyes glinting. "Then we don’t attack him. We cut off the head of the snake."

He stood up, his aura causing the candles in the room to flicker.

"Gather the Knights," Kael ordered.

A moment later, in the grand hall, Soren, Caelum, Garrick, Selene, Ferris, and Theron knelt before his throne.

"I will be infiltrating the Royal Palace tonight," Kael announced. "The King’s paranoia has left him isolated. It’s time to end this."

Soren immediately bowed lower. "My Lord, allow me to go. My shadow affinity—"

"No," Kael interrupted, raising a hand. "I appreciate the loyalty, but I am the best at hiding. My abilities make me untraceable. Even the King’s Origin Realm senses will struggle to pierce my concealment. I will go alone."

He turned to the Shadow Hounds. "While I am gone, begin Phase Two. Start infiltrating the surrounding kingdoms. I want eyes in the Elven, Vampire, and Wolf territories by the end of the week."

"As you command!" they echoed.

Nighttime, The Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace of Snowfall was a towering masterpiece of frost-iron and ancient magic. It sat at the very peak of the mountain, a sprawling castle that scraped the auroras above.

Whoosh...

Kael stood in the shadows of a nearby spire, his presence completely erased by the Shadow Veil.

He looked at the palace. The entire structure was encased in a massive, shimmering barrier. It was a Rank 6 defensive formation, pulsating with the light of thousands of runic symbols.

Spirit Eyes of the Dark Emperor.

BZZT! Kael’s vision peeled back the layers of the formation. He analyzed the flow of energy, tracing the lines of power until he found it—a slight flicker, a microscopic fracture in the formation where a recent repair had weakened the mana flow.

"Found you," Kael whispered.

He landed silently near the eastern wall. His hands blurred into a series of complex seals. Snap. Snap. Snap. Dark runic symbols blazed around his fingers, vibrating with destructive resonance.

He pushed his hands forward, pressing the runes directly against the weak point of the barrier.

HSSSSS!

The runes acted like acid, corroding the Rank 6 barrier. The energy screamed, sparking violently.

CRACK!

A small, man-sized hole tore open in the barrier.

Before it could heal, Kael activated Void Step.

WHOOSH!

He slipped through the gap, the barrier sealing shut behind him without a trace.

Kael landed softly on the marble floor of the palace’s eastern wing.