CHAPTER 431: RAGE

Anbord was plunged into silence. They had seen the news feeds and footage from the ice catastrophe, and couldn’t help but shiver in fear. They had also felt their emperor’s outburst even from that distance.

Currently, the empire was on lockdown. Everyone was in their homes, waiting for the emperor’s speech, but they all seemed to know what the emperor was going to say. Their enemy this time wasn’t a stranger or one who thrived on anger and jealousy. This enemy was calculative, cold, and precise.

He knew Anbord. He knew the people. He knew... Ethan.

...

In the imperial council room on the top floor of the royal castle, the main authoritative figures of the empire had gathered.

The place was silent. Too silent... that not even the sound of breathing was heard. They sat around a long rectangular obsidian table covered in blue and violet runes. At the center of the desk, a holographic video played the footage.

Even from the video, most felt the chill of the cold. This was clearly a power of the Saint level and beyond. Anbord didn’t lack Saint Realm beings, but this one was just too... dangerous.

Ethan sat at the head of the table with his eyes closed and his face expressionless, but everyone could feel that he was barely holding himself back.

On his right sat Regnare in a dark blue military suit with gold designs. His face was cold, but his eyes held worry for his father. He had never seen his father angry before, but he had heard stories of how he tends to lose all sense of reason once he’s truly angry. Regnare was here as the Crown Prince, but he still wore his assigned uniform for Knights of the Dawn Cross.

On Ethan’s right was his brother and best friend, Trevor. He was in dark red royal garments, his white hair tied backwards, and his crimson eyes gleaming with cold calculations. He was just as angry as Ethan, because he knew who the damn culprit was. He was now here as the Ancestor of Blood and the King of Vaerenthall.

’I will definitely kill that imbecile a thousand times over!’ He thought, his aura flaring for a second, but a shift of Ethan’s head made him calm down... a bit.

Lamair sat beside Trevor, his expression unknown because of the black mask he wore. That was his mark as the Ancestor of Death and the King of Ebonreach. His clothes were all black, and the aura around him was dark and cold. Only those who truly knew him knew his reason for wearing the mask, which he barely wore. He was suppressing himself, just like Ethan and Trevor.

The queen of Sylvaris, Erielle, sat next to the Ancestor of Death and couldn’t help but shiver. If you asked her to choose between the ice catastrophe and Lamair, she would undoubtedly choose the ice catastrophe. She had already hallucinated a dozen times, dying in different ways she never thought possible.

Next to Regnare sat Frederick, his Grand-Uncle and Ethan’s uncle, in a red and green royal suit. He was here as a representative for Drakemire, the kingdom he ruled in the empire.

Next to him sat Kira King, queen of Caelum, her face full of worry and her eyes glinting with the sharpness of the acclaimed wisest king under the emperor, a title she held dear.

The Ancestor of Order and King of Ashenholt, Reginald, sat next to her, his four fox tails swaying lazily behind him. His expression was the calmest of them all, but everyone knew how angry he also was.

The last king was probably the one who had surprised them a lot. Jerry. The Ancestor of Chaos and King of Noctisward. The most chaotic of all the ancestors under Ethan. Touch Ethan, and he would come after you. That was his motto.

It was a miracle that he was sitting here, but his silver-red mismatched eyes told a different story, which none except for the ancestors dared look into. They could only look because they were all the same.

Much wasn’t known about the ancestral title, but they were like servants to who gave the title to them, in this case, Ethan. They were loyal servants, something like spirit beasts who could feel every emotion of their master.

Most of the time, they ignored this feeling, plus Ethan never imposed anything on them, but this time... it was different. They were feeling similar emotions to Ethan’s. Even if their rage wasn’t as strong as Ethan’s, they were still very much angry.

The women of Ethan, Trevor, and Lamair weren’t present because most were pregnant, and Ethan had literally begged them not to attend this meeting.

The commander-in-chief of the imperial knights, Duke Valex, sat beside Jerry, followed by the heads of the ten families of Anbord, though none sat opposite Ethan. They just filled his left and right. Behind Ethan stood two new people or beings, who had refused to sit. They were the two vice clan leaders of the Will Clan, Queen Ashtora and Urrandel. They didn’t really stand, but floated slightly above ground.

They could feel their emperor’s contained wrath, making them wonder just who could make him so wrathful that the space around them was constantly being destroyed and reformed.

Many couldn’t see or feel it, but they, who were close to him, felt it.

Standing just behind these two were the six spirit beasts of Ethan: Galeno, Maverick, Stygian, Onyx, Sage, and Saareiya, who had returned from her reformation trip. She had changed a lot and looked like a young T’Shalari lady, her silver hair tied in multiple braids and her dark red skin, now brown. It seemed she had either evolved into a higher form of a T’Shalari or mutated into something powerful.

Her master was Ethan after all, and these things were normal.

"I know most of you do not have any knowledge of who could have caused this..." Ethan started, his voice unusually deep and cold, sending a chill down everyone’s spine. Maverick and Stygian looked at each other’s faces, their eyes wide in shock and wonder. They had felt it and knew instantly...

’He was still holding back!’

"The culprit is none other than Leon Richards, the younger brother of my wife, Pisces. Some of you may not know him, because he supposedly died or disappeared in the Blaze war, two decades ago..."

’My King...’ A voice suddenly sounded in Ethan’s ear, filled with a sense of urgency. It belonged to Kaldaroth, who had been tasked with finding more clues.

"Kaldaroth... appear!" Ethan commanded. The room was suddenly engulfed in a chilly aura as a dark presence entered the room. Except for the Ancestors, the spirit beasts, and Regnare, none knew of Kaldaroth, the emperor’s shadow.

No sooner had the aura filled the room, it had disappeared, replaced by a towering structure of a man in dark armor. Only his crimson eyes were visible through the visor of the helmet. He bowed to Ethan and went to stand behind him, in the middle of Ashtora and Urrandel.

They had already parted ways for him to come through. Even they, who were certified Saints, felt a bit of danger from Kaldaroth.

"Kaldaroth, what did you find?" Ethan asked, his voice still cold, clearly showing that he wasn’t in the mood for games. Even though he knew Kaldaroth wasn’t the type to joke around, it didn’t hurt to remind.

"My King... I hope you remember my account of the mission you assigned me, to look for the Seed of Anbord?" Kaldaroth began, making Ethan nod in acknowledgement.

"The person I met and fought on the way... happens to be the same person who caused this catastrophe."

Silence! Absolute silence.

The ancestors were there when Kaldaroth recalled his experiences, so this came as more than a shock to them. A massive shock.

"Are you sure, Kaldaroth?" Ethan finally opened his eyes, and the world seemed to stop breathing.

Those once–vibrant irises were now an abyss of freezing calm, so cold and merciless that everyone present felt a terrifying pressure clamp down on their lungs. It was as if they had suddenly been dragged into the deepest ocean trench, their lives reduced to the level of insignificant creatures struggling to survive the weight of an ancient god’s fury.

No flames.No aura flaring.Just a gaze.

Yet that alone made seasoned warriors feel like prey caught beneath the shadow of an apex predator.

Kaldaroth swallowed, suddenly regretting that he chose to be the bearer of this news.

"I am sure, my Lord. He was... lost at that time. He was always speaking of finding "him", which I think is you, my King."

"You think?" Jerry spoke, his voice and expression already cracking with anger. His anger was so much that even Ethan’s aura wasn’t affecting him that much.

"I am sure... it seems he had remembered everything about himself..." Kaldaroth finished.

"He was a fusion of a machine and man when you met him, correct?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, my King," Kaldaroth answered with sureness.

"It seems we have more than one enemy at the moment. If Leon has been turned into a cyborg, that could only mean that he was most likely very close to death during the war, but someone saved him, and did this to him," Reginald deduced with a calm gaze.

"And released him on us after all these years... but who?" Kira spoke, making all of them wonder.

"It doesn’t matter... since he’s the only one here now, we will take care of him. Leon would be handled by Trevor, Lamair, and me. The rest of you, I leave in your capable hands. Protect it," Ethan spoke.

"But, father... this is too dangerous and..." Regnare finally spoke.

"I know. Don’t worry about me. That’s why I took your uncles with me. We are more than enough, and we know Leon more than any of you here. Regnare, I want you and your team to continue your training. Kaldaroth will be the patron of the Knights of the Dawn Cross from today onwards."

"I am honored, my King."

"Ashtora and Urrandel, you know what to do."

"Yes!"

"Galeno..."

"Master..."

"Find the other enemy and destroy whoever it is. Take the rest with you, except Onyx and Saareiya."

"Your wish is our command."

"Onyx, you are to join the Knights of the Dawn Cross, from today onwards. Please, protect my son and your lover..." Ethan spoke with a knowing smile, which surprised a lot of them. They could tell he was angry, but even with that, he still smiled.

"What?!"

"I know everything that’s happening..."

"Y-Yes! Of course..."

"Haha! Saareiya!"

"Master!"

"Delphina is in your care..."

"Yes, master!"

"Now, then, Duke Valex and the family heads, do your best to protect Anbord. I trust you with that."

"We understand, your majesty," Duke Valex spoke while bowing slightly.

"Reginald and Jerry... you know what to do..."

"We understand!" Reginald answered with a knowing smile.

"Then, if there’s nothing more... this meeting is adjourned! Long live Anbord!"

"Long live Anbord! Long live the Emperor!"

And very soon, the world would experience a battle that would shake kingdoms and empires. A battle that had been delayed for more than a decade...

Ethan versus Leon. Once again.