CHAPTER 216: CHAPTER216-ALL STELLAR RANK WARRIORS!?

After the meeting ended, the ministers left with complex emotions. Aurek immediately ordered War Bear to deploy a mixed legion of 3,000 Doomsday Warriors and Void Warlocks to the western territories!

He himself then entered the depths of Valoria Palace. He intended to continue his study of the Royal Grace skill. Only by aligning his will with that of the entire Crossbridge Empire could he confer noble titles, bestow the power of the laws upon officials, and significantly strengthen the power of both the Empire’s ministers and its territories.

...

Outside the palace, the seven Stellar rank figures gathered together.

An elder named Sik waved his oak staff and cast a silent barrier to prevent any eavesdropping. He furrowed his brow and looked at the other six.

"My lords, do you also feel... that His Majesty’s gaze did not seem to rest upon us?" Sik asked, his tone tinged with concern.

"Does it seem like our presence hasn’t caught His Majesty’s attention?" A younger figure asked eagerly. "Master Sik, what do you think? Why is His Majesty’s mind so difficult to fathom?"

Sik spoke gravely, "We originally intended to volunteer for this task to prove our value and loyalty."

"Yet His Majesty ignored our proposal."

"That’s true," said another warrior carrying a giant sword, his voice heavy with worry. "I fear our sincerity may fall on deaf ears, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, with no response."

"So, are you all planning to leave and return to your own territories?" A figure cloaked in gray robes asked with a bitter smile.

At that moment, Gersent, who had been silent, spoke up.

"If you can’t even endure this little test of patience, then perhaps leaving now would be the best option," he said, his sharp eyes scanning the group.

"Do you think that this emperor, who controls the Empire’s might, does not see through our desire for shelter and advancement?" He paused before continuing, "He hasn’t driven us away because he’s left the possibility open."

"In the pursuit of power and eternity, unless one has the favor of the Goddess of Fate, there is no other opportunity as rare as this."

"Otherwise, aligning with a rising, powerful Empire is the clearest—and perhaps the only—path to greater power."

The others fell into thought and then nodded in agreement.

Sik let out a deep breath. "What Gersent said is the reality we must face."

"Since we’ve chosen this path, we can only persevere. We must stake the future of the Empire, and our own futures, on it."

"Perhaps... when the western conflict intensifies, His Majesty will need our swords and our strength."

The buffer zone formed by Crimson Hills and Blade City had always protected the Crossbridge Empire from the pressure of the Pood Empire.

Now, with these two barriers destroyed, the sharp edge of the Pood Empire had free rein to target the western territories of the Crossbridge Empire.

Once the Empire’s main forces were tied down on the long defensive line in the west, other enemies would not miss the opportunity!

At that point, their true value would emerge.

So, they could only wait, waiting for the Emperor’s favor!

...

In the western territories, at the newly occupied Jinshan Castle by the Pood Empire, Rechel stood atop the ancient fortress, watching the newly acquired provinces below. A smile slowly crept across his face.

Even if their future plans were hindered, these fertile lands and populations were real spoils of war!

"Ganza," he said to the Tassidy Temple’s Stellar rank expert standing beside him, "We must move quickly."

"I’ve already used the communication crystal to inform His Majesty the Emperor, and the nearby legions are gathering through the teleportation arrays."

"Aurek is no fool. He must have already realized what’s happening here, and Crossbridge Empire’s retaliation will come soon."

The provinces they had seized spanned vast distances. From the battle reports, they knew that Crossbridge Empire had a mysterious technique for rapidly deploying troops.

They also speculated that their speed of communication was likely just as swift.

Ganza, clad in the Temple’s ritual robes, was a sharp-eyed man in his prime. Upon hearing Rechel, he nodded in acknowledgment.

But just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly turned grave.

...

In the far sky, powerful auras surged upward!

Grandmaster rank experts unleashed their divine aspects, their colossal shadows and overwhelming pressure immediately covering an area of several thousand miles around Jinshan Castle.

Rechel’s eyes flashed, and his focus sharpened.

Powerful mind power extended outward like tendrils.

In the next instant, he saw a massive figure standing high in the sky.

That figure was holding a giant tower shield engraved with runes in its left hand, while the right hand carried a Viking battle axe surrounded by golden energy.

"Is this someone from Crossbridge Empire? They only sent one person?"

"Hmph, isn’t this a bit too arrogant..."

Before Rechel could finish speaking, his expression changed dramatically.

"This isn’t right!"

His pupils contracted as he exchanged a glance with Ganza.

They both remembered the fall of Crimson Hills, where tens of thousands of master rank warriors were instantly wiped out by the Empire’s forces!

Though Crossbridge Empire seemed to have only sent one person, who knew how many powerful warriors were hidden in the void?

As their grandmaster rank warriors rushed to confront the figure in the sky, both Rechel and Ganza’s instincts screamed danger.

They immediately appeared in the sky, and the tremendous pressure from their Stellar rank presence surged outward.

They tried to protect their subordinates below, fearing the potential ambush.

But as they appeared in the sky, the surrounding space rippled violently, like water disturbed by a stone.

Soon, a vast and isolated void domain formed, completely separating them from the outside world.

"Just as I suspected—an ambush!" Rechel’s eyes turned icy as he realized the enemy’s plan.

"Hmph!" Ganza snorted.

He began to channel powerful divine magic energy, preparing to defend.

Rechel stared at the War Bear wielding the shield and axe, turning to Ganza. "You maintain the protective barrier and shield the others. I’ll tear apart this domain..."

But before he could finish speaking, he noticed Ganza’s body had completely stiffened.

The Temple expert’s gaze was fixed on both sides of the War Bear.

There, silently and without a sound, five hundred heavily armored black-clad figures had appeared.

The aura surrounding them was suffocating!

The energy of destruction they radiated clearly indicated one thing—they were all Stellar rank!

Five hundred Stellar rank warriors!

Rechel’s words halted abruptly.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the black-armored warriors who seemed to have emerged from the abyss.

Their cold gazes focused on him, making him feel as if he had fallen into the nest of a giant beast.

An uncontrollable chill ran through his heart.

"What... What kind of joke is this!?"

"Am I being deceived, or is this all a dream...?"