CHAPTER 236: ZARAK’S PROVOCATION

Elina walked out of Ragan’s study and was about to return to her bedroom when a teasing voice called from behind.

"What were you doing inside, Elina? Did Father scold you?"

Startled, Elina turned and saw Zarak. Her expression immediately darkened as her mind flashed back to the two assassins he had sent to eliminate her and her brother.

Fortunately, one of the Singularity of Chaos’ subordinates had appeared and saved them. Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine what their fate would have been.

"What do you want, Zarak?" She asked coldly.

Zarak didn’t take offense. Instead, he grinned faintly and stepped closer.

"What is it, little sister? Why do you look so angry with me? Don’t we have no enmity?" he said, blinking innocently.

Elina just rolled her eyes at his pretense.

"If you have nothing to say, I’ll leave," she said, turning to walk away.

"Wait!" Zarak shouted quickly.

Elina halted and turned back, her face grim.

"Hurry up and say what you want. I don’t have time to deal with you."

Still smiling, Zarak asked, "I heard the Valmire family and the Castellan family went to war today. Did you hear about it?"

His sudden question made Elina wary. Narrowing her eyes, she replied, "Yes, I heard. So what are you getting at?"

"No real point." Zarak shrugged. "I just find it regrettable. Two Marquis families fighting each other—if one of them falls, won’t that weaken the side they’re supporting in this struggle for the throne?"

His gaze was full of meaning, and Elina caught it instantly.

"Do you think the Castellan family will win?" She asked bluntly.

"Of course," Zarak replied casually. Crossing his fat arms over his chest, he continued confidently, "You may not know, but the Castellans are backed by my grandfather’s Red Obsidian Trading House. He won’t let them collapse so easily at the hands of the Valmire family. Now, I’m sure they’ll suffer instead."

A triumphant smile tugged at his lips. The reason he came here and said all this was simply to break Elina’s spirit.

The Valmire family was the second Marquis house to declare their support for her, and Zarak both envied and despised her for it.

His grandfather’s original plan had been to control the Castellan family and use them to pressure the Valmires. When they were truly desperate, the Red Obsidian Trading House would step in with an offer of aid—on the condition that they switched their allegiance to him.

But somehow, the Valmire family had instead gained the support of the Blue Moon Trading House against the Castellans. Not only that, they had suddenly pledged their support to Elina—something that made no sense at all.

Although he didn’t know how, Zarak was convinced this was all because of her.

And on top of that, she had survived the assassins he had sent, which only deepened his hatred.

Zarak expected to see fear or despair on Elina’s face. Instead, she remained calm and composed, as if his words didn’t bother her in the slightest.

"You’re overconfident, Zarak," Elina mocked coldly. "Do you really think the Valmire family is weak? They’ve dominated the weapons market in the eastern region—and even several other major regions—for centuries. Their wealth is unmatched, far beyond your grandfather’s Red Obsidian Trading House. So don’t celebrate too soon."

Zarak was stunned by her conviction. But before he could reply, Elina had already turned and walked away.

A moment later, she stopped again. Without turning back, she said flatly, "By the way, don’t think I don’t know it was you who sent those two assassins from the eastern continent. I’ve marked this grudge, and I will avenge it."

If Zarak had only targeted her, she wouldn’t have been so furious. But daring to lay a hand on her brother—that was an unforgivable sin. The retribution would come, hundreds—no, thousands—of times over.

Without another word, Elina strode off and vanished from sight, leaving Zarak rooted to the spot.

"Damn girl..." he growled through clenched teeth. He hadn’t expected her to threaten him so openly—it was as good as a declaration of war.

Still, after all that had happened, their conflict could only end with one of them dead.

Zarak took a deep breath, snorted coldly, and finally turned to leave.

...

The battlefield...

The clash between the Valmire family and the Black Wings army raged fiercely, both sides fighting with everything they had.

Yet anyone observant enough could see it—the Black Wings were at a clear disadvantage.

Bang!

Aston’s fist crashed into Galian’s face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Galian struggled to rise but failed. The pain from the blow left him gasping for air, nearly breathless.

His body was a mess of wounds. The right side of his face was swollen and bruised, blood dripped from his nose and mouth, his eyes were bloodshot, and a deep gash split his head.

In short—he was battered.

His armor was shattered in several places, red blood seeping through the cracks of broken metal.

"You’ve lost, Galian," Aston said as he stepped closer.

Aston wasn’t unscathed himself. Bruises covered his arms, legs, and face. A bump swelled on his temple from a heavy strike, and blood streaked the corner of his lip.

Still, compared to Galian, he was in far better shape.

"Lost?" Galian snorted coldly. "How could I, Galian, lose to you?"

Aston didn’t take offense at his stubbornness. He stayed calm and mocked, "Whether you admit it or not doesn’t matter. The reality is—you’ve already lost completely."

He pointed at the battlefield, where more than half of the Black Wings had already been crushed.

"Most of your troops are dead. The rest won’t last much longer. Surrender now. At the very least, I’ll spare you and what remains of your army."

At first, Aston intended to finish them all off. But after some thought, he realized it wasn’t the right move. Too much killing would only burden the killer with evil energy.

So instead, he decided to hand Galian and his remaining soldiers over to the Imperial Palace.

"Surrender? Don’t make me laugh!" Galian barked. "I’ll show you why I was able to survive the attacks of your Empire’s two Celestial Mages in the past!"

As soon as he spoke, a crimson aura erupted from his body, blasting Aston off his feet. The air thickened, and the pressure multiplied several times over.

The surrounding soldiers were thrown back as well, some crashing into the barrier wall with bone-rattling force.

"Argh!" Galian roared, his aura flaring even more violently.

The sight left Aston wide-eyed in horror.

"What’s going on? How can Galian unleash such terrifying power?"

But before he could make sense of it, something even more shocking occurred.

From the sky, a massive palm descended and slammed into Galian with devastating force.

Aston: "(⊙ _ ⊙ )"