Silas commanded, "Zephyr! Help everyone reach that mountaintop."
Zephyr grinned. "As you command, Master!"
A big typhoon appeared around everyone, grabbing them as if by a massive hand... as a Sylph, his affinity with the wind was terrifying.
Everyone from the wall appeared on the mountaintop in just seconds.
Hadrian acted surprised, while General Kaine who had lost all hope in the beast soldiers a moment ago, was now shaking in fear. The soldiers behind him stood tall, looking at Silas and the others with glittering eyes... for them, this was a huge gain for humanity.
Silas looked at Hadrian and Kaine coldly. Even he himself didn't know just how far and where his own forces had already infiltrated inside the Imperium... he had only made contact with his twelve Shadows.
He said to them coldly, "Even though you appeared here before the war started, you didn't intervene in this huge battle. You even let the Red Fort be invaded by those beasts."
"Tell your emperor!"
General Kaine stammered, "H-he is your emperor too! D-does... does House Valerius want to defect!"
Silas sneered. "Tell him! He has lost all qualifications to be an emperor. He should clean toilets instead, even those people deserve more respect from me than him..."
Disrespect! Massive disrespect toward the emperor... Kaine gritted his teeth, while the soldiers and the people present all gave Silas a thumbs-up in their hearts.
Silas continued, "And tell him! We, the Valerius family, are going to remove our own forces from the borders. He dared to plot against my family, so he should think about the consequences too..."
Kaine slumped to the ground, while Hadrian just nodded at the response. In his heart he wanted to kneel before Silas, but he couldn't do it in front of General Kaine.
Silas and the others left as quickly as they had arrived on the mountaintop.
General Kaine started talking to himself, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Archduke Cassian have a child like him? His presence alone was terrifying."
"And if those forces from the Valerius family are really going to withdraw from the borders... it'll be a nightmare for the Imperium."
When the war ended, it was already morning. The morning light swept over the Red Fort.
A black cloth suddenly vanished into thin air.
***
Inside the Valerius Archduchy,
Archduke Cassian sat upon the throne, and a person stood beside him inside the shadows: Ignis Veyran, another divine mage of the Valerius family.
An envoy appeared inside the hall, kneeling on one knee. He was one of the Shadow Messengers, his cloak still dusty from the desert wind. He lowered his head and described everything ,
The first battle, how General Corvin trained by Aleric appeared with 150000 elite force, how Duke Aetherion send help, how they won the first battle, the seven beast captains, Torin shielding Aleric, the arrival of Silas on horseback, the 400,000 Whip Guards, Zephyr's tornadoes, Zephiron's purple lightning, Selene's twin whips, the deaths of Gorthak and Taurus, and finally Silas's words to General Kaine on the mountaintop.
Archduke Cassian listened in silence, his fingers tapping the armrest. When the envoy finished, the Archduke threw his head back and laughed out loud, the sound echoing through the great hall.
" Hahaha Hahaha! I want to see Caelum's face right now. "
" Silas gave me a huge surprise this time ! I should grant him a gift after he arrived here this time. " He said to himself.
Although he could not help his elder child due to family law, his younger son the sickly child from birth had taken the Valerius name seriously and had even destroyed the Emperor's plan single-handedly.
He was proud of both his sons.
After the envoy said everything, Archduke Cassian turned his gaze to the shadow. "Ignis! What do you think about what Silas said to those commanders and the general of the Imperium?"
Ignis stepped forward slightly, his eyes cold. "That stupid emperor dared to disrespect the Archduchy. He broke our pact of thousands of years... My lord, I think what Lord Silas said is right. We should let them see the consequences."
The Archduke's smile grew even wider. "I thought the same!"
He stood up from the throne, his voice carrying the weight of an Archduke.
"Send my decree to each and every battlefield. Withdraw our generals and our forces from each and every border of the Imperium."
The envoy, who had not yet left the hall, nodded once then vanished suddenly, as if he had never been there.
***
But the atmosphere inside the Imperium capital was now grim and cold as ice.
Emperor Caelum sat on the throne, and the nobles, ministers, and the whole court were assembled for the morning session.
Chancellor Selwyn looked at the emperor with barely hidden anger. He had warned the emperor many times. His own family had also warned him not to provoke those sleeping dragons and yet the emperor had done it anyway, without thinking. Now Valerius family already started being disrespectful towards the Imperium...
Hadrian knelt before the emperor, and beside him General Kaine knelt as well.
After Silas had dismissed them, they had left the Red Fort and returned instantly using a teleportation formation. That was why they were able to attend the morning court.
Hadrian described everything that had happened — the beast army, the appearence of two Divine mages Zephiron and Zephyr , the help from Duke Aetherion, the first battle , the seven captains surrounding Aleric, the sudden arrival of Silas, the 400,000 Whip Guards, the deaths of Generals Gorthak and Taurus, and finally Silas's cold words on the mountaintop.
Hearing about two Divine mages emperor's face turned dark instantly, he grabbed the armrest hard. After a few seconds of controlling his anger ,
Emperor Caelum turned his gaze to Duke Morvain and Duke Varnholt and asked coldly, "Duke Morvain! Duke Varnholt! Are you going to defect like those ancient families too?"
Both dukes' faces were pale. Their own private armies had betrayed them, following their generals to help the Valerius child.
Duke Morvain immediately threw himself forward, pressing his forehead to the ground. "Emperor! It was not done by me! It was orchestrated by that younger child of the Valerius family... I... I don't even know since when my own force was planning to betray me..."
Duke Varnholt did the same, his voice trembling. "Emperor! It was the same for me too... I also knew nothing about it until now. That younger child of the Valerius family is so sinister ,he even pretended to be sickly for 19 whole years..."
The Emperor sneered. A sneer from a level 90 being shook the entire hall, and both Duke Varnholt and Morvain coughed blood from their mouths.
But they kept their heads bowed. They knew exactly why Silas had used their forces to crush the beasts because they were the ones who had supported Emperor Caelum against House Valerius during the last council meeting.
The Emperor stood up from his seat, grabbed the ceremonial mace beside his throne, and slammed it into the marble floor. "How... how dare he!"
At that moment an envoy rushed in frantically, dropping to his knees. "Emperor! Emperor! Archduke Cassian has issued a decree! The Valerius army has withdrawn from each and every border of the Imperium and has returned to the Archduchy!"
The Emperor slumped back onto his throne, his face dark.
Chancellor Selwyn stepped forward at once. "Emperor! Please, send an apology letter to Archduke Cassian. Only he can help us at this moment."
The Emperor's pride wouldn't allow it. He couldn't swallow his own self-respect. He declared through gritted teeth, "Let them fly for a moment! Let them think they have won by doing this..."
He gripped the armrest of his throne so hard it snapped in two. "Send soldiers to the border immediately! I want to see what Valerius is going to do next... I will not forgive anyone from that family. Ever!"
He stood up fully, his aura exploding across the hall. "Even if I need to get help from the Beast Imperium, I will kill those ancient families myself!"
Selwyn stared at the Emperor in horror. "Emperor! Think... think it through!"
But the other noble families in the court, and even Duke Morvain and Varnholt, who were desperate to prove their loyalty, shouted their support for the Emperor's decision.
***
But inside the Argent Spire, the morning wasn't bad at all.
Rhys and Jacob had both slept over at their boyfriends' places, and Draven as usual slept alone in his own apartment. The whole night he couldn't sleep at all. Without Silas, he felt like something very close to him was missing, and he missed Silas all night.
Rhys woke up in Kael's arms.
Kael was half-naked, wearing only his sleep pants, his breathing slow and even. Rhys was still in his full pajamas, top and bottom, tucked securely against Kael's chest.
He opened his eyes groggily and saw Kael sleeping peacefully, calm and composed, holding him tight like he was afraid Rhys would disappear.
Rhys stared at his boyfriend's face for a long moment. 'He's not bad-looking when he's asleep...' he thought to himself.
At that moment Kael shifted in his sleep and pulled Rhys even closer, his arm tightening around his waist. Their bodies pressed together, warm from the morning.
Rhys suddenly became very aware of how close they were. His face turned red instantly. It was morning, and Kael was holding him like this, of course his heart was going to race.
He let out a small, embarrassed groan when Kael nuzzled closer in his sleep, completely unaware, just holding on tighter...
Rhys could feel Kael's morning wood poking him from the front, and his own member turned hard as iron. His ears burned red. He tried to get out of Kael's arms, but felt Kael hug him more tightly.
He looked at Kael's face, and for some reason, he didn't do anything at all. He just looked at him for a few seconds before pecking him on the lips.
Then, he immediately hid his face against Kael's chest. He thought Kael would never know about the embarrassing thing he had just done.
Kael chuckled suddenly. "I'm not satisfied with only a peck, babe!"
Rhys froze. He tried to get out of Kael's arms, but felt Kael's grip become like iron at that moment.
He looked into Kael's seductive eyes for a second, but Kael didn't let him look for even a second longer before locking his lips with Rhys's...