Chapter 394: 394 - Taming the Chaos - 7

Chapter 394: Chapter 394 – Taming the Chaos – 7

Hagen felt the weight of all eyes in the room as he processed the implications of the King’s order.

“How large will the group I lead be, my King?” he asked, his voice remaining steady despite the magnitude of what was being asked of him.

“Thirty of our best,” Coleoran responded without hesitation. “Elite soldiers, each with multiple abyssal contracts. This isn’t a mission for numbers, Hagen. This is a mission for our elite.”

Lord Bloodwyn leaned forward.

“Why so many to sweep a manifestation zone? I understand it’s important but… Reports suggest the affected area is relatively small… Shouldn’t we prioritize our strength at the bridge?”

The King exchanged a glance with Lord Ravenspire before responding, and Hagen noticed the tension that passed between them.

“Because,” Coleoran said slowly, “no matter how costly it is, we cannot give the enemy a weapon like that… Even if everything fails, the attack, the war itself… We’ll win in the end as long as we destroy this problem now, while it’s young.”

Hagen waited, knowing more information would come.

“Resources are available without limit. If you need anything you can carry… everything is authorized.”

Hagen considered the implications. A maximum priority mission with unlimited resources meant the threat was genuinely existential, the kind of danger that made normal considerations irrelevant.

“Their three seeds were effectively opened,” the King continued, his voice taking on a more grave tone. “All of them. The gate was released, and with it, surely the information…”

A dense silence fell over the room. Hagen felt his abyssal beasts stirring restlessly beneath his skin, as if they had heard something that caused instinctive unease.

“Is the information that powerful?” asked Lord Venmont, his voice barely a whisper. “We have the crystal’s chosen ones and the ancient information hasn’t been so easy to use on our side…”

“Information should not be underestimated, much less when we don’t know its scope upon being released. This could explain how Yano developed those revolutionary cultivation methods so quickly, the ones Kharzan complains about so much. They likely didn’t invent them… they surely received them from the gate along with who knows what else.”

Hagen processed this revelation, connecting pieces of intelligence that had seemed unrelated.

“That’s why the supposed new methods work so well,” he murmured. “They’re not new techniques. They’re ancient techniques from the lost era.”

“That’s what we think,” the King confirmed. “And that’s why we believe Yano has been hiding from us that they already know the information. They’re trying to cultivate the World Dragon’s Light in secret, preparing with a power we don’t completely understand.”

“Although we don’t want to fight yet,” added Lord Bloodwyn, “we find ourselves forced to. Each day that passes with that knowledge in their hands, their advantage could grow exponentially…”

Hagen nodded, understanding now the true urgency behind the mission. This wasn’t about conquest anymore, it was about preventing their own obsolescence.

“Do we know the best way to eliminate this problematic ‘light’?”

The King looked at him, his abyssal presence intensifying until the air itself seemed to thicken.

“You must open an attraction crystal in the zone where these Light parasites are being born exactly. The creatures of the abyss will respond to the call as always, that’s what the crystals were really designed for in the first place, not to attack Yano randomly.”

“An attraction crystal?” Hagen frowned. “Isn’t that a small temporary skirmish? The beasts I summon would be weaker than my 30 strong group and…”

“Once you connect the abyssal flow and they realize where it is… They’ll emerge without rest until they stop the Light’s advance,” Coleoran interrupted firmly. “The Great Crystal told Selthia. It’s the best way to contain the expansion before it becomes uncontrollable. Your group must ensure it works and support the creatures in case Yano is aware and tries to stop them.”

Lord Ravenspire stood up, walking toward a map showing the border region.

“The mission is critical, but fortunately it’s located in Goldcrest territory so you should be able to arrive easily while we pressure the front. We must prevent the enemy from becoming familiar with forces that counter ours. But also…”

“The frontal battle is also important,” the King continued. “I’ll give you soldiers powerful enough to ensure the mission, but they’re the maximum possible without affecting the front line of the bridge attack.”

“Will we attack any specific target after completing the mission?” Hagen asked, reading between the lines.

A fierce smile crossed the King’s face.

“If you can complete the first phase quickly and attack the city from behind when you finish the mission… better.”

Hagen mentally calculated travel times, necessary resources, tactical variables. It was ambitious, dangerous, but feasible if everything went according to plan.

“How soon do we leave?”

“Immediately, all soldiers will be ready in a maximum of three hours,” Coleoran responded. “The main attack begins tomorrow. You need to be on your way as soon as possible to make maximum use of the frontal pressure. You should be able to reach the location in 2 or 3 days from deep gold.”

“And my group’s final objective when attacking Yano from behind?”

The King exchanged another significant look with the Lords before responding.

“I don’t expect you to achieve it alone, it will probably require the joint effort of all 3 fronts. We’re going to take control of the castle. Take control of Yano’s main vein and open the gates completely. With the two rings we have and taking away the one Sirius possesses, or finding where they hide the third, we’ll have the keys to get the complete information on that side.”

“For that,” added Lord Ravenspire, “we must reach beneath the castle. But if for some reason you arrive before the main group… you have to enter from above because underground is covered by the largest crystal wall you’ve ever seen. Practically indestructible for us, much thicker even than the other seeds.”

“So we must conquer the castle from above to conquer the territory’s main mana vein,” Hagen concluded.

“Exactly.”

A small but clear voice interrupted.

“Papa, the Great Crystal said you need to hear me before Uncle Hagen leaves.”

Everyone turned to see Princess Selthia, her large eyes shining with that unnatural light that indicated she had been listening to the Crystal even from this enormous distance.

The King sighed, recognizing that the entity had been monitoring the conversation through its strong connection with his daughter.

“What does the Crystal say, little star?”

Selthia stood up and walked around the room with small but determined steps.

“It says Mr. Hagen is going to do something more dangerous than he thinks, and he needs to know something important so he doesn’t get hurt.”

She looked directly at Hagen with the seriousness that only children can show when they’re genuinely worried.

“The Crystal says you shouldn’t get too close yourself. You must send your beasts to the front, let them eat all the ugly light until their tummies hurt.”

The warning, coming from an eleven-year-old girl, should have sounded absurd. But the way the abyssal beasts of everyone present reacted, withdrawing deeper into their hosts, as if they had heard something that terrified them, gave it ominous weight.

“What happens if I get too close?” Hagen asked.

Selthia looked at him with those eyes that sometimes seemed to contain much more wisdom than any child should possess.

“You’ll be left empty inside… we won’t be able to give you new arms or support ever again.”

The description in the childish voice made several adults shudder involuntarily, imagining what it would mean to permanently lose their abyssal connections.

“How close is too close?” Hagen asked, taking the warning seriously despite its source.

“The Crystal said you shouldn’t let many particles touch you,” Selthia responded, pointing vaguely at her body. “It says when you arrive, you’ll understand because the enhanced beasts can feel it.”

The King approached Hagen.

“Selthia is the one who best listens to the Crystal. Even better than those most enhanced by energy like me. If she says keep your distance, do it.”

“Understood, your Majesty. The exact location…”

“The Crystal can’t feel the bad place from here,” Selthia continued. “But when crossing the rift… It says when you get there, your enhanced beasts will start feeling it long before you can see it.”

The King approached his daughter, placing a protective hand on her small shoulder.

“Anything else we should know?”

Selthia nodded vigorously.

“The Crystal says its hungry children will come running when the stone sings for them, because they remember when the light hurt them before and made them hide in the super deep places. But now they’re braver warriors.”

She turned toward Hagen once more.

Hagen felt a chill run down his spine.

“Understood, Princess,” he said finally. “I’ll keep my distance and use summoned beasts as vanguard.”

“Well, you don’t need to send the griffin,” Selthia smiled, her expression suddenly returning to that of a normal child. “The Crystal says you’re smart and you’ll be fine if you listen.”

She yawned, the effort of communicating the Crystal’s messages clearly exhausting her.

“Can I go to sleep now, Papa? The Crystal is very noisy today and it’s giving me a headache.”

The King lifted his hand, his expression softening momentarily.

“Of course. You’ve helped a lot.”

Coleoran approached Hagen, placing a hand on his shoulder. The contact made both their abyssal beasts resonate briefly.

“Hagen, you’ve served loyally for years. You’ve explored depths that would kill most. You’ve mapped territories we thought impossible to understand.”

“My King.”

“This mission is different. It’s not about exploration or conquest. It’s about survival. If you fail…”

“I won’t fail,” Hagen interrupted, a rare show of assertiveness that surprised even himself.

Coleoran smiled, an expression that didn’t reach his corrupted eyes. “That’s why you’re the right choice.”

As he headed toward the door with Selthia and left the prince in charge of final touches, he stopped and looked back at Hagen one last time.

“Three hours, Hagen. And remember, this mission could determine the outcome of the entire war.”

When they left, Hagen remained alone with Lord Venmont and Lord Bloodwyn. The weight of responsibility settled on him like a physical burden.

“Thirty soldiers,” he murmured to himself. “Against something that can consume abyssal energy directly.”

“Do you doubt?” asked Lord Bloodwyn.

Hagen unconsciously touched his new arm, feeling the abyssal energy running through his transformed veins.

“I don’t doubt the mission. I doubt whether thirty will be enough.”

As Hagen left the council chamber to begin his preparations, he couldn’t help wondering if they really understood what they were facing. The World Dragon’s Light was more than a tactical threat, it was a fundamental force that could change the rules of the game completely.

But those were philosophical concerns. His job was to eliminate the threat, not understand it.

And if Princess Selthia’s warnings proved accurate, getting too close to understanding might be the last mistake he ever made.

♢♢♢♢

The abyssal bridge stretched before them like a wound in reality itself, its crystalline structure absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Hagen stood at its edge, watching the last of his selected forces cross into enemy territory.

Thirty abyssal tamers, each carefully chosen for specific capabilities, not only raw power. He needed stealth to survive the Gold Rank deep creatures, precisión to not make mistakes, and above all, mental strength for what lay ahead.

The main invasion could afford to lose fodder; his mission could not afford to fail.

The bridge beneath his feet hummed with familiar energy, the same corrupted mana that flowed through his veins.

Behind them, Prince Rhys’s voice carried across the assembled forces with the confidence of inherited authority. “Remember, this journey is merely the opening move. Your true objective lies deeper in their territory.”

It’s almost 2,000 words, basically two full chapters, so no one can complain… orz

Sorry though, life has been a bit rough lately and I’ve barely had time. I’m right up against today’s release deadline…

But I promise I’ll do my best!

Once things calm down a bit, I’ll go crazy and write as fast as I can!

Anyway, as always…

Like it ? Give it a power stone！

┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻ – It’s free and you help me a lot

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.

Thank you so much for reading!

(∿°○°)∿ ︵ ︵ ︵ ︵ ︵ ǝʌol