From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

Nasir Town.

As night fell, dark and profound, Chris, whose face bore no expression, had just left Baron Hovern’s manor. Without any hesitation, he and Archibald headed straight for the estate, eager to find Vanessa.

He had never felt this way before, but after the recent events, Chris desperately wanted to see Vanessa and hold her tightly in his arms.

On their way back to Fischer Manor, an elderly couple with their daughter stopped him and Archibald.

The daughter’s eyes were full of adoration as she looked at Chris. In his years of growing up, the handsome Chris was no stranger to such gazes, having encountered many insinuations from numerous girls, though he had never paid much attention to any of it.

The old couple stood by, somewhat afraid, but still managed a respectful smile and humbly asked,

“Respected Mr. Chris! Do you happen to know where our son Angus is?”

“He heard that your family was recruiting, so he signed up to join the ship. That darn kid just wanted to be a hero in front of his little sister. She always says that Mr. Chris is the greatest hero, unmatched by anyone.”

“Had it not been for the news that the war was about to be won, we would never have agreed to let him go to sea. But he always said that he believed the Fischer family would surely be the victors of the war. He told us not to worry about any danger.”

The couple was perplexed and couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Chris, we didn’t see him among those who disembarked. Is Angus still on the ship working?”

“He, he…”

Archibald, usually talkative, blushed crimson after hearing this and didn’t know what to say.

They had some recollection of the name Angus, a young man with a baby face, whose bisected head had been difficult to piece together when the Fischer family was checking the identities of the deceased.

Chris remained expressionless—a man who on ordinary days found little to say, even considering language to be ugly and stupid.

But at this moment today, even though he wanted to speak, he found himself at a loss for words.

The old couple still waited with respect and confusion, while adoration filled the girl’s eyes.

The sky darkened even further.

In truth, he had nothing to say.

——

At Phelps Port, the Spirit Deer clan was currently under siege by two priests of the Sea God Cult and their numerous subordinates.

Six of the Sea God Cult’s seven priests had mobilized to pursue the fleeing soldiers, with a clear division of labor. Excluding Priest Azure Blue, who was tasked with capturing the small fry, the other five were pursuing members of the viscount families.

“We Cyart people, along with the Lord of Salvation and Tempest Overlord, will not spare you!”

The Spirit Deer clan’s matriarch, a woman, summoned a phantom beast in the shape of a spirit deer with the power of her bloodline, constantly reaping the lives of her enemies.

“Woo!”

A towering Spawn of the Abyss swooped down with a scream, finally sinking the flagship of the Spirit Deer clan, plunging the matriarch herself into the water.

After another half hour of battle, the Spirit Deer clan was annihilated. The infuriated matriarch unleashed the mighty power of a forbidden rare artifact, instantly combining forces with the phantom beast to kill a priest of the Sea God Cult!

She then fell in battle, her body consumed by the sea tribe, leaving only her head to be trampled underfoot by Priestess Cyan Blue.

The surviving Priestess Cyan Blue gazed silently at her dead colleague for a long time. Their relationship within the cult hadn’t been a good one, so she was not particularly heartbroken.

Cyan Blue murmured to herself, “If she had targeted me at the end, I would have been the one to die. Guess I’m still lucky.”

Suddenly, a sea tribe member emerged at the surface, babbling a lot.

“What did you say?”

Priestess Cyan Blue was utterly shocked and trembling slightly as she said,

“Sage Dark Blue is dead?”

“He and two other priests were surrounding Viscount Bast’s Lion clan when he himself was killed by Bast! And the other two priests fled outright?”

“And the illegal band of Extraordinary Exponents led by Priest Sapphire Blue, who was chasing the Donnerklaue clan, failed to kill Viscount Donnerklaue and was almost ambushed and killed by Viscount Zavier?”

Apart from High Priest Sky Blue, who had ascended to Monarch Level, Sage Dark Blue held the highest position in the Sea God Cult, responsible for all military operations.

He was an extremely smart, intelligent young man with a frail body. Still, he could usually see through people’s thoughts at a mere glance and possessed vast power of spells.

It was largely through his efforts that the Stars Embrace Order and the Last Blood had agreed to cooperate with the Sea God Cult in the war. Certain individuals within the Tempest Church had also been willing to reveal a powerful legacy that could more reliably facilitate ascension to Monarch Level, providing substantial resources, because Sage Dark Blue held deadly leverage over them.

But now, he was dead!

After hearing the battle report, Cyan Blue fell into a deep silence.

Now, with the High Priest Sky Blue rendered unconscious by the Tempest Bishop’s forbidden rare artifact, and the deeply strategic Sage Dark Blue suddenly killed in battle, the Sea God Cult no longer had a core leader.

As such, an immediate counterattack on the East Coast was probably not the best choice.

Fortunately, among everyone, only her brother, Priest Azure Blue, would be safe, since he was only responsible for some small fry, with absolutely no risk of capsizing their plans.

“It’s just that we also can’t rely on that guy’s strength now.”

She suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness and regret. Since many years ago, when they started to provoke the Tempest Church and directed followers to attack everywhere on the East Coast, the cool and profound Sage Dark Blue had been planning for today.

Eventually, both the Tempest Church and Cyart’s army suffered a major defeat at the prearranged location, even collapsing as Sage Dark Blue had anticipated, leading to the successful elimination of the murderous, deranged Thunderous Monarch.

But in the pursuit that followed, their own casualties were severe. Years of war had left the islanders exhausted and in pain, utterly unable to capitalize on their victory.

“If it weren’t for the Stars Embrace Order and Last Blood suddenly holding back in that battle, the High Priest Sky Blue wouldn’t be unconscious until now, and everything would be completely different!”

She sadly realized that the Sea God Cult had ultimately just become a blade used to kill the Tempest Bishop.

In fact, Sage Dark Blue had said from the beginning that Cyart and the Tempest Church had deep foundations. Even if they succeeded in killing a Tempest Overlord, the overall situation would not change.

However, following this battle, the future of the East Coast would become even more chaotic, and it was unclear who would ultimately reap the benefits.

Cyan Blue really couldn’t understand it. The Lion clan only had two Extraordinary Exponents of high-level Transmutation, while Sage Dark Blue was an Extraordinary Exponent in the Metamorphosis Phase, even stronger than the ordinary ones, and he might have had the chance to advance to the Monarch Level in a dozen years or so.

Why?

With high morale, a three-to-two advantage, fighting at sea, and the mighty Spawn of the Abyss to rally them, how could the extremely clever Sage Dark Blue still be defeated by Viscount Bast?

Cyan Blue couldn’t help but talk to herself, murmuring:

“Bast, what kind of monster are you? No wonder Sage Dark Blue once said, ‘You are not a fox leading lions but a demon disguised as a lion.'”

—-

Nasir Town had been fortified with defenses by the Sunrise clan and several baronial families’ armies, with everyone on high alert, ready for the Sea God Cult’s next offensive.

But the outcome was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Days passed, yet the strong counterattack that was supposed to come from the Sea God Cult never materialized.

Finally, some extremely important news came: Viscount Bast, showing great valor in the naval battle, had killed Sage Dark Blue, the number one enemy of the Cyart people, at the cost of being severely wounded!

Everyone was extremely exhilarated, and the news that the Fischer family had killed the priest of the Sea God Cult, Priest Azure Blue, gradually spread throughout the entire East Coast.

Everyone who heard was shocked!

The one who had previously been labeled as a coward, a vampire, the great squirrel of the East Coast, the Fischers who never went to the front lines, had suddenly become the heroes of the war!

Intelligence about the Stars Embrace Order and Last Blood also reached the headquarters of the Tempest Church all the way in Carnia, and the regional Cardinal of the Eastern Tempest Church immediately convened a joint meeting with the Salvation Church and the Silver Moon Church.

They ultimately decided to dispatch more manpower to suppress the heretical groups, although the internal fragmentation and chaos within the True Gods Church never ceased.

After more than ten days, all the nobles received a definite piece of news.

The war had ended!

Although the Tempest Church did not negotiate peace with the Sea God Cult on paper, both sides, having been mutually devastated, tacitly ceased hostilities, picking up the pieces and refraining from striking again.

The Sunrise clan and the baronial families also withdrew their troops from Nasir Town.

The Lion clan leading the flight, causing a collective collapse of the army, was originally unforgivable. But for some reason, Zayne, who had previously been the most vehement critic, suddenly stood on Bast’s side.

The most powerful Romann family in Cyart also informed everyone that Viscount Bast’s retreat was strategic, luring the enemy to pursue them deeply and succeeding in the tactics that killed Sage Dark Blue, the Sea God Cult’s de facto leader.

Not only did he bear no guilt, but he had earned great merit!

And with the Cyart Royal Family not opposing Duke Romann’s view, no one in the country had any doubts anymore.

The devastating war was over.

The Sea God Cult, at the cost of tens of thousands of islander lives and the death of seven priests, had successfully killed the Thunderous Monarch of the Tempest Church and torn the fragile order of the East Coast Province to shreds. The only advantage they gained was the promotion of the High Priest Sky Blue to a new Monarch.

Half of the priests of the Tempest Church had died, along with their most important Tempest Overlord, the Thunderous Monarch. Of the Cyart people, five baronial families and the viscount family of the Spirit Deer clan were completely destroyed, with the other families also largely decimated, especially the Donnerklaue clan during the pursuit, leaving almost no adult family member alive except for the family head.

Neither side had a true victor, and the common people were just relieved, weeping in the belief that peaceful days might finally be ahead.