Rowan had already pieced together much of Archsage Solarian's motive.
Vexar knew too much.
He had seen Solarian's methods. Understood the machinery behind the Iron Front's immaculate façade. A loose thread like that could never be allowed to wander freely.
That was the first reason.
The second was more unsettling.
Solarian clearly possessed foreknowledge of a coming cataclysm. As the de facto administrator of the Iron Front, he would naturally be aware of which names were destined to be swept into that future conflict.
Control over Vexar meant control over a man who maintained deep connections with members of the Abyssbound Path. If used properly, Vexar could become a lever. A way to steer certain individuals toward carefully prepared deaths, turning future threats into obedient assets bound to higher authority.
Whether Rowan's deductions were perfectly accurate remained uncertain.
But they were close enough to make his skin crawl.
Before he could dwell further, the heavens split with a thunderous roar.
A colossal azure dragon tore through the clouds, spiraling straight toward Chentang Pass.
Its intent was unmistakable.
"Raise the barrier!"
Commander Drake and Lady Eleanor shot onto the battlements, shouting orders to the barrier beasts Archsage Solarian had left behind.
A translucent dome flared into existence around the city.
The dragon smashed into it once.
Twice.
Cracks spread like shattered glass.
On the third impact, the barrier collapsed.
"Now!" Vexar shouted.
Three enormous presences surged upward from the abyssal prison beneath the city.
Mara Vale.
And the imprisoned Dragon Kings of the South and North Seas.
Three torrents of draconic fire converged.
The azure dragon disintegrated in midair.
But no corpse fell.
Instead, the remains twisted, compressed, and reshaped themselves into a simple wooden staff.
The staff flew backward into the waiting hand of an elderly man with silver hair and ageless features.
Archsage Solarian.
He gazed down at the battlefield, expression calm.
"So," he said mildly, "the dragon clans truly are hiding something."
He had suspected it for a long time.
Pyros and Glacien's origins.
The story of reincarnation.
Too tidy. Too convenient.
Even if the explanation had satisfied the others, it had never satisfied him.
This had been a probe.
And it had succeeded.
In truth, Solarian had already been searching for a justification to move against the dragons.
The Iron Front needed resources.
The lower realms were nearly stripped clean of powerful non-humans. Weak creatures produced inferior results. Strong ones were increasingly difficult to find.
But the four seas remained untouched.
Dragons. Leviathans. Sea spirits.
If refined and distributed, the Iron Front's forces would surge in strength.
Only one obstacle remained.
Reputation.
The dragon clans had already submitted.
Openly slaughtering them would provoke backlash.
So Solarian devised a solution.
Create an incident.
Blame the dragons.
Then eradicate them as rebels.
Originally, he had planned to kill a handful of civilians using the staff's transformation technique, frame the attack as a rogue dragon incident, and personally lead an enforcement force to "cleanse" the seas.
But now?
This was better.
Three imprisoned Dragon Kings appearing at Chentang Pass made the narrative perfect.
Wipe out the city.
Leave their corpses behind.
Case closed.
A familiar figure stepped forward, lightning crackling along a coiled whip.
Vexar.
"Still scheming, Senior Brother?" he demanded.
Solarian's eyes flickered with faint surprise, then amusement.
"So you're here too."
He smiled thinly.
"Vexar. Why are you consorting with dragons?"
Vexar's voice trembled with rage.
"Why did you send Pyros and Glacien after my father?"
Solarian lifted an eyebrow.
"I did no such thing."
Vexar pointed the whip at him.
"You're the only one who knows where my family lives. And that arrow wound was left by your disciple."
A brief silence.
Then Solarian chuckled.
"Sharp as ever. I chose you well."
His smile widened.
Seeing Vexar here only confirmed another suspicion.
If Vexar knew, then the reincarnation story was almost certainly false.
Which meant the so-called divine children were tied to the dragons after all.
Perfect.
Solarian raised a hand.
"Come out."
Two figures materialized behind him.
His personal attendants.
Both radiating terrifying pressure.
"I suspected this place would be troublesome," Solarian said calmly. "So I came prepared."
This body was only an avatar.
His true self remained elsewhere, overseeing matters of far greater importance.
Even so…
An avatar was more than enough.
Chentang Pass had just become a graveyard waiting to be filled.
...
Read up to 100 chapters ahead and access exclusive novels by joining my Patreon!
patreon.com/Zyxxar