The King Of Warriors novel (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6520

*****

The day Elder Cillian was brought back to Freevale, the weather could not have been better.

The people Jared sent reached the depths of Evershade and found the scattered remnant Sylvan Kin one by one, where they had been hiding in the forest for months.

The Sylvan Kin were naturally closer to the wild than humans, which made it easier for them to survive in the deep forest.

It also made them harder to find.

They hid in the gaps between great trees, in root-caves beneath the earth, blending their auras into the plants around them until they were almost impossible to detect.

At first, they did not dare come out.

Only when they heard Jared's name did they finally emerge, one by one, cautious and thin as sticks, their eyes bright despite everything.

Elder Cillian wore a tattered gray robe. His white hair was whiter than before, the lines on his face deeper too, but his eyes were still bright.

When he stepped out of the deep forest and saw Freevale being rebuilt in the distance, he stopped cold.

He stood there with tears streaming down his face, his body shaking so hard it looked like he was about to drop to his knees.

Jared went to the city gate to receive him in person.

Elder Cillian shook off the support of the Sylvan disciples beside him, hurried to Jared, and dropped to his knees.

His knees struck the flagstones with a dull, heavy thud.

If Jared had not caught him, his forehead would have hit the ground next.

"Mr. Chance..."

His voice shook. Clouded old tears slid down the deep grooves of his face and splashed onto the flagstones.

"This old man thought... thought I'd never see you again in this lifetime... The Sylvan Kin thought... thought we'd never live to see the day you came back..."

He cried like a child.

A Sylvan elder who had lived for hundreds of years was sprawled on the ground now, sobbing so hard he could barely get the words out.

Behind him, the rest of the remnant Sylvan Kin dropped to their knees as well, dozens of them kneeling together and bowing their heads to Jared.

Jared hauled Elder Cillian back to his feet and kept a steady grip on his arm until the old man found his balance.

"Elder Cillian, the Sylvan Kin are not gone."

Elder Cillian looked up at him, his clouded old eyes shining with tears.

"As long as even one of us is still alive, the Sylvan Kin still live."

Jared's voice wasn't loud, but it landed like stone.

"Elder, no one will ever hunt your people again."

Elder Cillian nodded hard.

He raised a sleeve to wipe his eyes, and by the time he lowered it, the cuff was soaked through.

Then he turned to the remnant Sylvan Kin behind him.

"The rebuilding of the Sylvan Kin begins today. Every brick we raise, every tile we lay, we remember who gave us this chance."

The Sylvan Kin answered as one.

Elara Winter stepped out of the crowd.

Her face was pale, and she had thinned down so much she looked an entire size smaller than before, but her eyes were still as clear as ever.

She stopped in front of Jared.

She didn't kneel. She only looked at him for a long, deep moment, then smiled.

"Mr. Chance."

Jared gave her a small nod.

Then she turned away, walked to the stretch of rubble that belonged to the Sylvan Kin, bent down, and lifted the first stone.

*****

News of the Celestial Alliance's destruction tore through the Sixteenth Firmament like a shockwave.

No one could believe the strongest power ruling the Sixteenth Firmament had really fallen so completely.

Not until people went to see the burning great hall with their own eyes.

By then, the great hall was nothing but a charred skeleton.

The roofs that had once blazed with splendor had collapsed into the ground, and melted gold had hardened into twisted shapes.

Those once-arrogant saintlight adepts had all burned to ash.

Not even bones remained.

Only the violet chaos-flame still flickered across the ruins, steadily devouring the last traces of holy radiance until nothing was left.

The onlookers stood before the wreckage, staring at one another.

"The Celestial Alliance... it was really wiped out."

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