The Sovereign Chronicles novel Chapter 11

A company of over a hundred men and women departed the Azure Sky Sanctum amid laughter and casual banter, marching into the stygian depths of the Veilwood Forest.

Towering ancient trees with massive, gnarly trunks blotted out the sun. Their chaotic, overgrown branches formed a canopy that cast long shadows over the earth—a domain teeming with venomous serpents, lurking predators, and omnipresent danger.

The primal atmosphere of the ancient woods was heavy and oppressive.

The expedition trekked through the dense undergrowth, their boots crunching over thick layers of decaying leaves. Drooping vines and overgrown corners occasionally revealed the bleached bones of wild beasts.

Attendant Kaelen brought up the rear, hauling a half-ton iron barrel strapped to his back, his eyes warily scanning the damp, overgrown timberland. While the others likely had ample experience navigating these wilds, this was his very first time stepping foot outside the Azure Sky Sanctum in eight years. He was entirely blind to the dangers that lay beyond the sanctum's walls.

A hulking Grave-Bear lumbered past them through the adjacent brush, huffing heavily. It cast a cold, predatory glare at their company and bared its teeth with a low, rumbling growl. An invisible wave of kinetic energy rippled outward, causing the loose gravel on the ground to levitate and swarm densely around its massive frame.

A Spirit Beast!

Its aura was absolutely overwhelming.

The Alchemical Expedition paid the Grave-Bear no heed. With over a hundred seasoned fighters in their ranks, why would they fear a lone beast?

Kaelen, however, dared not be so careless. His right hand discreetly tightened around the grip of a Throwing Dagger at his waist, his senses dialed to maximum alert.

The Grave-Bear opted against an attack. It watched them pass from a distance before hauling its muscular bulk deeper into the ancient woods.

The mountain trail was a jagged series of rises and falls, littered with gnarled, twisting roots. The other Initiates navigated it with effortless grace, occasionally vaulting into the canopy to perform acrobatic flips—a blatant show of bravado for the female Initiates. Now and then, they would chase after lesser Spirit Beasts, eager to showcase their martial prowess. Kaelen, burdened by half a ton of dead weight, took every single step with calculated caution. Yet, he felt no frustration or despair. He maintained a steady, grounded pace, his breathing even and his back ramrod straight. To him, this grueling march was simply another form of cultivation.

After trekking for three straight days, the Alchemical Expedition penetrated the heart of the ancient forest, arriving at the summit of a mountain soaring over three thousand feet high.

"This peak is distinct. Its silhouette resembles a black hawk spreading its wings. We'll use it as the main landmark for this sector. Regroup at this exact location in half a month."

"Attendant Kaelen, distribute the tools from the barrel to the respective squads. You are to remain stationed here. Do not wander off. If you lose your life out there, you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

"These ancient woods are lethal. Everyone, stay sharp. Avoid provoking any Spirit Beasts if you can help it."

"And remember—rendezvous here in exactly half a month. Do not delay."

The expedition divided into fifteen distinct squads, each comprising one or two Veridian Acolytes paired with four or five Initiate-Guards, meticulously balanced to ensure equal combat strength across the board.

Each squad would scatter across different zones of the mountain range to harvest Aether-flora.

Kaelen set down the massive iron barrel and unpacked all the harvesting gear and hardtack within.

"Attendant Kaelen, be a good boy and stay right here on the summit. Don't go running off now," Lady Moria teased, flashing Kaelen a dramatic wink. With her crimson lips and spellbinding curves, she radiated an intoxicating, predatory allure.

"Stay put. I'm not taking the fall if you end up dead," a Veridian Acolyte warned him with icy indifference.

"Move out. May the harvest be bountiful for every squad."

The Initiates let out a unified battle cry, slung their packs over their shoulders, and descended from the summit, leaving Kaelen standing entirely alone.

Kaelen stood at the precipice, gazing out over the vast expanse of the Veilwood Forest. The canopy rolled like a verdant ocean beneath him, punctuated by jagged, bizarre rock formations. Wisps of pale mist drifted through the valleys, shifting shapes with the breeze. It was a landscape of breathtaking, epic grandeur, exuding a sense of infinite scale that hit him like a physical force. He took a deep breath, letting the crisp, raw air invigorate his lungs and clear his mind.

Yet, this was an untamed wilderness. Beneath its breathtaking veneer lay a labyrinth of deadly perils. Wild predators and monstrous Spirit Beasts stalked the shadows of the ancient timber, eternally acting out the brutal law of the strong devouring the weak.

But to Kaelen, the most lethal threat in this forest wasn't the beasts—it was Moria. That venomous woman had pulled strings to get him assigned to this expedition, and he knew damn well she didn't have his best interests at heart. He stood completely expressionless for a moment before walking to the edge of The Talon's Edge. Slowly rolling his shoulders to loosen his muscles, he scaled down the treacherous curve of the sheer cliff face, hanging suspended just beneath the overhanging 'talon'.

It wasn't long before one of the harvesting squads returned to the summit.

"Little Attendant, your big sister is here to see you," Moria called out, her voice dripping with venomous sweetness as she sauntered forward. The exposed skin beneath her cropped leather armor was supple and radiant, exuding a breathtaking vitality. Her neck was as pale and smooth as a swan's, her beauty rivaling the most vibrant of blooms. She was the kind of woman who commanded the room the moment she entered; even the wildflowers of the forest seemed to dull in her presence.

A rugged male Initiate shadowed her closely. "Let me have the first crack at him. I hear he's got a tough spine? Good. I love the sound a tough spine makes when it breaks."

A Veridian Acolyte chuckled, a crisp, chilling sound. "Let me draw first blood. I consecrate the mountain with blood on every harvest. Usually, it's the blood of a Spirit Beast. Today, I'd like to test the efficacy of human blood."

"Keep your voices down. You'll frighten our little Attendant."

"Hmm? Where is he?"

The summit was entirely desolate save for the solitary iron barrel. There wasn't a trace of Kaelen.

"Don't tell me he actually ran?" Moria's expression darkened. She gestured for the four men to fan out and search the area.

They scoured every inch of the summit, finding absolutely nothing. Unwilling to accept it, they swept the area a second time, yielding the same result.

"The cunning little rat. He must have slipped away with one of the other squads." Moria had known Kaelen wouldn't just wait around to be slaughtered, but she hadn't anticipated his reaction time to be this fast. He had vanished the moment they turned their backs.

"What's the play now?" The Silver-Lance Initiate approached the precipice of The Talon's Edge, peering down before hastily stepping back from the dizzying, thousand-foot drop.

Moria's tone turned entirely vicious. "Kaelen dies. He does not return to the Azure Sky Sanctum breathing."

The Veridian Acolyte offered a reassuring smirk. "Patience, Lady Moria. We gave you our word, and we intend to honor it. He's nothing but a lowly Servitor. It doesn't matter how 'special' he thinks he is, he's still a peasant. I couldn't care less about the consequences of putting him in the dirt. Besides, heh, he'll die out here in the wilds. Not even his bones will be left. Who's going to know how he met his end? We track him down right now. He couldn't have gotten far."

"I appreciate your efforts, brothers. The compensation I promised you will only increase."

"Haha, you're far too kind, Lady Moria. Serving you is our absolute privilege."

"Hunt him down! He doesn't know this terrain. He's practically a sitting duck." Moria's hatred for Kaelen was absolute. Ever since he had brutally injured her that day, she had been obsessively plotting his demise. The more she obsessed, the deeper her malice grew. She had gone through immense trouble to convince the Veridian Acolytes to draft Kaelen into the expedition just to get him far away from the Sanctum. This was a golden opportunity, and she refused to let him slip through her fingers.

A silhouette exploded from the darkness ahead, sprinting with terrifying, predatory speed. In the blink of an eye, the figure closed the distance to the Silver-Lance Initiate. A fist pulled back, gathering a tempest of violent, concussive Aether.

"Help me!" the Silver-Lance Initiate shrieked, coughing up blood, his face twisted in absolute terror.

CRACK! The Titan's Vigor slammed directly into his sternum. Over a thousand pounds of raw, unadulterated force detonated on impact, instantly pulverizing his ribcage and launching his body off the ground like a broken ragdoll. The shattered ribs punctured his heart. The Initiate spewed a fountain of blood as he flew backward through the air.

The remaining squad members blanched. The two Initiates closest to the impact reacted instantly, roaring, "Cut him down!"

One of them drew a pair of twin blades. The steel flared with a blinding, golden luminescence as he unleashed a storm of overlapping slashes: "Blade Art: Shadow Sever!"

The other thrust both palms forward, summoning a massive surge of geo-Aether that ripped the earth apart, hurling sand and debris into a blinding sandstorm: "Earthshaker's Roar!"

The shadowy figure didn't stop his forward momentum. He stomped the ground, vaulting ten feet into the air. As he ascended toward the canopy, his hands flicked, launching three more Throwing Daggers with the speed of thunderbolts. The daggers didn't travel in straight lines; they carved impossible, curved trajectories through the air, spinning violently as they locked onto the two attacking Initiates.

Visibility in the dark was near zero, but their honed combat instincts screamed danger. Both men aborted their attacks and threw themselves sideways.

The silhouette plummeted from the sky, his entire body compressing upon landing like a coiled spring pushed to its absolute limit. In an instant, that energy released, propelling him like a cannonball toward the retreating Dual-Blade Initiate.

"Raaagh!" The Dual-Blade Initiate was relentless. Emitting a feral roar, he reversed his momentum and charged headlong to meet the attacker.

The figure, sprinting low to the ground, executed a split-second evasive roll, sliding just beneath the twin blades. Planting his right palm on the dirt, he hoisted his body parallel to the ground. Surging boundless kinetic Aether into his legs—sparking blinding arcs of lightning—he unleashed a tempest of rapid-fire kicks straight into the Initiate's abdomen.

Too fast! The Dual-Blade Initiate's eyes widened in horror, his vision momentarily blinded by the sudden burst of lightning. He desperately tried to dodge, but managing to evade the first strike only left him open for the second. The third and fourth kicks connected with brutal succession, slamming into his torso with deafening thuds.

The force behind the blows was entirely monstrous, easily carrying over a thousand pounds of kinetic weight.

The Initiate had never anticipated such overwhelming physical power. He screamed as he was launched through the air, crashing into the brush where he curled into a fetal position, utterly winded and incapacitated.

"Earthshaker's Roar!" The remaining Initiate hurled his palms forward. A massive wave of geo-Aether coalesced around his hands, conjuring a violent, localized sandstorm that ripped through the clearing.

Landing gracefully, the figure immediately pushed off the ground, charging directly into the earthen tempest. Just a fraction of a second before colliding, he launched himself upward, delivering a devastating, lightning-infused spinning kick right into the heart of the Earthshaker's Roar.

Crack, crack, crack. The lightning was snuffed out—against a Phase Six martial art, the raw elemental damage was lacking. But the true lethality of the attack lay in the sheer, barbaric physical force of the kick. His leg acted as a sledgehammer, shattering the condensed earth and smashing directly into the Initiate's hands, tearing the skin and muscle down to the bone.

Flipping backward in mid-air, the figure delivered a vicious axe kick aimed directly at the man's face.

The Initiate scrambled backward in a pathetic panic, narrowly dodging the lethal blow. But the moment the figure's boots touched the ground, he surged forward again, slamming both palms squarely into the Initiate's chest.

The assault was unyielding. The power was absolute.

The Initiate violently coughed up blood and was sent hurtling backward, tumbling and skipping across the forest floor like a skipped stone. He bounced seven or eight times before finally coming to a halt in the tall grass, completely paralyzed and gasping for air.