The Sovereign Chronicles novel Chapter 49

49 /49

"Your things? Don't make me laugh. I clearly found it first." Upon realizing they were just Initiates and not rogue mercenaries, Kaelen relaxed significantly.

"Hand over the Amethyst Heart Cluster, and we'll pretend this never happened." Linnea stood tall, an image of breathtaking, cold beauty. Her snow-white dress matched her flawless complexion, making her look like a fairy descended from a glacier. But her demeanor was far too freezing to be pleasant. She was shocked to run into Kaelen here, but the Amethyst Heart Cluster was vital to her progression. She would not leave without it.

"Finders keepers, lady." Kaelen tucked the glowing fruit safely away.

"We spent three agonizing days luring The Amethyst Manticore away! We sacrificed five Lesser Aether-flora to bait it out, and you think you can just snatch it? Drop it, now!" a male Acolyte roared. For three days, they had danced on the edge of death, finally succeeding in drawing the beast away today. They were just waiting for it to get far enough before claiming the prize. None of them expected Kaelen to hijack their hard work.

"We don't have time to argue with you. The Amethyst Manticore is still close." Another Acolyte kept glancing back nervously. If that titan returned right now, their entire squad wouldn't even serve as a light snack.

Kaelen rolled his eyes. "Senior Acolytes of Mount Veridia, you literally sit on a mountain of herbs. What Aether-flora do you possibly lack that you must rob a lowly Initiate like me?"

"The Amethyst Heart Cluster is a Greater Aether-flora. Every single berry counts as one!" Linnea stated, her face an unyielding mask of ice.

"Five of them?" Kaelen's heart pounded with greedy excitement. The cluster had five berries. Five Greater Aether-flora?! He had briefly considered handing it over to avoid a bloodbath, but hearing that, his grip tightened over his pockets. *Heh. It's mine now.*

Seeing his expression, the Veridian Acolytes instantly read his mind. "Hand it over!"

"How about a compromise? We're all from the same Sanctum; no need for bloodshed. I'm a generous man. We'll split it. Three for me, two for you. Deal?"

"Shameless!"

"That's harsh. We are fellow disciples. No need to burn bridges. Fine, I'll take two, you take three?"

"Not a chance. You don't get to keep a single one. It is ours."

"Aren't you being a bit unreasonable? This is The Veilwood Forest, not The Azure Sky Sanctum. Your status as Veridian Acolytes means absolutely nothing out here. You don't get to dictate reality." Kaelen swept his gaze over the group, shifting into a combat stance. I offered a compromise, and you spat on it. Then we fight.

"You think you can take us? A Phase Five Spirit Warrior is nothing in this hunting ground."

"Kaelen, don't make this ugly. You cannot afford to make enemies of Mount Veridia."

"Don't force us to cripple you."

"Just because you got lucky against Maelor doesn't mean you're invincible."

The five Veridian Acolytes fanned out, surrounding Kaelen as they channeled their Aether, ready to strike.

Oh, we're doing this? Kaelen felt absolutely zero fear. He patted his chest where the fruit was stowed. An explosive aura of crimson lightning erupted from his pores, generating a shockwave that blasted the dirt and leaves away. He raised his right arm. The Aether rapidly condensed, violently morphing into blinding, crackling lightning that crawled up his arm.

*Crack-boom!*

A deafening thunderclap echoed in the enclosed canopy. The massive volume of lightning surged toward his right fist, weaving together into a thick, furious lightning serpent coiling tightly around his bicep. The serpent's jaws locked perfectly over Kaelen's knuckles. It hissed with hyper-realistic malice, locking its predatory gaze on the Acolytes.

"Phase Six of The Spirit Warrior Tier?" Linnea was genuinely startled. That Aether density was undeniably Phase Six. When did he break through?

"Phase Six? No wonder you dare bark at us. But you're still not qualified to challenge Mount Veridia. Kaelen, this is your final warning. The Amethyst Heart Cluster."

An Acolyte stepped forward, spinning a heavy iron cudgel, pointing it directly at Kaelen.

"Save your breath, and stop acting like you're gods." Kaelen clenched his fist. The lightning serpent roared, bursting with catastrophic kinetic potential. His stance was clear: Come at me!

"Fool!" The male Acolyte channeled a surge of golden Aether into his weapon. The dull iron cudgel instantly ignited with blinding golden light, vibrating intensely. It awoke like a legendary artifact, radiating a crushing gravitational field aimed squarely at Kaelen.

The two warriors locked eyes, their Aether auras clashing, before simultaneously lunging at each other.

"Cudgel of Banishment, Suppress!" The Acolyte roared. His momentum skyrocketed as he brought the blinding golden cudgel crashing down. It was a purely brutal, unadulterated smash. The golden light boiled, making the weapon feel like an entire mountain descending from the heavens.

The sheer gravitational pressure pulverized the rocks beneath them to dust, sinking the earth by several inches.

Kaelen was completely enveloped in the golden suppression. In a fraction of a second, his movements felt chained by a mountain's weight. But he didn't flinch. Instead, his lightning surged even harder. He threw a devastating uppercut straight into the descending weapon. The lightning serpent opened its jaws, its fangs perfectly defined in the Aether, letting out a deafening, realistic shriek as it bit into the attack.