Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 341: Blood Clan world. {7}

Meanwhile, across the city, the old patriarch materialized within the grand halls of his clan's ancestral mansion. Without wasting a second, he activated his arm device, summoning the highest-ranking members of the blood clan.

Minutes later, space cracks began opening above the estate like dark, swirling maws in the void. From these rifts emerged figures of immense power, from Elders, Matriarchs, and other Patriarchs, each an authority in their own right.

These were not mere nobles or bureaucrats. These were monsters, battle-hardened beings who had survived countless wars, ruling over their respective bloodlines with an iron grip.

Once the last of them had arrived, the old patriarch rose from his chair, his expression grave yet brimming with anticipation.

"Well then," he began speaking, his voice carrying a weight that silenced all present. "I imagine you're all wondering why I summoned you here."

An old female Matriarch, draped in a cloak of flowing crimson, scoffed from her seat. "Hmph. I assume you have a very good reason for interrupting our affairs," she sneered.

"And weren't you supposed to be leading the auction tonight? Did you grow tired of playing merchant so quickly?"

The patriarch shot her a sharp glance, his lips curling into a smirk. "Where do you think I just came from, you old snake?"

Ignoring the murmurs of intrigue, he flicked his fingers across his arm device. The massive wooden table at the center of the room rumbled, shifting and morphing as a projection activated above it.

And then, the offer was displayed for all to see.

For a brief second, silence reigned....

The eldest members of the blood clan, those who had lived for centuries, leapt to their feet, their eyes wide with something that resembled both shock and fear. Even those who had long mastered their emotions failed to conceal the raw disbelief on their faces.

The younger blood clan leaders, however, merely exchanged confused glances, unable to grasp what had just transpired.

One of them, a Tier 6 patriarch, furrowed his brow. "I don't understand… What's so special about this offer?"

Before anyone could answer, one of the ancient Elders, with skin pale as moonlight and a suffocating presence, slowly turned his gaze toward the old patriarch. His voice, though barely above a whisper, carried the weight of a death sentence.

"... Who made this bid?"

The old patriarch exhaled deeply, a smirk forming on his lips.

"I don't know; the person in question was wearing a cloak that interfered with the scanner of my eye. However, I could still sense his presence, and his aura was not stronger than that of a Tier 4 Bionic warrior."

The old patriarch's words only deepened the confusion among those who already knew the implications. A murmur spread across the grand hall, hushed whispers exchanged between Elders and superiors.

The weight of this revelation lingered in the air like a storm cloud about to burst. Then, one of the other patriarchs, his brow furrowed in contemplation, voiced the question that had been forming in everyone's minds. "This individual... was it... female?"

As soon as the words left his lips, every gaze in the room locked onto the old patriarch, their anticipation palpable. Silence reigned for a moment before the elder finally spoke, his voice steady. "Mmm, no... By the build of his body, he was undoubtedly a man."

A collective sigh of relief echoed through the assembly, tension dissipating slightly. However, not everyone understood the significance of the inquiry.

The newest Elders, unfamiliar with the underlying fear woven into the older generation's reaction, exchanged perplexed glances. Finally, one among them, a young Elder of the blood clan, hesitantly raised his hand and voiced the question that lingered in the minds of the uninformed.

"So... who are the Khryssari? Why is this event so important that it warranted an emergency assembly of all Elders and superiors? And why does it matter so much whether this person was male or female?"

The room fell into a weighty silence. The old matriarch, with her presence as commanding as ever, let out a slow breath, her gaze sweeping across the chamber before she finally spoke.

"It is understandable that you do not know. The Khryssari have not been encountered by this generation of Elders. But let me make one thing clear… They are not an enemy one can simply fight and defeat...."

"They are a force of nature, relentless, unstoppable, beyond our control. If their swarm sets its sights on a world, that world is already lost."

A shiver ran through the younger Elders, but the matriarch wasn't finished. From the folds of her ornate robe, she withdrew a small recording device and activated it.

"This was about four hundred years ago when I was still active beyond our natal world. Back then, I received a contract, a high-profile assassination. The target was a female."

"The bounty for her head was two billion credits. Naturally, I assumed such a sum was because she was a megacorp heir or someone of similar importance. But I was gravely mistaken."

A dim holographic projection flickered to life, displaying an aged recording. The Elders leaned forward, their eyes narrowing as they watched the footage unfold.

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The video showed the matriarch moving through the shadows, expertly infiltrating a heavily guarded building. Silent as a phantom, she navigated through the halls until she reached her target: a seemingly young girl lying asleep on a bed, her breathing slow and steady.

But this was no ordinary child. Her form bore distinct insectoid features, chitinous armor plating, delicate antennae, and, most notably, two powerful blade-like appendages in place of arms.

The tension in the room grew thick as the matriarch in the recording raised a dagger, poised to strike. Just as the blade was about to descend, space itself seemed to shatter beside her.

A sudden, jagged rift tore open in the air, and from within, monstrous tentacles erupted, thrashing violently.

The building trembled as the eldritch appendages tore through walls and furniture alike, sending the matriarch hurtling backward. The image froze at that moment, the still frame capturing the chaos and destruction.

The matriarch exhaled slowly before speaking again, her voice calm but heavy with reminiscence.

"That was the moment I lost my left arm. The being that emerged from that space crack was a Tier 6 powerhouse, and at the time, I was merely a Tier 5, mid-stage."

"Even though the gap between our levels wasn't insurmountable, I was completely powerless. I had no choice but to retreat."

She raised her left arm, the one that had been lost in that fateful encounter. It gleamed in the dim light, a testament to both the past and the power of technology. "I survived, but at a cost. And that girl... she was no ordinary target. She was a Khryssari."

A heavy silence followed her words, the gravity of her story settling over the assembly. Yet, some of the younger Elders remained skeptical.

One of them, his curiosity outweighing his caution, spoke up. "But I still don't understand why this should be such a cause for concern. We have Tier 6 powerhouses among us, even Tier 7 warriors. Why, then, should we fear them?"

The old matriarch turned her gaze to him, her eyes cold and knowing. "Because you do not comprehend the true horror of the Khryssari. Strength alone is not enough. Their swarm is endless. Their reach extends beyond our understanding...."

"And the last time a female Khryssari appeared… entire civilizations burned to the ground. If a male has appeared now, it changes nothing. But if a female appears once again… then, young Elder, we are already doomed."

"The Khryssari are not just powerful. They are an extinction-level threat. A force of nature that reshapes the fate of entire civilizations. And we are not exempt from that fate."

She resumed the video.

The image flickered back to life, showing the chaos that had erupted within the target's chamber. The Tier 6 creature that had emerged from the space crack was unlike anything the gathered Elders had ever seen.

Its form was a grotesque yet elegant fusion of biological and eldritch horror, its chitinous exoskeleton shifting and pulsating, as if it were alive in ways beyond mere organic function.

The moment it appeared, it let out a screech, warping the very air around it. The video feed glitched momentarily, distorting as if the sheer presence of the creature defied conventional physics.

In the recording, the old matriarch, still youthful back then, had barely enough time to react before the thing's tendrils shot toward her. With inhuman speed, she dodged, but not fast enough. One of the tendrils sliced through her left arm as if it were nothing.

Blood sprayed across the walls, and the old matriarch in the video let out a scream of pain.

Yet, the most terrifying part wasn't her injury; it was the girl.

The supposed target, the young Khryssari, had barely even woken up. She blinked groggily at the sight of the battle, stretched her arms, those bladed appendages glinting under the dim light and then, with the most casual of movements, vanished.

Not teleported. Not phased away. She moved so fast that even the matriarch's advanced tracking implants had no chance of locking onto her.

The old matriarch leapt from the building, landing gracefully on the nearest rooftop. As she turned, the monstrous creature she had been battling unleashed its fury, shattering the colossal structure behind her, its massive form fully emerging from the space rift.

Her breath caught as she glanced upward. The night sky burned with an eerie emerald glow, pulsating like a sickly aurora. A cold dread gripped her heart... the Khryssari fleet had arrived.