Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 417: The Inevitable War

Kharos had mobilised one-fourth of the army for the opening assault on the Ironvale Fortress. The army had not even reached the border of Ironvale, and nearly twenty percent of it had already been wiped out.

The soldiers’ morale had fallen, fear surged through their ranks, and their formation had broken due to the onslaught of the elemental arrays.

Retreat was the only wise decision in these circumstances, but if the Emperor ordered it without even reaching the enemy’s fortress, the humiliation would be immeasurable, and the fear of the Banes would only deepen within the empire’s soldiers.

"Do not yield! The arrays are about to be undone!" Hector’s booming voice, laced with Soulforce, echoed through the valleys. "The evil Banes used underhanded tricks to ambush us. Take revenge for your fallen comrades!"

Only slightly, but the army’s morale returned. The chaos subsided, and they began reforming proper formations.

"The Prince is right. We cannot let our comrades die for nothing!"

"Make those Banes bastards pay!"

"Eradicate the evil Banes from this world!"

The soldiers roared with newfound enthusiasm and moved forward as the arrays slowly vanished.

Unlike his younger brother, Hector was a sharp and composed prince who analysed every situation closely. Sensing his father’s concerns, he immediately acted upon them and restored the army to a combat-ready state.

That was what the other Dukes and the soldiers believed about Hector.

The reality, however, was disappointingly different.

"How is it, Father? You must be thinking that I can command the army well," Hector murmured inwardly, the corner of his lips slightly raised. "That foolish Adam, whom you always dote on, might have already died at Voltrex’s hands. Now stop being stubborn and hand the empire over to your only worthy son."

---

"They certainly have a twisted sense of logic," Barbatos sighed, shaking his head. "Calling us evil after everything they have done."

Turning to Aurelion, he asked, "Should we show them what true evil looks like?"

"Let more of them gather," Aurelion replied, his senses fixed in every direction from which the empire’s army was advancing.

Taranis had foreseen that the Emperor would target the entire country instead of the fortress at the front, so he prepared accordingly. On the protective walls surrounding the country, the Ironvale soldiers who had yielded to the Banes were stationed. Under any other circumstances, they would have outright refused to raise their weapons against the empire’s soldiers, but what Taranis told them was strange.

"I do not ask you to fight our war, nor do I need your help in it. Guard the border walls and protect your country, because the Banes will not do that. I do not care whether this country is leveled to the ground or all of its citizens are slaughtered. My soldiers will not shed their blood protecting your people, and I am not forcing you to do so either. The choice is yours."

The Ironvale soldiers were skeptical of Taranis’s words. They spread across the walls merely as a formality and were prepared to refuse to fight the empire’s army at the fortress, even if it meant execution. But now, the very empire that the Ironvale Duchy had served so loyally was raising its weapons against them. Not at the fortress, but at the country itself, where innocent citizens resided.

"Guard the walls! Do not let a single enemy enter the country!" the commander of the Ironvale soldiers ordered.

---

While the inevitable clash at the Ironvale Fortress was about to begin, Rhaegar, along with a hundred knights at the True Sage Realm, rushed toward the Valley of Heavenly Pillars at full speed.

A few hours had passed since they left the valleys of Ironvale. The squad had reached the Jungle of Pines, a dense forest composed entirely of colossal pine trees. Suddenly, the squad halted as they sensed a powerful presence within the forest.

Rhaegar’s eyes narrowed as he focused on a distant part of the forest from where the presence was emanating.

What he saw was a tail of lightning streaking through the trees at a blinding speed. The lightning transformed into a black-haired man, his upper body bare and coated in dried blood. The man covered short distances in sudden bursts of lightning and, in the blink of an eye, vanished completely.

Rhaegar instantly recognized the golden lightning. There was only one person who could wield lightning of Sovereign class.

"Taranis El Thunderbane. What is that monster doing here?" Rhaegar muttered, his eyes widening. "Wait, those injuries and the direction he is coming from..."

"What are you staring at?" A deep voice echoed from in front of Rhaegar. He snapped his head toward the voice, only to find Taranis standing before him. His disheveled hair hung over his eyes, concealing them completely, while his face remained still and unreadable.

"When did he get here?" Rhaegar muttered, instantly unsheathing his sword.

The knights behind him immediately assumed fighting stances. Although Taranis had one arm missing, his torso bore numerous wounds, and his shoulder carried a deep, critical injury, the pressure he unconsciously radiated was enough to send chills down their spines.

"What are you doing here?" Rhaegar demanded.

"You are... Rhaegar," Taranis murmured in a deep voice, his eyes suddenly glowing behind the curtain of his hair.

"Spread out. Attack him from all sides!" Rhaegar commanded, nervousness clearly etched on his face. "He is Taranis, the prin—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as Taranis moved his hand toward his chest and drew out a sword.

The moment the sword was drawn, Taranis vanished from his position and reappeared before Rhaegar. The silver sheen of his blade had already turned to molten gold, and it came crashing down with unstoppable force.

Rhaegar responded instantly, raising his own sword to block the attack.

"Divine Lightning: Lightning Slash!"

The swords clashed, and bolts of golden lightning spread outward from the point of contact. The ground beneath Rhaegar split open, and he was hurled back by the sheer weight of Taranis’s strike.

"Sir Rhaegar!" the other knights shouted, rushing at Taranis from every direction.