Information spreads throughout the city.

People learned about what was going on and couldn’t help but feel their blood run cold.

Much like any other day, another enemy of the empire came to attack. At least, that was what the people told themselves when the echoes of battle rippled through the city. Most paid these things no mind. For the emperor to lose was practically impossible.

Just like many others that had come before it, this is merely another disturbance.

Another close call.

Some were afraid, yes, but they swallowed it down as they always did.

From the start, the emperor already made it clear that he was pursuing a peaceful world.

And to achieve it, he has to go through murky and deadly waters.

He already made sure they understand that if they decided to live in Dargena City, they would need to be prepared for danger and stay loyal to him. High-ranking Supernatural races, Executors, these entities are the big bads that Rex used to test their determination.

But this incident was on a completely different scale.

It wasn’t another powerful entity that came to attack.

It was a God. No... Gods.

Even the Silverstar Pack, the ones who lived in the luxury of the castle, the ones who are threading high in the ladder of power, the thought of going across a God never crossed their minds. But an attack from higher beings did come.

And more surprisingly, they managed to stop it.

As impossible as that sounds, the empire managed to stop an attack from a higher realm.

That realization alone made the people believe even more in the empire.

"You’ve done a really good thing today."

"You should rest and leave this to us, Lord Kyran. Tend to your wounds."

"Long live the emperor for choosing you as his shadow."

Praise followed Kyran through the streets, murmured by passersby as he walked his patrol. He gave a faint smile, acknowledging those who were now working hard to clean up the mess from last night, but his eyes never stopped moving.

Never stopped tracing rooftops, alleyways, windows, tracing everything with practiced attention.

Kyran saw a thousand places danger could still be hiding.

His acute senses were the biggest factor, but he was also trained by Edward in reconnaissance.

Spotting places that could hide danger is also one of the things he learned.

After all, last night, he saw how that Godling managed to sneak into the bed chamber.

And Kyran doesn’t want any more surprises.

So, he made sure to utilize his incredibly acute senses to locate any kind of anomaly.

Fortunately, he found nothing.

Dawn had broken, and with it, the danger had receded. A good beginning, or so it should’ve been. But Kyran couldn’t exhale. Couldn’t let out the tension inside his chest. He pressed his palm flat against the cold stone wall, catching himself mid-cough—the sound rattled in his chest.

"What’s wrong with me?" Kyran whispered inwardly. "What am I thinking?"

Recalling the arguments he had with Naela made him grab his face in shame.

Even though things ended up somewhat acceptable—with him gaining a King Mark and even Calidora achieving a breakthrough in her blood energy, it still doesn’t feel right. "Evelyn and Gistella, where are they? I can’t find them."

Last night, Kyran was quite sure that those two weren’t with Adhara.

And minutes ago, he had already checked on Caraptaros, thinking that they had been killed.

But there’s no sign of those two.

Kyran wasn’t worried that those two died, as his connection to them wasn’t exactly severed, but he was more afraid of Rex returning to this realm to rescue them. If that was really the case, then he would’ve seen that Kyran wasn’t there.

Wasn’t there to help the pack repel the Blood Moon’s forces with them.

Frankly, the thought of that drowned him in shame.

He was not the Female Alpha, but he was the Beta Enforcer—a pack member whose sole purpose was to deal with every threat that surfaced within the empire’s borders. And he hadn’t been there for Evelyn. Kyran pressed his forehead against the cold stone wall, grinding it in as though this meager pain could somehow get rid of the shame.

At this moment, he wanted to ground to swallow him.

He wanted the ground to hide him until the shame came to pass.

But that’s not going to happen.

"What am I even going to say to Naela?" Kyran pulled his hair with both hands. "Fuck."

Moments later.

Kyran had already seen to everything. He’d checked on Calidora and found her back in bed, a satisfied smile resting on her lips. Rex’s original body had been returned to the training chamber where it was before last night. And he’d also spoken with Gelmar, Vivian, and Jarvald—gathering a rough tally of the damage and casualties from the night before.

Inside the city, there are five dead and more than two hundred wounded.

All of them are non-combatants.

Not that much considering the scale of the blast last night, but Kai wasn’t complaining.

Outside, due to the rush from hunting the mutated animals and even subduing a few Order Beasts, there are approximately three hundred soldiers dead. Almost a quarter is above the seventh-rank realm, which was quite devastating.

For the Dark Elves, there are ten thousand dead.

Madan Qonvale and King Jorik had deliberately used their soldiers for the bulk of the hunt as a way to appease the empire, so their casualties are naturally higher. But almost half of the deaths did not come from the hunt.

It came from the wave of madness the Blood Moon brought, causing bloody rifts within their territory.

Almost twenty villages warred against each other because of the madness.

But it wasn’t their report Kyran was waiting for.

It was the tally from the Dwarves and Tigermen that held his attention.

Both kingdoms made the most contribution, and are also undoubtedly struck the most.

"I’m worried about our situation, Lord Kyran," Vivian said, as she turned to look at the people around working together to fix the city. "The attack from the Blood Moon isn’t necessarily discreet. I’ve heard from the people outside the range area that a red sheen had claimed our territory."

"I know," Kyran’s brows dipped into a frown.

Just like Vivian said, for the people outside the range of the Blood Moon’s invasion, their territory was shrouded in a red sheen that stretched from Dargena City to the Elves and the Orcs, and then the Scarlet Banes Kingdom.

Nobody outside of their territory could tell what’s going on.

The Blood Moon’s invasion stopped anyone from leaving or entering their territory.

But other forces must’ve known that something happened to the Clarentium Empire.

And it wouldn’t be long before their scouts learned what happened.

Learn that the empire’s forces were spent, and this moment was the perfect moment to strike. Of course, Kyran wasn’t worried about the capital city. He seriously doubted anyone would be bold enough after Rex’s feat of power.

But the outskirts were another matter entirely. Softer targets. Exposed settlements.

Those would tempt any enemy watching from the shadows.

"Inform Jarvald and Gelmar to gather a few hundred soldiers—and sweep the edges," Kyran said with a commanding tone, assuming command as he’s the only Silverstar in the area. "Be on the lookout for Angels... At least one is inside our territory right now."

No one could have left the territory while the Blood Moon held sway. None. And that meant the Angel who had attacked Naela was still somewhere in the empire’s territory, trapped. Kyran doubted the Angel could slip out in such a short amount of time.

He was confident that it was still hiding somewhere.

And he wanted to find that damn Angel.

"Lord Kyran!"

A city guard approached and stopped before him with ragged breaths.

"What news do you bring?"

"An unknown werewolf is right outside the wall. She said she was the Princess of Ice and Snow."

Kyran frowned and made his way out of the wall.

Just as the soldier reported, the Princess of Ice and Snow was levitating motionlessly before the forest’s mouth with her eyes closed, waiting for Kyran. When he arrived, she slowly opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on him.

"Shadow Prince..."

"What do you want? Compensation?"

For reaching the city in time. For being able to protect Calidora at all. Kyran has the Princess of Ice and Snow to thank. Had she not intervened, had Iseldra, the Lunirich Goddess of Ice and Snow, not lent him her power, he wouldn’t be standing here now.

He would be nothing more than another casualty under a blood-red sky.

Probably already standing in front of Hell’s gate by now.

So, Kyran wasn’t that ungrateful to not give credit where it’s due.

It was especially so when he earned a King Mark.

"Accepting the King Mark of Ice and Snow is already gratitude enough from your part," The Princess of Ice and Snow drifted closer, her presence silent and immense—until she loomed over Kyran, a figure carved from winter itself. "I am here to give you a warning. A heads-up, if you prefer."

"A warning? Is it the Lunirich Gods?"

"Yes... A war is going to break out. A war between Lunirich Gods. Be prepared."

Kyran had already been expecting this.

Judging from the moonlight last night, he had unmistakably sensed the presence of the Honey Moon as well as the Blood Moon. He could not say for certain whether more than those two had participated in this invasion, but one thing was certain—multiple Lunirich Gods had set their sights on Rex.

Aiming to destroy what he had built.

For Iseldra, the Lunirich Goddess of Ice and Snow, to intervene was a clear betrayal.

She picked a side other than the Lunirich Gods.

Kyran was already expecting a fierce retaliation from the other Lunirich Gods for what she had done.

"How do I even prepare to go against Gods?"

"You’ll figure it out soon enough. But I suggest you pick up the pace. You, the Silverstar Pack, the empire. All of you." She paused, her expression unreadable. "I’m being kept in the dark as well, but the Goddess came to me in a dream. She said your Alpha, Rex Silverstar, is bound to what’s coming."

Once she delivered the message, the Princess of Ice and Snow turned and flew away.

Kyran stopped her.

"Where are you going? Are you going into hiding again?"

"No, I’m returning to my kingdom. Since my kingdom is now an ally of your empire, we’ll meet again soon."

That’s exactly what Kyran wanted.

Since he was told to prepare, he thought he could do that by learning more from her.

After all, she was the Princess of Ice and Snow, with experience in wielding the King Mark that dwarfed Kyran’s by countless lifetimes. If he was to learn from anyone other than Rex, who wasn’t present at the moment, it had to be her.

Kyran returned to the city and was met with a squad of soldiers running straight towards him.

Even from afar, he could already sense their sweat and see the worry on their faces.

No, not worry, but devastation. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

As the first squad drew nearer, Kyran recognized them—the very soldiers he’d dispatched to request a report from the Dwarven Kingdom. They halted before him, and before anyone could speak, a second squad emerged from around the corner, closing in with equal urgency.

This one was the squad he sent to check on the Tigerman Kingdom.

Almost instantly, dread crept into Kyran’s heart.

Both squad leaders paused, uncertain about how to deliver the news to Kyran.

But when they did, Kyran sucked in a cold breath.

He immediately went to the teleportation formation and teleported to the Dwarven Kingdom.

Ice-cold wind immediately rammed against his body when he arrived, but Kyran didn’t react to the cold

An ice-cold wind slammed into him the moment he arrived, but Kyran didn’t flinch. The cold meant nothing. His gaze was locked ahead, pupils blown wide, fists clenched until his knuckles blanched bone-white. "Who did this...?"