As Julius and Rosalina were slowly approaching the Void Core stage on one side of the continent of Auranel, far away from the Hayes Clan territory, another storm was quietly beginning to gather.

Inside the territory of the Velentina Clan, the atmosphere had become unusually heavy.

Deep within the clan headquarters stood a massive black building made from dark stone.

The tall walls looked cold and oppressive under the dim evening light. Guards stood outside the building silently with spears in their hands, not daring to make unnecessary sounds.

At the very top floor of the building, inside the clan meeting hall, all ten elders of the Velentina Clan had gathered together.

The room itself was large, but strangely empty.

A long black table stretched through the center of the hall while dim golden lamps burned quietly along the walls.

Normally, the elders of the Velentina Clan carried themselves with pride and arrogance no matter the situation.

But today was different, every elder sitting around the table looked tense.

Some frowned deeply while others tapped their fingers lightly against the table in irritation.

One elder kept narrowing his eyes toward the floor while another quietly rubbed his beard in thought.

No one looked relaxed, because the man sitting at the head of the table had not spoken a single word since the meeting began.

Victor Velentina. The current patriarch of the Velentina Clan.

He sat there calmly with one leg crossed over the other while resting against his chair silently.

He looked like a man in his middle years, tall and handsome with sharp features that carried a strange charm to them.

His black hair reached his neck and was tied loosely behind his head. His eyes were dark and deep, almost like a bottomless abyss.

Even while sitting still, he gave off an invisible pressure that made the entire room feel uncomfortable.

He wore a perfectly fitted black suit, and around him lingered a faint aura that felt cold.

The room remained silent for several more seconds before Victor finally spoke.

"Third Elder." His voice was calm, but the moment he spoke, the entire room immediately became quieter.

The Third Elder quickly straightened his back.

The old man had gray hair and a short gray goatee. His old eyes looked tired after days of investigation.

"My lord," he answered respectfully.

Victor did not even look toward him. "Do you have any idea what happened to Rizen?"

The moment those words entered the room, the atmosphere became even heavier.

Everyone present already knew the situation.

Rizen Velentina had been sent to the Hayes Clan territory as an envoy.

Officially, he had gone there to negotiate with the Hayes Clan and demand compensation regarding Rosalina’s situation.

But everyone sitting in this room knew the truth. The Velentina Clan never truly expected the Hayes Clan to hand Rosalina over.

Their real target had always been the resource lands near the border.

Those lands were filled with valuable ores, spirit mines, and cultivation resources. The Velentina Clan had been searching for an excuse to take them for years.

Rizen’s mission was supposed to create pressure during negotiations.

However, instead of negotiating, he vanished.

The Third Elder slowly spoke. "We already sent people to investigate, my lord. The inn where Young Master Rizen stayed had no clues left behind. The city guards also know nothing."

His brows slowly furrowed. "Even the elite guards sent with him disappeared without leaving traces. It happened overnight."

Several elders frowned deeply hearing that again. Those guards were experts in stealth and assassination. They were not weak spell casters that could disappear so easily.

The Third Elder continued carefully. "I suspect there was an assassination attack, and I believe the Hayes Clan was behind it."

The moment those words fell, the Fifth Elder immediately frowned. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Hayes Clan?" he asked sharply. "Why would they openly kill an envoy? That would practically mean declaring war."

"That is exactly the reason," the Second Elder suddenly interrupted. The old man leaned forward slightly while narrowing his eyes.

"They know we would hesitate to believe they truly killed our envoy because such an action could start a war."

He tapped his finger lightly against the table. "But what if they used that exact thought against us?"

"They know we have been targeting the resource lands for years. Eliminating the envoy would stop negotiations completely."

The Sixth Elder clicked his tongue in irritation. "I agree. There is no way this was random."

His expression darkened. "Killing an envoy is unforgivable. If we ignore this, every clan on the continent will think the Velentina Clan has become weak."

The Third Elder nodded slowly before speaking again.

"I suggest we send another envoy and demand an official investigation from the Hayes Clan."

The newly appointed First Elder suddenly let out a light snort.

The man looked massive, almost like a giant bear sitting among humans. His thick beard moved slightly as he spoke.

"And they would agree?" His deep voice echoed through the hall. "If they truly killed the envoy, why would they investigate themselves?"

He folded his arms heavily. "Do not forget who they are. We are not rivals, we are enemies."

The room became silent again, everyone understood that truth clearly.

The hatred between the Hayes Clan and the Velentina Clan had existed for generations already. There was no trust left between them.

Victor remained silent through the entire discussion.

But inside his mind, another matter continued bothering him far more than Rizen’s death.

Rosalina, the moment he thought about her, his expression darkened slightly. His fingers tightened faintly against the armrest of his chair.

’That useless daughter...’ Anger slowly rose inside him.

Rosalina possessed the Rose Petal Eyes, she was one of the rarest talents the Velentina Clan had seen in nearly a thousand years.

Her talent was monstrous. Even Victor himself had admitted that very few people in the younger generation could ever compare to her.

And now, she was inside the Hayes Clan.

And what was even worse was the fact that she hated the Velentina Clan.

Victor understood her personality better than anyone else as her father.

If Rosalina continued growing under the Hayes Clan’s protection, then one day she could become a terrifying existence completely outside their control.

That possibility alone had already started giving him headaches long ago. The room was still arguing quietly when Victor finally spoke again.

"Enough." His calm voice instantly silenced every elder in the hall.

Everyone immediately turned toward him.

Victor slowly opened his eyes and looked across the table one elder at a time.

"We will attack the Hayes Clan." No one looked shocked. In fact, several elders almost looked relieved hearing those words.

Victor continued calmly. "We will take the outer territory closest to our borders, but..." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Without proper proof, keeping the land afterward will become troublesome."

The elders listened carefully, then Victor slowly leaned back against his chair.

"Search for Rizen’s soul mark." The room immediately became quieter. A faint coldness appeared in several elders’ eyes.

Victor continued speaking calmly.

"A soul mark naturally forms from the hatred and grievance of a dying person toward their killer. In the past, such marks were impossible to trace properly. But our Velentina Clan changed that long ago."

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Find the one carrying Rizen’s soul mark, then we will use them as proof."