When the explosion occurred, Hugh and the other Conclave council members were inside the largest tent in the encampment outside the Tower of Conclave. Although the shockwave that came after the explosion did not reach the borders of Starhorn, they still felt the intensity of it, and the ground trembled fiercely.
The quaking of the ground went on for a few minutes, during which Hugh received a call from Malek, Eoin, and Ezra. Apparently, they all experienced the same thing in their current location— Malek and company in Ravenpass, Eoin and a few Courtenay family members still in the Lumley Family residence, and Ezra and his people in Noser.
Not long after, the four sides opened a channel, connecting them all and sharing visuals of their locations.
Hugh and the rest of the Conclave council members were still inside the tent. However, the image being projected only showed him.
On the other hand, Eoin was inside the Lumley Family's council room. There were a couple of Courtenay elders with Eoin, along with the remaining Lumley family council but he was the one being shown in the projection, just like Hugh.
The same was projected in Ezra's end, but Anette, True Void, and Zephyr were with him. Apart from this, while Hugh and Eoin were indoors, Ezra was in an outdoor setting. From behind, they could see the result of the battle that happened in Noser.
Then there was Malek. He was inside a small conference room in the only completed building in Ravenpass. Aron, Jared, and Euan were with him but did not appear through the projection.
"Kyran is there?" Malek asked with a slight frown.
Hugh had just finished updating them on what transpired over the Boyd Family's villa and how Kyran took Styx and company back to the encampment.
"Was," Hugh corrected him with a sigh. "He was summoned inside Lady Stella's tent as soon as he arrived, but when we went back, he had already left. We thought he returned to where he had been prior to what happened in the Boyd Family's villa."
Aron sighed heavily and said, "Myst and Raya arrived a few minutes ago and confirmed that Kyran was not there. We also received coded messages and materials from him but..."
Again, Aron sighed before adding, "The messages were unreadable, and only the materials were intact."
"We received coded messages from him too. And similarly, we couldn't read it," Eoin chimed in.
They looked at Ezra, who smiled bitterly and said, "It is the same with us."
"Mannick said the only possible reason his messages did not come through properly was due to a powerful interference. As for why the materials were intact, he warped them using his magic, which did not go through the same 'route,'" Euan told them. "Anyhow, we don't know where he is right now, and our situation doesn't allow us to wait for him."
Their expressions turned grim from Euan's words. It was obvious, even without anyone pointing it out, given their situation, that the explosion was not good news.
Mannick also told them that a few Sovereigns were close to the hole.
Euan and Malek did not understand what he meant, but Aron and Jared's expressions turned solemn after that. Obviously, a few Sovereigns were synonymous with bad news.
"I agree," Anette voiced her agreement at once. "You may not know, but that explosion... That is actually Nolan releasing his full power."
"Nolan?"
"No way!"
"How did he...?"
"That guy?"
Euan, Jared, Aron and Malek said, respectively.
The others were also confused but did not say anything and only let Anette continue.
"Yes, Patriarch Aron, Jared. Nolan is outside and keeping the Sovereigns at bay."
"Is he already at that level?" Aron could not help but wonder aloud. "No, that is unimportant right now. If it was as you said, then the strength of the Sovereigns outside forced him to use his full power. That doesn't sound good. We don't have any active Sovereigns to assist him."
"Can you tell us what those sovereigns are?" Malek asked with furrowed brows. "I've been hearing that word for some time, and I get that it's some title of some sort. But who are they exactly?"
Aron, Anette and Jared hesitated for a moment. They were bound to secrecy by the Tower of Tribulations. If they said anything...
"GAAAH! Screw the Tower's rule!" True Void suddenly joined the conversation. "This is not the time to withhold information!"
His figure fleeted into Ezra's projection as he continued, "Sovereigns are mages whose level far exceeds a Magus!"
"What?"
The members of the Courtenay and Lumley Families were shocked. They knew that a Magus was not the end of the line for mages. However, it was the first time they heard about a Sovereign.
"And those Sovereigns are the same as those who you called 'outsiders.'"
Euan frowned, "You mean those three people that came out from the Winfrey Ancestral Lands?"
True Void shook his head.
"They did not come from that place. They are natives from different planes— don't ask for details, just know there are plenty of planes outside the Human plane," he said in one breath, not giving any of them a chance to ask questions.
"You probably think those outsiders don't appear strong, but that is only because the Sovereign's Cradle restrained their level..."
True Void then briefly explained what a cradle was and how it operates. He also told them that the Human plane had a Sovereign, but for how long, he did not know.
They noticed how his glowing reddish-purple eyes dimmed when he spoke of the latter. The expressions of those who knew about Azaloth also darkened.
"Once those people descend, they will probably join hands with that girl."
Euan had a pained expression, knowing who True Void was referring to.
"But that is not the most urgent thing we have to deal with," True Void continued.
He turned to look at Ezra, who nodded in return.
"We received an update from the Spirits keeping an eye on every noble family working with the Crown Princess. They are now on the move," Ezra told them. He looked at them and said gravely, "We checked their movements, and judging from their routes, they will march toward four locations.
"The Lumely Family Residence in Starhorn, the Tower of Conclave, the Templar Code's HQ in Noser, and the Regis Estate."
Malek scowled at once, "Why will they go to the Tower of Conclave? Even though Styx and the others took part in the commotion at the Boyd Family's villa, they are in disguise."
"I may have the answer to that," Aron replied.
He told them how Ingrid assumed Disciple Tyr's relationship with the Regis Clan and was convinced that the Conclave already sided with them.
"We hid Ingrid under several layers of array formation, but the Boyd Family might have other means of locating her. She might have also sent her initial findings to her family before isolating her completely."
"Her guess is off, but it also made sense," Hugh commented. "Since we know they are on the move, it is best to intercept them."
"No," Euan disagreed at once. Before they could ask further, he continued, "At least not everyone can intercept them. Since Haylee already decided to move, she probably had those three join."
"'Those three?'" They asked in unison.
Euan nodded, "Yes. The Three Archmaguses of the Royal Family."
Most of them fell silent. Although the Royal Family appeared to be in decline the truth, they had hidden powerful mages amidst them, and only a few knew about it.
"Seriously, can't you order those guys to back off? Technically, you are part of the Royal Family, and those three will listen to you," True Void complained to Euan.
Euan shook his head and clenched his fist.
"I relinquished command over them, fearing I will be tempted to use their strength for personal gain. Alas, I made the wrong decision to give full authority to command them over to Haylee too soon."
"If they are heading to four locations, if we include the Boyd Family's Legendary mage, then these four are likely the ones leading the group," Malek said, doing the math in his head.
Euan nodded in agreement, "Yes."
"Our advantage is that the Crown Princess has not realized Emperor Euan already knows the truth," Hugh said. "If we do this right, his Majesty's army can become a trump card."
"His Majesty doesn't have to join the battle," Aron voiced his opinion. "Instead, our family will join. I feel that the Crown Princess will also join, and the likely person she will go with is the Boyd Family's Legendary mage. Her target is pretty obvious as well."
"The Regis Estate," Euan agreed with a nod.
"Yes."
"Alright, let us go get ready."
"Wait a moment," True Void stopped them before anyone could disconnect. "If anyone of you sees Kyran. Please, tell us. Honestly, even if he is far from me, I will still sense him. But I can't do that right now. It's like he is not in the Human plane."
Aron, Anette, and Jared seemed to realize something, and they looked at True Void with wide eyes.
Could he have gone back to the Tower of Tribulations? Or did he go out of the Human plane to help Nolan?
As if reading what was on their minds, True Void shook his head and said, "I don't think he went back to that place or went out to help Nolan. All I know is, he doesn't seem to be in the Human plane."
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