Chapter 176: Found you
The dust of shattered stone and splintered ironwood had barely settled before Queen Moriele moved.
For several heartbeats, the ruined council chamber remained suspended in an eerie silence. Fragments of the ceiling continued to fall from above, striking the cracked marble floor with soft, uneven thuds. Pale daylight poured through the enormous hole in the roof, illuminating countless particles of dust that drifted lazily through the air like dying stars.
Then Moriele crossed the distance between them.
Her cold, majestic posture disappeared completely.
The High Queen glided across the wreckage with startling speed, her silver hair trailing behind her like a luminous veil. The moment she reached Vince, she wrapped her arms around him in a surprisingly warm and familiar embrace.
She pulled him close and held him there.
Far longer than royal decorum permitted.
For once, there was no calculating gaze in her eyes, no regal distance separating sovereign from subject, no carefully measured expression hiding whatever thoughts occupied her mind. There was simply relief.
Her familiar scent of pine and starlight surrounded him, strangely comforting amid the dust and destruction. Vince could feel the faint tremor that passed through her shoulders before she finally seemed to remember where they were.
He said nothing.
Neither did she.
For those few precious seconds, the ruined chamber and the threat gathering beyond its walls seemed to disappear.
Lyrielle stood several paces away, completely frozen.
Her eyes widened as she watched the sight before her.
Her mother.
The High Queen of the Elven Canopy.
The woman who could make ancient elders lower their heads with nothing more than a glance.
The woman who rarely displayed vulnerability even in private.
Was clinging to Vince.
Lyrielle’s expression slowly shifted from shock to something warmer. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips before she stepped forward.
"Mother..." she murmured.
Moriele finally released Vince.
She turned toward Lyrielle and offered her daughter a brief, approving glance. Yet even then, her eyes returned to Vince almost immediately, as though she needed to reassure herself that he was truly standing there.
Vince noticed.
He also noticed the tension slowly returning to her features.
"What went down up here?" he asked, brushing a layer of concrete dust from his shoulder.
The question shattered whatever warmth remained.
In less than a second, Moriele’s expression transformed.
The softness vanished.
Her eyes became cold again, sharp enough to cut through steel. Her shoulders straightened, and the aura of the High Queen returned with such force that the atmosphere itself seemed heavier.
"A phantom," she said.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
"The Emperor was never in this room. He used a high-tier spatial projection to deliver an ultimatum."
She paused.
"Submit to his treaty..."
Her fingers tightened around her staff.
"...or watch the Canopy and the Beastkin territories burn."
The words settled over the chamber like a death sentence.
Vince’s expression hardened.
"The invasion of our homelands has already begun," Moriele finished.
A heavy silence followed.
Vince turned toward King Golrath.
The Beast King stood near the remains of the council table, his massive frame almost motionless. His fists were clenched so tightly that blood trickled between his fingers and disappeared beneath his claws.
His usually confident expression had vanished.
There was something primal in his eyes now.
Something furious.
"I apologize for the countenance of the Emperor," Vince said dryly.
Golrath’s slit pupils snapped toward him.
A low growl rattled through the Beast King’s chest.
"What, are you his right-hand man?"
"No," Vince replied smoothly.
He adjusted his sleeve.
"But it’s the least I can do."
For a moment, Golrath simply stared at him.
Then a throaty laugh broke the tension.
Golrath’s wife stepped forward.
The Beastkin Queen was considerably smaller than her husband, her slender frame wrapped in thick leather armor reinforced with metal plates. Her fox-like ears twitched beneath her reddish hair, and her expression carried a mischievous confidence that contrasted sharply with her husband’s barely restrained rage.
"Give him credit, honey," she said, smiling. "He seems like a gentleman."
Golrath snorted.
"It doesn’t matter. I’m not worried about a pack of human stray dogs causing trouble in my territory."
Vince raised an eyebrow.
"You’re not worried about an imperial strike force already causing damage in your territory?"
The Beast King gave a dismissive grunt.
Before he could answer, his wife spoke.
"We left the kingdom in the care of our three sons."
Her smile widened.
"By now, those boys are already letting loose on your precious imperial soldiers."
Vince stared at her.
Then he released a quiet breath.
"Wow."
Three hundred miles to the south, along the jagged mountain passes marking the Beastkin border, the human imperial vanguard was learning exactly what those words meant.
Two thousand heavily armored imperial legionnaires had marched into the valley beneath the cover of spatial stealth arrays.
Their armor gleamed beneath the pale mountain sun. Banners bearing the Imperial crest fluttered from their spears, while formations of soldiers moved with the confidence of an army expecting little resistance.
They had been told the Beastkin border was vulnerable.
They had been told the kingdom was distracted.
They had been told victory would be easy.
Instead, they found three figures waiting atop a mountain of crushed imperial shields.
The eldest prince stood at the center.
He was an enormous crimson-furred tiger-kin, his muscular frame towering over the battlefield. A massive double-headed iron maul rested across his shoulders, its surface scarred from countless battles.
His eyes burned with exhilaration.
He swung.
The weapon tore through the air with a thunderous boom.
A kinetic shockwave erupted across the valley, throwing twenty imperial soldiers from their feet and sending them crashing against the canyon walls.
Beside him, his younger twin brothers moved.
They were almost impossible to follow.
Their claw-gauntlets flashed through the battlefield as they tore apart the carefully organized imperial formations. Soldiers stumbled over one another, shields collided, commands dissolved into panic.
What had begun as a disciplined military operation rapidly became chaos.
Snow cascaded from the surrounding cliffs as the three princes fought with brutal efficiency, their laughter echoing through the mountain pass.
The imperial army had expected prey.
Instead, they had walked directly into the hunting grounds of monsters.
Back inside the ruined council hall of Oakhaven, Vince shook his head and returned his attention to the tactical reality.
"The Beastkin might be fine," he said, looking toward Moriele, "but the Elven Canopy is still vulnerable."
Moriele immediately nodded.
There was no hesitation.
"Everwood."
Elder Everwood stepped forward.
"Take the horses. Enhance their speed with magic and ride back to the First Canopy immediately."
Her voice carried through the chamber with absolute authority.
"Bolster the border defenses. Reinforce every major approach and warn the settlements. If the Empire has begun moving against us, we cannot assume the first strike will be their last."
Everwood bowed.
Yet concern remained etched deeply across his aged features.
"Your Majesty..."
He hesitated.
"Leaving you alone in foreign, hostile territory is a breach of protocol."
For a moment, Moriele said nothing.
Then she glanced toward Lyrielle.
A faint smile appeared.
It was rare.
Not the diplomatic smile of a queen addressing her subjects.
A genuine one.
"I’m not alone."
Her eyes rested upon her daughter.
"I’ve got my daughter here with me."
Lyrielle’s heart skipped a beat.
Pride warmed her chest.
For most of her life, her mother’s approval had been something precious and difficult to earn. Moriele was not a woman who freely offered praise, especially when the stakes were high.
But those simple words carried more weight than any elaborate compliment.
Lyrielle straightened.
"As you wish, my Queen," Everwood said.
He turned toward the two senior elders.
Together, the three elves began making their way toward the ruined entrance.
Just before they disappeared through the doorway, Vince called after them.
"If you come across a female dragon-kin outside the western gate, take her with you."
Everwood stopped.
"She’s a companion of mine and needs medical attention. Her mana signature is faint, but she’s alive."
The concern beneath Vince’s otherwise casual tone did not escape Moriele.
Neither did it escape Lyrielle.
Everwood gave a solemn nod.
"Understood."
The three elders vanished through the doorway.
Their footsteps quickly disappeared beneath the distant sounds of battle and destruction.
Golrath stepped forward.
One of his heavy boots crushed a fallen piece of the ironwood table beneath its weight.
"I’m not leaving for the mountains without the head of the Emperor."
His voice carried a quiet promise of violence.
Moriele moved away from Vince.
Her silver staff materialized within her grasp, appearing from nothingness in a flash of pale light. Runes along its length awakened one after another, humming with restrained magical power.
"I must say, Beast King..."
She looked toward Golrath.
"I agree."
Vince watched the two rulers.
Then a faint smirk appeared on his face.
"Alright, then."
He adjusted his cuffs.
"I’ve got a score to settle with Duke Owen as well."
His eyes narrowed.
"See y’all in the capital."
Golrath turned toward him.
For perhaps the first time, the Beast King’s expression softened.
Only slightly.
"Hey, boy."
Vince looked up.
"You seem like a good kid."
Golrath jerked his chin toward his wife.
"Let my wife tag along with you until I’m back."
His gaze became serious.
"Make sure she’s safe and out of trouble."
Vince glanced at the fox-kin queen.
She responded with an amused smile.
"Yeah, sure," Vince chuckled.
Moriele paused beside the ruined wall.
She turned back.
For several seconds, she and Vince simply looked at one another.
No words were exchanged.
None were necessary.
There was an understanding between them now, forged through battles, danger, and the strange circumstances that had repeatedly placed them on the same side of impossible conflicts.
Moriele’s eyes lingered on him.
Vince’s expression remained relaxed, but something quieter existed behind his gaze.
Trust.
Then the moment ended.
With a sudden, violent burst of physical and arcane energy, Golrath and Moriele launched themselves into the sky.
The force of their departure shattered loose fragments of stone around their feet.
They rose like two meteors, rapidly shrinking against the vast blue sky before accelerating toward the distant Imperial Capital.
The room fell quiet.
Only the wind remained.
It whistled through the shattered ceiling, carrying dust and the distant echoes of war through the broken council chamber.
Vince slowly closed his eyes.
His expression changed.
The relaxed amusement disappeared.
He extended his perception.
His mana core reached outward like an invisible tide, spreading across Oakhaven. It flowed through streets and alleyways, crossed rooftops, slipped beneath buildings, and penetrated tunnels hidden beneath the city.
Every pulse of mana became a distant sensation.
Every disturbance became a potential clue.
He searched deeper.
Past abandoned chambers.
Past underground passages.
Past concealed vaults.
Past layers of stone deliberately constructed to hide magical signatures.
Beside him, Lyrielle tightened her grip on her weapon.
The Beastkin Queen shifted her stance, her ears twitching as she watched Vince’s expression.
Neither woman spoke.
They waited.
Seconds passed.
Then Vince’s eyes opened.
There was no uncertainty in them.
Only certainty.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Found him," Vince murmured.
His eyes snapped open fully.
Somewhere within Oakhaven, Duke Owen had just become aware that the hunter had finally found his trail.