My Children’s Gifts Give Me 1000x Returns!

**ARC 4: THE NORTHERN WAR & THE RECLAIMING OF THE SOVEREIGN QUEEN**

The blizzard howling over the high peaks of the Northern Realm turned dark and heavy with ambient Qi as Lord Tyrion’s spatial shadow gates expanded across the sky.

Prince Julian Solari—his limbs broken, his royal purple silk robes ruined with blood, and his Dantian sealed by dark spatial runes—was dragged along the stone highway by his collar by General Ignatius. Beside him, the sixty surviving Imperial Royal Guards marched in absolute, terrified silence, stripped of their weapons and armor.

Behind the vanguard walked Gabriel, holding Evelyn’s hand. Flanking them were Ethan and Elena, their dark navy-and-silver House Sterling coats fluttering in the gale, their Imperial Sovereign Dragon-Physiques radiating a calm, unshakeable heat.

At the summit of the highest icy peak sat the legendary Sword Monarch Fortress—the seat of House Aurelius.

Carved directly into the white mountain face, the fortress was protected by the Northern Frost Sword Array, an ancient Grade-6 defensive barrier powered by ten thousand spirit swords embedded in the glacier. Three thousand elite Aurelius sword disciples lined the outer battlements, their blades drawn, their faces pale with existential dread.

At the center of the main gate tower stood High Elder Jonathan Aurelius, clad in high-tier silver dragon-scale armor, holding an ancient, nine-ringed frost longsword.

When Jonathan looked down the mountain pass and saw the broken, bleeding Prince Julian being dragged like trash—and saw Gabriel standing at the head of a vanguard that held a Peak Martial King and an active Martial Saint—his hand trembled so violently he almost dropped his sword!

"G-Gabriel..." Jonathan stammered, his voice amplified by spatial runes, echoing across the icy cliffs. "You... you dared to break the Third Prince of the Solari Empire?! Do you want to bring down the wrath of the entire Central Continent upon your head?!"

General Ignatius casually tossed the bleeding Prince Julian onto the snow directly in front of the fifty-foot reinforced iron gates of the fortress.

Gabriel took a single, calm step forward. His black dragon-silk coat settled over his broad shoulders as his dark, gold-tinted dragon pupils looked up at Jonathan with cold, pitiless dominance.

"Jonathan Aurelius," Gabriel’s voice echoed across the frozen mountain range, sounding like an imperial decree from an ancient god. "Eight years ago, you dragged my wife away in chains. You called me a commoner trash whose meridians were fit only to be crushed. Today, I stand before your gates."

Gabriel raised his right hand.

"Step out and face judgment... or I will erase House Aurelius from the map of this world."

"ARROGANT BASTARD!" Jonathan roared in sheer, desperate panic! "ATTACK! ACTIVATE THE NORTHERN FROST SWORD ARRAY! SLAY THEM ALL!"

BOOM!

Ten thousand spirit swords embedded in the glacier erupted into blinding, icy light, forming a colossal, three-hundred-foot spatial sword projection mid-air, descending straight down toward Gabriel’s head!

Gabriel didn't even draw a weapon. He didn't even lift his left hand from Evelyn’s.

He simply raised his right index finger toward the descending three-hundred-foot spatial sword array.

MARTIAL SAINT DOMAIN — ABSOLUTE SPATIAL ERASURE!

BZ—ZZZ-T!

A golden, divine spatial ripple expanded from Gabriel’s fingertip!

The ten-thousand-sword array—an ancient formation that had protected House Aurelius for three thousand years—was completely vaporized into thin air like dry leaves caught in a hurricane!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The spatial shockwave didn't stop. It slammed directly into the fifty-foot reinforced iron gates and the stone wall of the Sword Monarch Fortress!

The fifty-foot stone gates, the watchtowers, and three hundred yards of anti-magic granite walls were instantly pulverized into fine white dust! Over a thousand Aurelius sword disciples were blown off their feet, their weapons snapping like brittle wood, coughing up blood as their internal meridians were crushed by the divine Martial Saint pressure!

Jonathan dropped to his knees in the rubble, spitting a fountain of blood, his frost longsword shattered into ten pieces!

"M-Martial... Saint..." Jonathan choked in absolute, horrified realization, staring up at Gabriel with eyes wide with utter despair. "You... you reached the Martial Saint Realm?!"

Ethan and Elena stepped into the ruined courtyard, their linen-wrapped spear and azure sword humming with sharp dragon intent.

"Ethan, Elena," Gabriel commanded smoothly, his voice flat and absolute. "Clear the elders. Cleanse the fortress."

"Yes, Dad!"

Ethan stepped into his stance, his Imperial Sovereign Dragon-Physique surging as his linen-wrapped spear swept through the high elders of House Aurelius like a thunderbolt! Elena executed her spatial dragon steps, her azure blade flashing in fluid, lethal arcs that stripped away the cultivation of every noble commander who had participated in Evelyn’s imprisonment!

In less than ten minutes, the three-thousand-year heritage of House Aurelius was completely dismantled!

Gabriel walked over the stone rubble, stopping directly above the bleeding, broken Third Prince Julian Solari lying in the snow.

Gabriel looked down at the royal prince, his eyes burning with terrifying golden dragon fire that made Julian weep and soil his robes in sheer terror.

"Prince Julian," Gabriel said, his voice carrying an ancient, world-shaking authority that vibrated through the snow and into the sky.

"Y-Yes... My Lord! Mercy... Mercy!" Julian sobbed, clutching his broken limbs.

"You will return to the Central Imperial Capital," Gabriel instructed, his voice cold enough to freeze the sun. "You will tell the Emperor, your father, that House Aurelius no longer exists. All their lands, spiritual veins, pill treasuries, and mountain territories now belong to House Sterling."

Gabriel leaned down slightly, his dark dragon eyes locking onto Julian’s trembling pupils.

"And give your Emperor a stern warning from me: House Sterling does not seek war with the Solari Empire. But if your imperial family ever stretches a hand toward my family, my wife, or my territory again..."

Gabriel’s Martial Saint aura erupted in a brief, sky-shattering flash of divine gold light that split the cloud layer for a hundred miles!

"...the next time I step into a royal procession, I will not stop at a prince's limbs. I will march into your Central Capital and tear your royal throne to ground."

"I-I WILL TELL HIM! I WILL TELL THE EMPEROR EVERYTHING!" Prince Julian shrieked, bowing his forehead franticly into the bloody snow.

Gabriel turned his back on the broken prince, taking Evelyn’s hand into his own as Ethan and Elena walked up beside them, their postures proud, victorious, and unshakeable.

Lord Tyrion stepped forward, raising his dark-scaled hand to summon a massive, golden spatial rift that connected directly to the Floating Cloud Island.

[Ding!]

[Major Milestone Achieved: 'Destroyed House Aurelius, Rescued Evelyn Sterling, & Absorbed the Northern Realm Territory'!]

[Triggering 2000x Critical Return!]

[Host receives: Complete Territorial Sovereignty over the Northern Realm (Valued at 2,000,000,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones)!]

[Host receives: 1x Imperial Sovereign Architecture Blueprint — 'The Sterling Royal Palace'!]

[Host receives: 1x System Subordinate Summoning Card (Martial King Rank)!]

Gabriel looked at his family—his wife holding his hand, his twin children standing tall as absolute geniuses, and an empire trembling beneath his feet.

"Let's go home," Gabriel smiled softly.

Together, House Sterling stepped through the golden spatial void, leaving behind a shattered Northern Realm and a terrified continent that now knew the true, unstoppable name of the Sovereign Clan.

**End of ARC 4: THE NORTHERN WAR & THE RECLAIMING OF THE SOVEREIGN QUEEN**