Chapter 55: The Storm Clan Regrets
---------{ Strom Clan Meeting hall }------
In the heart of the Storm Clan’s floating fortress, silence reigned within the grand council chamber. Ornate jade pillars lined the circular hall, their carved lightning motifs flickering with residual elemental energy.
At the center, seated on an elevated throne-like chair, was a man whose presence seemed to compress the air itself.
His golden hair gleamed under the crystalline chandeliers, and his deep blue eyes radiated calm authority. Though he appeared no older than his mid-thirties, everyone present knew the truth this was Nargis Haze, the Patriarch of the Storm Clan. A man who had walked the continent for more than seven hundred years, wielding power that shook mountains and bent the skies.
Beside him sat Fang Mo, the white-haired Vice Sect Leader, his long beard still fluttering from the lingering pressure of battle. The other elders of the clan, seated in solemn rows, wore expressions carved from stone grim, waiting.
Patriarch Nargis’s voice cut through the silence like thunder wrapped in velvet.
"Well then... what did we gain?"
All eyes turned to a frail-looking elder with circular spectacles perched on his long, hooked nose. His complexion was pale, bordering on ghostly, and scrolls filled with accounting sigils rested on the table before him. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat, and began in a strained tone.
"Report from the finance hall, Patriarch. Losses and gains... have been tallied."
He paused, glancing nervously around the chamber before continuing.
"We lost two flying battleships. One hundred and twenty Opening Realm cultivators are confirmed dead. Five Truth Realm cultivators also fell. And... one Sea Realm expert, early stage."