With the Divine Vessel’s support, Orion would absorb origin power and cosmic laws at a terrifying pace. Simply put, his growth rate was about to skyrocket.

"Commander," Orion asked after a moment of thought, needing to know the truth. "Why were the Platinum Realm’s coordinates so close to the Titanion Realm to begin with?"

"My apprentice begged me to," Commander Thresh replied casually. "He asked me to bring the Platinum Realm over as backup."

The Commander cast a side-glance at Leonidas, Alexander, and Deputy Commander Edward. Then, he dropped a line that left the three brothers utterly bewildered:

"See? This is why you need a big family!"

Tirisfal, World of Eldoria

The Tirisfal territory took its name from the Tirisfal Legion, the elite military force directly commanded by Elara. As the eldest daughter of the Stoneheart Horde, this was her absolute domain.

Inside the largest command tent, Elara lounged on her throne. She tilted her head, staring intently in the direction of the ocean, lost in thought.

"Your Highness, your orders?"

The voice of her loyal lieutenant, Anubis, snapped her out of her daze. She blinked, but the deep unease in her eyes remained.

"Pack up. Assemble the three thousand elites of the Tirisfal Legion. I have a bad feeling about this."

For an Arch Lord, a gut feeling was never just a feeling—it was a warning that something massive had already gone wrong. Her anxiety was compounded by the fact that the aura of Orion’s avatar out over the ocean had abruptly vanished without a trace.

"Also, bring the gifts I prepared for my mother and younger brothers," she added.

Anubis nodded and hurried out to execute her orders.

Watching his retreating back, Elara felt her internal restlessness spike into outright panic.

"No. I need to go back and check on them myself."

Without hesitating, she pulled out a teleportation scroll and crushed it.

One minute passed. Three minutes. Fifteen minutes.

Elara stood exactly where she was.

Silent, she pulled out a second scroll and crushed it.

Same result.

"Something really happened." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She pulled out every scroll she had that was bound to the Titanion Realm’s coordinates and snapped them one by one. Not a single one activated.

Frowning, she drew a scroll anchored to the Valkorath Realm and broke the seal. A moment later, spatial fluctuations flared to life, and the teleportation circle activated.

Standing within the glowing runes, Elara finally let out a breath of relief.

Irisgarde, Valkorath Realm

Within the Champions Alliance, only Isabella’s territory boasted the opulent, high-society aesthetic of a true Queen’s domain.

Inside a sprawling coastal manor in Irisgarde, another gathering was taking place. However, unlike the rugged campfire roast at Blade’s Edge Peak, this was a formal candlelit dinner.

A long mahogany table, embroidered silk tablecloths, silver candelabras burning beeswax, candied cherries, caramelized nuts, and blood-red wine—Isabella had transplanted an entire royal banquet into the room.

Sitting at the head of the table, framed by flickering firelight and accompanied by the soft strumming of a lyre, Isabella raised her crystal goblet in a toast.

Her guests were the remaining members of the Champions Alliance.

It was a bizarre tableau. Kraken, dressed like a pirate, was drinking directly from a pitcher with a tentacle. Demon Makareth sat bare-chested, tearing into a slab of meat. Tangere was shrouded head-to-toe in a grey cloak radiating a faint mist of plague. And Aurora, the wild child, was dual-wielding: stuffing her face with one hand and shoving food into a massive hide sack with the other.

"Can you people not dress a little more properly?" Isabella sighed, her regal persona cracking. "Thank the gods there are no outsiders here, or they’d think I was hosting a tribe of barbarians."

A Queen needed the right atmosphere. But looking at the octopus drinking with a tentacle, the Drakthul-horned demon, the walking plague vector, and the feral girl, Isabella just felt a headache coming on.

"Kraken, you’re a terrible influence on Aurora. Look at her—eating and looting at the same time. Where is her dignity as a Lord?"

Kraken shrugged, raising his cup with a tentacle in a silent toast. In truth, he hadn’t corrupted Aurora; she had always been feral.

"Sorry, Big Sis Isabella!" Aurora looked up, grinning sheepishly through a mouthful of food. "Your food is just too good! I live like a caveman back in my own territory."

Despite the apology, her hands never stopped moving, packing more pastries into her sack. Isabella just deflated.

"Come on, Isabella, why make a private gathering so complicated?" Demon Makareth grunted. "Big chunks of meat, big bowls of booze. What’s wrong with that? The senior brothers aren’t here. Relax."

Despite his bare chest, Makareth was at least using a silver knife to carve his meat. However, the candlelight projected his shadow onto the wall behind him—a towering, multi-armed monstrosity that perfectly reflected his true nature.

"Any news from him?" Isabella turned to Tangere.

Orion had been Tangere’s sponsor into the Alliance. When she asked about ’him’, she meant Orion.

"The boss hasn’t contacted me in a while," Tangere replied, chewing his food at a maddeningly slow, deliberate pace.

"What about the rest of you?" Tangere asked before Isabella could.

"Don’t look at me. I’ve got nothing," Makareth said. "The big shots don’t have time to babysit us. They’re definitely working on something massive. Speaking of which, I’ve been pushing deeper into the Abyss lately, trying to carve out more territory. Anyone want in?"

Ever since advancing to Arch Lord, Demon Makareth had been highly motivated and racking up victories.

Everyone except Tangere shook their heads.

"I’ll pass," Tangere said after a moment. "Wait until I hit Arch Lord, then I’ll join you."

Makareth turned his gaze to the pirate-dressed cephalopod. "Come on, Squid. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard any whispers."

Kraken paused. "I don’t know the exact details. But I was told to gear up and prepare for war. So, you all need to do the same."

He looked directly at the demon. "Makareth, pause your expansion into the Abyss. For what’s coming, we’re going to need an Arch Lord to lead the Vanguard."

Makareth’s eyes instantly lit up with a feral gleam.

"Seriously?"

In a flash, the booze and the meat lost all their appeal. Makareth was suddenly a hundred times more awake.