Legacy of the Dark Sage

With no high-ranking superior to give them orders, around 72% of the army Lira had brought chose to surrender. The remaining 28% chose martyrdom, believing that death was better than betraying the empire.

Most soldiers that belonged to the latter were part of Ingrid's force. The rest were all under Gael. It was ironic that the resolve of those under the Grand Marshal was far weaker than those under a Deputy Marshal.

Since most soldiers chose to surrender, Kyran did not go on a killing spree. He might be ruthless when it comes to dealing with his enemies, but he did not delight in mindless killing. Thus, he chose to make good use of everyone who was smart enough to surrender.

However, before Kyran could let True Void cast a mark on them, Euan stepped forward, pleading to let him speak with them. Euan pointed out that controlling them through fear could only get Kyran so far. Instead, Euan wanted to let them understand the situation. He wanted to believe that these people chose to enter the army with the genuine intention of protecting the empire.

At first, Kyran refused. He did not trust Euan, nor was he at ease to let these guys roam around without putting a leash on them. What he hated the most was always being on the lookout for someone who would betray them at the drop of a hat. But when Mannick spoke up for Euan, and True Void also voiced his agreement— while emphasizing that he was not agreeing because he did not want to use his magic core as a medium to mark all of them— Kyran finally agreed, on one condition; Kyran would leave a mark on Euan.

Euan agreed without hesitation.

After Kyran marked Euan, a mark which was similar to the one he gave Olivia's essence, the latter spoke to the soldiers. Mannick and True Void had kept a close watch on any fluctuations in the soldiers while Euan spoke to them. When the latter finished his speech and the soldiers still chose to follow the emperor, the former two could finally relax.

Kyran also sighed in relief. He did not expect Euan would tell them the truth about him. Although they all looked at Kyran with fear in their eyes, Euan assured them that Kyran only wanted to save his family, and changed how people view him.

When Euan said the latter, Kyran could not help frowning because he did not care how people viewed him at all. In the end, he did not say anything and made preparations to warp them to the Tower of Conclave.

Warping all of them by himself would take too much time. Thus, Kyran had True Void assist him. True Void refused at first, saying that he had to conserve what little magic energy he had left. However, when Kyran pointed out that he had not even done anything major and that his magic energy was still intact, True Void could only agree.

Of course, before they warp Euan, Mannick and the rest of the army, Kyran already informed Malek. He also gave a brief explanation of what happened.

At first, Kyran thought the Conclave Council must be very busy, thus Malek failed to read his coded message at once. But after a few minutes, the latter replied with one sentence: What the hell have you done?

Kyran ignored Malek's query and decided to let Mannick explain the rest.

Finally, after almost two hours of working non-stop, Kyran and True Void warped Euan, Mannick, and the whole army to the Tower of Conclave.

Thankfully, the Shaiha concealed, the massive magic fluctuation from the combined magic energy of Kyran and True Void. If not, they would have alerted Ruin who was only a few hundred kilometers away.

After that, Kyran used the Void magic's true nature by restoring the wreckage that resulted from form the battle. He also sent all the corpses into the Void, to avoid Haylee from summoning their souls back. While it was true that at Haylee's present state, she likely could not do that yet, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Finally, Kyran and True Void warped to Noser.

The two appeared right above Noser, giving them a bird's eye view of the current situation.

What greeted them, was a scene of destruction amidst a sea of flames. All of the tall buildings in Noser had been levelled and different-sized craters could be seen everywhere. There was also a massive crater close to the east gates of the city. Although it was not deep, it was obvious from how nothing was left there, that a powerful magic attack crushed everything within that crater.

Kyran activated his Sigil in an instant. The back of his hand burned as he connected with Zephyr and the rest. After sensing their condition, his expression turned grim. Zephyr was badly hurt. Manti and the other three were also injured and their magic energies were almost depleted, however, they were in a much better condition compared to Zephyr.

Kyran scanned the whole city using his magic sense. In less than a minute, he confirmed Zephyr and the others' whereabouts. He found them outside the city's southern gates, with Ezra and the rest of the Montgomeray Family, and the Spirits.

A magic barrier created from Spirit's magic law was currently protecting them.

As for the army, Kyran did not sense them inside the city. He expanded his magic sense and looked for them. Finally, he found the army had retreated to a town at least seven hundred kilometers east of Noser.

With a small puff, a red sprite with shiny red scales and translucent golden wings appeared and curtsied before Kyran.

"Greetings, new Void Master. I am Slith, leader of the Fire Sprite Clan under the Queen's Seelie Court. My clan and a few from the Wind Sprite Clan had come to answer your call."

Though it was not the first time a Spirit addressed him respectfully, Kyran still felt a little awkward. Given the situation, he could only nod in acknowledgment and put aside his awkwardness.

"Fill me on the situation," Kyran told her.

Because the Spirits had placed traps all over the place, Kyran had to land on the ground and follow Slith to where the others had taken refuge.

While walking, Slith gave a brief explanation of what had happened before and after they had rendezvous with Zephyr and the others.

After reinforcing Zephyr, the army did not retreat immediately. Gael made full use of his Magus status and overwhelm them with shadow puppets. A devastating battle between Ezra's people, together with the Spirits, and the army ensued.

Although the army's communication and supplies were cut off after the Spirits destroyed the mobile tower and their supplies, they still managed to hold their advantage for a couple of hours. Apparently, every soldier was equipped with space storage filled with potions, tokens, and weapons.

However, the longer the battle went on, Ezra's side finally gained the upper hand. Although they failed to reduce the army's number, they managed to inflict fatal wounds on those who survived.

Ezra's side also suffered. Though none died in battle, a few of his family members were fatally wounded. This in turn made it hard for them to maintain the connection they had with their bond Spirits. These Spirits were then forced to leave the Human plane.

The ones who really suffered a beating were Kyran's Sigils. Slith already asked a few Water Sprite Spirits to come and assist in healing their wounded. But since they did not have any bonded humans, they were unable to provide proper healing.

By the time Kyran and Slith entered their encampment's barrier, she had also finished explaining the situation.

"I will take you to Ezra, Void Master," Slith said.

"Take me to the wounded first," Kyran replied.

Slith paused and gave Kyran a thoughtful look. She was only a few hundred years old, thus, she did not personally meet the previous Void Master. However, she knew quite a lot about what the latter could do. For this reason, she did not ask why he wanted to meet them and led the way at once.

Ezra, actually guessed that Kyran would want to go find his Sigils first, so after hearing that the latter had arrived, he also went to the infirmary.

Slith took Kyran to a small tent near the back of the encampment.

Kyran looked at the tent suspiciously because no matter how he saw it, it was impossible for more than twelve people to fit inside. Based on Slith's explanation, there were quite a number of Montgomeray who were injured. Even if Zephyr changed into a human form, since the rest of his Sigils could not adjust their sizes, it was definitely impossible for all of them to fit.

Then again, the whole encampment was under the Spirit's magic law. So, Kyran could more or less guess that the tent had been enchanted.

Kyran's suspicion was answered the moment they entered the tent.

The interior of the tent looked like the inside of a huge hollowed tree.