Chapter 162: Raid

The sudden assault launched by the Kasein Family had completely taken the Senels Family by surprise.

They had clearly not anticipated that the Kasein Family would act with such madness.

Viscount Agley watched the fires blazing throughout the castle, his expression grim and dark.

Unlike other territories in the Red Eagle Territory, where the lord’s residence was typically built within the city, the Senels Family had preserved a tradition from the era of Bourbon Family rule: they had placed the entire power center of their territory in their own Swan Castle—an old fortress by Swan Lake, granted to the Senels Family by the Bourbon Family. It served as the residence for all members of the Senels Family.

But now, the grand gates of that castle suddenly collapsed with a thunderous roar.

The one who broke through was none other than the Kasein Family’s Chief Knight, Dean Seia.

Others may not have known about him, but Agley knew very well.

Dean's Fourth-Tier bloodline was the Wind Raptor, a massive wind-elemental Magical Beast that resembled an eagle. Its wingspan reached nearly ten meters, its entire body emerald green, with a crimson chest, and three upright purple-gold feathers on its head. It was a species of Demonic Eagle that typically lived deep within the Demonic Eagle Mountain Range, rarely seen by anyone.

This beast appeared fierce and powerful, seemingly brimming with strength, yet in truth, it did not rely on brute force. It hunted by diving at high speed, with special lungs that could absorb air and fire off high-pressure wind blasts. Its wings could also produce powerful gusts.

The abilities gained upon awakening its bloodline were all speed-related. The bloodline granted one of three possible powers at random: wind blast, strong gust, or rapid dash. Among them, the wind blast was recognized as the strongest, rapid dash as second, and strong gust was considered the weakest and most useless.

Dean's bloodline ability was precisely this strong gust ability, known as Hurricane.

But through his innate talent and mastery of a relatively obscure Battle Art, he had transformed this ability into a terrifying weapon: Gale Strike—by compressing and condensing the wind, and then unleashing it through Battle Arts. Depending on the degree of compression, the release method, and the angle of attack, Gale Strike had multiple forms.

The most terrifying among them was the focused beam strike.

However, the method Dean used to destroy the castle gate this time was not the beam strike. Instead, he slashed directly with his sword—as though even the air currents themselves were being split apart. The thick solid wood gate was instantly torn apart, shattering into countless jagged fragments.

Wielding a knight’s sword, Dean stepped slowly into the castle through the gate.

The castle guards, facing this lone invader, dared not advance. Under the pressure of Dean’s aura, they instead retreated.

“Bring out Ares,” Dean looked at them and said calmly. “None of you are my match. Don’t throw your lives away.”

The Senels Family had only two Fourth-Tier bloodline users.

One was Viscount Agley Senels’s eldest son, Lauren Senels, who had awakened the Fourth-Tier bloodline Great Snow Owl.

The other was Ares, a descendant from a distant bloodline branch that had married into the Senels Family. He had come to serve them and, after showing great Bloodline Aptitude, received resources for cultivation. Though he did not bear the Senels name, he had grown up in the family and considered himself one of them.

Standing at a doorway of the castle, Ares and Dean clashed fiercely in the courtyard. Viscount Agley slowly turned away from the battle and looked toward the door behind him.

Creak.

The door was pushed open from outside, and Marquis Visen entered in full armor.

“Agley.”

“Marquis Visen,” Viscount Agley spoke coldly, “you have violated the Noble Etiquette!”

“Do you really think your actions went unnoticed?” Marquis Visen shook his head. “Since I dared to strike against the Senels Family, of course I have made all the necessary preparations. You sowed discord between the Soderbell Family and the Kasein Family, and even plotted the deaths of my grandsons Burton and Joshua, intending to incite internal chaos within the Red Eagle Territory. Did you think no one would know what your family has done?”

Viscount Agley’s face remained calm. He shook his head slightly. “What you speak is slander. The Hall of Spirits will prove my innocence.”

“Agley,” Marquis Visen interrupted impatiently, “don’t do anything disgraceful in the final moments of your life.”

Agley Senels fell silent.

“Indeed,” after a moment, Viscount Agley finally nodded slowly. “Were you in your prime, I would never be your match. But now, how much strength can you still muster? If I can kill you here, I’ll save myself a great deal of trouble.”

With a furious roar, Viscount Agley’s skin turned pale white, and his hair turned stark white in an instant. A chilling frost burst outward from him, freezing everything in the room. The frost thickened rapidly, forming large diamond-shaped crystals before the naked eye.

This was the special energy field of Viscount Agley’s bloodline, the Ice Crystal Demon Goose: the Frost Crystal Domain.

Marquis Visen watched as the crystals spread rapidly, reaching his feet in an instant—then he finally moved.

He grasped the longswords at his left and right waists, drew them with a sudden pull, and slashed.

The swords emitted a burst of forest-like sword energy, tearing through the encroaching cold.

After that, Marquis Visen casually tossed both swords into the air.

Then, he drew two more swords from his waist, unleashed two more sword energies, and flung those upward too.

Finally, he reached behind and drew two more longswords from his back.

As he drew them, four additional arms suddenly grew from his shoulders and underarms. These extra limbs caught the four falling swords midair. His body swelled abruptly from 1.8 meters to over two meters. His skin turned ashen gray, and scales emerged beneath it, flowing like waves until they hardened into scale armor.

Six-Armed Martial Armor Demon Ape!

In the next moment, all six of Marquis Visen’s arms moved simultaneously. The once formless frost now seemed tangible, as it was slashed apart into shreds.

...

A boulder was suddenly pushed aside.

Under the lead of several Bloodline Knights, over a dozen guards emerged from the tunnel and began securing the perimeter.

After confirming no immediate danger, a Bloodline Knight hurried back into the tunnel to escort two young men out.

Atork Senels looked especially grim.

He had never imagined the Kasein Family would strike with such ferocity after their long silence—it was clear they sought the utter annihilation of the Senels Family, acting in a way unbecoming of Bloodline Nobles.

“Damn savages!” Atork cursed.

“Young master, what should we do next?”

Hearing the unease in his subordinate’s voice, Atork’s frown deepened.

The moment they saw the one who destroyed the castle gate with his own power was Dean Seia, the Chief Knight of the Kasein Family, the Senels Family abandoned all illusions. Viscount Agley immediately ordered all family members to flee through hidden paths, staying behind as a decoy—he knew that while others might escape, he never could. The Kasein Family would never allow the strongest among them to get away.

And Atork knew as well—among all the family, only he and his cousin remained the Senels Family’s last hope.

His uncle, being one of the only two Fourth-Tier bloodline users in the Senels Family, naturally attracted as much attention as anyone else. The Kasein Family would never allow him to escape and had certainly marked him as a key target for elimination. As for his father, because he served as the head of the Senels Family’s intelligence division and held far too many secrets, the Kasein Family likewise could not possibly let him flee.

Therefore, in the final evacuation arrangements, their grandfather had assigned Atork and his cousin a secret passage that led several li beyond the castle—hoping to preserve the last ember of their family.

Atork remained silent and turned to look at his cousin.

“Weren’t you on good terms with Yam?”

“Yes,” Atork nodded. “Are we going to the County of Fertile Plains?”

“Our only remaining chance is to head to the County of Fertile Plains and find Count Shuvaric. If we can make it there, Count Shuvaric will have a legitimate reason to mobilize his forces. He won’t refuse,” Hales said gravely. “In fact, if we can just persuade Yam to quietly let Count Shuvaric’s men in, the Kasein Family won’t be able to hold them off. The fall of the Red Eagle Territory would be inevitable.”

“Yam would never agree to that. His relationship with the Count of Fertile Plains isn’t exactly cordial.”

“Then it won’t be up to him,” Hales said coldly. “If he refuses, Count Shuvaric won’t hesitate to wipe out the White Mountain Territory entirely. After all, he’s the last of the Bourbon Lineage. Our family has kept this trump card precisely for a moment when it could yield maximum benefit. Now that Grandfather is dead, what’s the point of holding onto it?”

“You’re right,” Atork nodded. “Let’s hope Yam has some sense.”

After reaching their decision, the two brothers immediately gathered everyone and prepared to set out for the White Mountain Territory.

Though they would have to pass through the Red River Territory, neither Atork nor Hales was particularly concerned. Over the past two years, they had taken control of multiple trade routes and even several small caravans. As long as they escaped from the Bayor Territory, they could vanish like fish into a school—hidden and undetected.

But they had barely advanced a few hundred meters when deafening battle cries suddenly erupted around them!

A dozen Bloodline Knights of the Kasein Family, led by Foss, burst from a nearby ambush and quickly scattered the Senels Family’s fleeing group.

Atork and Hales barely managed to block and parry for a short while before realizing they stood no chance against this group. The brothers exchanged a glance and immediately split up to flee in different directions. Foss swiftly ordered the Bloodline Knights into three groups: one to exterminate the remaining Senels Family members on the spot, one personally led by him to pursue Hales, and another to herd Atork like a rabbit to a designated location.

Atork had no idea he had already become a panicked rabbit in the Kasein Family’s hunt.

Overwhelmed by panic, he failed to realize the enemy attacks were meant more to herd him than to kill. Only when he reached a narrow mountain pass and saw a lone figure waiting in the distance did Atork finally understand—he was the prey.

And when he recognized who that waiting person was, Atork’s expression twisted in rage as realization dawned.

“Yam! You… you betrayed me!?”

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