Chương 53: Chapter 23 Part 3

The journey back to the inner rings of Elyndria was a slow, somber procession. The freezing rain had finally broken, leaving the capital washed in the pale, gray light of early morning. When the royal transport carriage finally halted before the heavily fortified gates of the Vael Estate, the extent of the night's localized violence was laid bare. The courtyard was violently scored by alchemical acid and craters.

The heavy iron gates hung off their hinges, and the grand façade of the mansion was scarred by dark-magic burns. Standing on the ruined, second-story balcony overlooking the courtyard were the remnants of the defensive line. Vice Guild Master Durgan leaned heavily against the shattered stone railing, his dark brown skin pale with exhaustion, his chest wrapped in thick, blood-spotted linen. Beside him, Axel the dark elf and Garrick the heavy-shield bearer stood in tense, silent vigil.

And standing perfectly still in front of the hardened mercenaries, wrapped in a thick wool cloak, was Evanthe. The young girl's dark eyes widened as she watched her master casually step down from the royal carriage. Ming Xuan Ji looked completely untouched by the apocalypse she had just participated in. Her black-and-crimson silk hanfu was pristine. But it was not the Heavenly Demon that caused the mercenaries on the balcony to instinctively reach for their weapons.

It was the woman stepping out of the carriage behind her. Aurelithia Ignis-Vaelstrasz stood seven feet tall. Even compressed into a mortal vessel, the Sovereign of the Peaks radiated an absolute, primordial gravity. Her cascading golden hair caught the faint morning light, and her slit-pupils swept over the ruined estate with cold, ancient calculation.

The sheer, suffocating atmospheric pressure she passively exuded made the seasoned mercenaries on the balcony feel as though they were suffocating beneath a mountain of stone.

"Stand down," Xuan Ji's voice carried effortlessly up to the balcony, instantly shattering the tension.

"She is a guest." Crown Prince Theron dismounted his warhorse, his boots crunching against the pulverized cobblestones. He surveyed the acid-scorched walls and the shattered windows of the Vael Estate with a grim expression.

"Lady Ming, this estate is entirely compromised," Theron noted, his royal training kicking in as he assessed the structural damage.

"The wards are broken, and the primary defenses are in ruins. It is not fit for habitation. The Royal Palace has an entirely secure, sequestered wing. I would be honored to host you, your disciple, and your companion while this manor is rebuilt." Xuan Ji stopped in the center of the ruined courtyard. She didn't look at the palace towering in the distance; she kept her eyes on the Crown Prince.

"No," Xuan Ji refused smoothly, her tone leaving zero room for negotiation.

"The Royal Palace is a gilded cage, Theron. It is filled with nobles, politicians, and spies who will constantly attempt to leverage my presence, investigate my disciple, or provoke my companion. I will not subject my people to the suffocating rot of your court." Theron blinked, slightly taken aback by the blunt rejection, but he was wise enough not to argue. He nodded slowly.

"Then what do you require?"

"I require a fortress of my own," Xuan Ji stated, her dark eyes locking onto his.

"I want a fully furnished, highly defensible noble estate in the inner rings. And I want a royal decree establishing it as absolute, sovereign territory. Immune to royal taxation, immune to the City Guard's jurisdiction, and completely autonomous." It was a staggering demand. In the history of the Zareth Kingdom, no monarch had ever carved out an independent, sovereign nation within the very walls of their own capital.

But Theron looked at the Heavenly Demon, and then at the towering, seven-foot-tall Gold Dragon standing silently at her shoulder. He recognized that the power dynamic in Elyndria had fundamentally shifted. The woman before him did not need his permission to take a house; she was offering him the courtesy of a legal transaction. A dark, deeply pragmatic smile touched Theron's exhausted face.

"As it happens," Theron said smoothly, "the Morvant Estate has just been permanently vacated. Its previous owner was executed at dawn for high treason. It is one of the largest, most heavily fortified manors in the inner city, equipped with a private armory, extensive subterranean vaults, and elite arcane wards." Theron drew a heavy, wax-sealed parchment from his coat, a blank royal decree he carried for emergencies, and a charcoal stylus.

He quickly drafted the edict against the side of the carriage, signed his royal seal, and handed it to Xuan Ji. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"The Morvant Estate is now sovereign territory, Lady Ming," Theron declared, bowing his head respectfully.

"Let it stand as a monument to the Kingdom's gratitude."

"Efficient," Xuan Ji praised, taking the decree and slipping it into her sleeve.

"Send a detachment of guards to secure the perimeter and clear out any remaining criminals. We will relocate immediately."

Two hours later, the heavy, gilded doors of the Morvant Estate were closed, sealing the sprawling, opulent mansion away from the prying eyes of the capital. The sheer luxury of the estate was staggering. Imported eastern carpets lined the floors, priceless silk tapestries hung from the walls, and the grand foyer was large enough to house a small army. The surviving staff of the Vael Estate immediately went to work, securing the kitchens and preparing the master suites.

In the grand study overlooking the manicured inner gardens, Xuan Ji stood before the roaring fireplace. The heavy mahogany doors creaked open, and Vice Guild Master Durgan stepped into the room, followed closely by Axel and Garrick. The three mercenaries moved stiffly, their bodies battered and bound in fresh bandages. They did not possess their usual arrogant swagger. They walked with the heavy, solemn steps of men marching to the gallows.

Aurelithia stood perfectly still in the corner of the study, her golden eyes tracking the warriors with detached curiosity. Evanthe sat quietly on a velvet chaise lounge near her master, her Yin-Yang core humming in perfect harmony. Durgan stopped in the center of the room. He planted his massive fist over his heart and slowly, agonizingly, dropped to one knee. Axel and Garrick immediately followed suit, bowing their heads in profound shame.

"Lady Ming," Durgan began, his deep, gravelly voice thick with dishonor.

"Our defensive formation was broken. We underestimated the sheer scale of the blood magic deployed by the cult's vanguard, and we failed in our primary directive. We failed to protect Lady Evanthe." Durgan swallowed hard, staring at the polished wooden floor.

"In the underworld, a failure of this magnitude demands severe retribution. We are prepared to return the advance payment in full, surrender our guild licenses, and accept whatever martial penalty you deem appropriate." Xuan Ji looked down at the three broken men.

"Quiet," Xuan Ji commanded. Her voice was not angry; it was entirely pragmatic, carrying the sharp authority of a sect master addressing her outer disciples. Durgan immediately snapped his jaw shut. Xuan Ji walked slowly to the center of the room, looking at the massive pink scar tissue on Durgan's chest, Axel's tightly bound ribs, and Garrick's ruined shield-arm.

"In the martial world I hail from," Xuan Ji began, her voice calm and absolute, "when a defensive formation shatters against an overwhelming siege, you do not blame the guard for bleeding. You blame the catastrophic disparity in power." The mercenaries blinked, looking up in sheer confusion.

"You three and your comrades fight for coin," Xuan Ji continued, her golden aura flaring slightly, casting a warm, imposing light across the study.

"When a high-ranking Blood Priest breached the estate with an army of fanatics, standard mercenary protocol dictated that you break your contract, abandon the target, and flee to preserve your own lives." She stepped closer, locking eyes with the massive half-orc.

"You didn't run," Xuan Ji noted, her voice ringing with profound respect.

"You stood your ground against an enemy that massively out-scaled you. You threw your bodies on the line, nearly dying to hold a hallway for a girl you barely knew. Loyalty of that magnitude cannot be bought with money alone. It must be cultivated." Xuan Ji raised her right hand. Her heavy silver void ring flared with a blinding spatial distortion. With a heavy, metallic thud, three thick leather pouches materialized and dropped onto the mahogany desk.

The ambient power radiating from within the pouches was so intense it instantly made the air in the room feel dense, sucking the breath from the mercenaries' lungs.

"Your physical strength is commendable, but your latent Qi capacities are severely bottlenecked by your mortal limitations," Xuan Ji instructed, stepping fully into her role as their sovereign leader. She untied the pouches. Inside, glowing with blinding, unadulterated elemental light, were many flawless A-rank monster cores and three incredibly rare, pulsating S-rank cores, the spoils she had violently extracted from the depths of the Grand Abyss. Axel's predatory eyes dilated.

"By the Ancestors... those are pure Abyssal cores. A single one of those could buy a manor."

"You will consume the energy from these cores to expand your meridians and permanently increase your base vitality," Xuan Ji ordered.

"You are going to shatter your mortal limits." Xuan Ji crossed her arms, looking down at the three kneeling veterans.

"I am offering you a permanent, sovereign contract," Xuan Ji declared, her voice echoing through the opulent study.

"No more guild fees. No more temporary escorts. You are my Vanguard. Your sole objective is the unquestioned protection and guidance of Evanthe. In exchange, I will ensure you are the strongest, wealthiest, and most lethal front-liners on this continent." The room descended into a heavy, suffocating silence. From the corner of the room, Aurelithia let out a low, rumbling hum of approval.

"A wise investment, Heavenly Demon. A sovereign requires a shield just as much as a sword." Durgan did not hesitate for another second. He ignored the agonizing pull on his healing chest, planting both fists firmly against the wooden floorboards, and pressed his forehead to the ground in unwavering submission.

"My life is yours, Master Ming," Durgan rumbled, his voice thick with a fierce, burning devotion he had never felt for any guild or king.

"Until my dying breath, no enemy shall take a single step toward your disciple without stepping over my corpse." Garrick slammed his uninjured fist against the floor, joining him.

"My shield is yours. We are your Vanguard." Axel dropped into a fluid, reverent bow, a sharp, dangerous smile finally returning to his face.

"Point us at the targets, Sovereign." Ming Xuan Ji smiled, a genuine, highly satisfied expression. Her foundation was set. She had a mythic-tier dragon as an ally, a rapidly growing prodigy as a disciple, and a fiercely loyal, heavily upgraded Vanguard to hold her front line.

"Good," Xuan Ji said, turning back toward the roaring fireplace.

"Rest up and absorb those cores."