Chapter 559: Come with me.

Kael stood on the platform in silence.

Blood still dripped from his sword.

It hit the snow in slow taps, like the world itself was counting.

Fraza’s severed head lay on its side near the edge of the wood. One eye was half-open, frozen in that last look—hate, fear, and refusal, all trapped inside.

Kael stared at it.

He remembered Morvain’s words.

You carry the burden for the rest of your life.

And his chest tightened.

It was a sight he couldn’t move his eyes away from. It was almost as if, if he did look away, the man would wake up from the dead and the entire world would plunge into chaos.

Kael’s chest felt tight, like the entire world’s burden was now on his shoulders. His throat felt sore, like he had swallowed a stone.

From the looks of it, it seemed like he would be standing here for a long time, with the same silence accompanying him.

But then—

’Father!’

Imperia’s panicked voice thundered in his head.

The ant did not even give him the time to react—

She just raised her voice even further.

’Stonefang Quarter was attacked! Many are hurt! Many ants have perished too!’

And the instant Kael heard those words, his eyes widened in horror.

For a moment, his mind refused to accept it.

Attacked?

Inside the Wall?

But there was no warning?

How—?

But again, the ant did not give him time to think.

’Father! You need to move! There is no time to think! The enemies are still attacking!’

And in an instant, Kael’s mind shut down and his instincts took over. His fingers tightened around his sword.

The weight in his chest didn’t vanish, but it got pushed aside by something far worse.

“WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!”

Kael screamed, alerting the rest of the soldiers.

“COME TO STONEFANG QUARTERS!

BRING THE HEALERS!”

He gave his orders and he… he flew away, racing toward the Stonefang Quarter in panic.

Back in the open space, the Velmourns reacted instantly. Some flinched, some widened their eyes in horror, while the soldiers felt their blood run cold as their minds began to prepare.

Korvath’s reaction was immediate.

He did not question Kael or ask what had happened; he only gave the next orders that made sense.

“Form lines!

Move to the Stonefang Quarter!

Two squads stay—guard the civilians!”

“Yes, Commander!”

The soldiers saluted and began to move. The civilians panicked even more—they grabbed each other, pulled back, started running for their homes the moment soldiers pointed and shouted.

It was chaos.

And people… they were told to… prepare for the worst.

And while the entire Velmourn section was hurled into chaos, fear, and panic, the Stonefangs…

They looked at them with utter confusion.

They did not understand what Kael had just said, they only understood his tone, and from people’s reactions, it was clear something bad had happened.

Gruumak turned to Morvain in confusion and saw her looking at him with shock and… horror openly written on her face.

A sight that made even Gruumak look uneasy. After all, in the limited time he had been here, he had judged the Velmourn elders’ personalities, and for Morvain to have that look on her face—

Or worse, for Morvain to look at him with that look on her face—

Gruumak’s unease only strengthened.

He looked at Kael’s back, seeing how he was already flying toward their quarter, then he snapped toward Zakaar—

“Talk. What he say?”

The Stonefang Chief asked, his rushed words snapping Zakaar out of his reverie. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything—

“Your quarter hit. We go now.”

Lavinia answered in Stonefang tongue. The urgency in her voice was clear.

Gruumak froze.

For half a second, his face looked blank.

Then it cracked.

“…What?”

He asked in sheer disbelief. He looked at Zakaar, as if he wanted to confirm whether what the woman was saying was true or not. Zakaar nodded, confirming his suspicion.

And Lavinia repeated herself as well—

“Your quarter attacked. Many hurt.”

Gruumak’s eyes widened, then his body moved as he began to scream at his men.

A command so loud that, unlike the Velmourns who were still panicking, the Stonefangs were… ready.

Their eyes turned red, as if ready to tear apart the enemy. Without waiting, the space around them trembled, their fastest beasts appeared, those who didn’t have beasts were carried by others, and within seconds, the Stonefang marched—rushing toward their quarter like a flood.

The Velmourn army marched right behind them, the Velmourn civilians rushed back to their homes, and within an instant—

The space where more than five thousand had gathered… was now empty.

Fraza’s body was still there.

Warm.

Not even fully dead-cold yet.

Left alone.

No one looked at it anymore.

The execution had ended.

And it had instantly become… meaningless.

On the other side, Kael was already flying over the roofs, faster than before, his cloak snapping hard behind him.

His mind raced too. Within a short amount of time, thousands of questions appeared.

How did they get inside?

How did no one see them?

He understood that they somehow fooled the men at Watch, but even his ants?

How was that possible?

How did his ants miss something like this?

And just while he was thinking about all this, he once again heard a voice in his currently chaotic mind.

’Father, the attackers are gone.’

’What…?’

Kael did not stop, but those words made him blink.

Then, unable to control himself any longer, he began asking questions.

’What happened? Explain in detail. How did the ants not see anything?’

’The attack came from above. My ants only saw dark shapes falling from the sky and alerted me. I told them to hide, thinking something was wrong.

And then—

The moment those dark shapes fell, they exploded.

Shards spread everywhere, flames grew, burning people alive. Many ants were hurt too, some perished on the spot.

The Stonefangs were no different—they were helpless in front of an explosion.’

Imperia did not describe more. She could sense her father’s mental state; she understood that telling him about the damage or the injuries would only make it worse, so she stopped.

Kael’s stomach churned and his mind started spinning.

An airborne strike.

A strike from above the wall, from a place neither the men at Watch nor his ants could see properly…

This was something he had completely ignored.

All this while, he had been so used to his ants giving him all the information he needed that he never once considered the possibility of them missing something.

He never considered the possibility of… him not knowing

something.

But today…

That belief was broken.

And when Kael realized it, he clenched his fists in frustration and self-blame, and pushed even harder, flying toward the Stonefang Quarter as fast as he could.

But then—

’Father…’

Imperia called out again.

This time, a lot slower than before. She wasn’t panicking, but her tone was… far grimmer.

’You should bring the Sky Kingdom’s healers.’

’What…?’

Kael’s body flinched. For a moment, he froze mid-flight.

Because those words meant one thing.

Too many wounded.

The situation was… far more serious than he was expecting.

And…

Now that the attackers were gone, him getting there wouldn’t do anything either.

Kael clenched his teeth. For a moment, he cursed himself for not thinking about it and rushing there like a madman, but he knew this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

He could blame himself all he wanted, but not now. Right now, he needed to act.

He clenched his fists, straightened his jumbled, messy thoughts, and he jumped back, changing his direction mid-flight.

This time, his destination was different.

It was the City Prison where the Sky Kingdom prisoners were kept.

…

The prison corridor was cold and narrow. Gemstones here were mostly used up, the light in them flickered weakly, the iron here stank.

It was early morning, so the place was half-asleep—

Until Kael entered.

He did not sneak in or move silently; he did not have the time to be mindful. He breathed quickly and walked like a storm, walking down the hallway and entering the prison.

The chains under his feet rattled and the moment they did, the Sky Kingdom prisoners who had been asleep woke up in an instant with wary looks on their faces.

Kael didn’t care. He just walked toward the three healers. The healers stared at him with confusion, hatred, and… exhaustion.

They had been forced to work for long hours, healing old injuries, setting bones, closing wounds that had rotted.

“You need to come with me.”

Kael spoke directly.

“It’s not the time yet.”

One of the healers answered directly.

“There are still a few hours left.”

He spoke as he looked at the sky through the small window.

But Kael…

He did not care.

He just looked at the healer with red eyes that did not look human right now and—

“I said come with me.”

He ordered, and for some reason, the healer froze, not daring to say another word.

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