Chapter 156: Chapter156-The Council’s Hidden Card

On the main battlefield.

With the strong forces of the coalition no longer holding them back, the Zisen Empire’s army rapidly advanced toward the invisible barrier at the edge of the star domain.

Boom—!

The barrier trembled violently, cracks spider-webbing across its surface, and it was on the verge of completely shattering!

Aoweir and the others had incredibly grim expressions.

“Damn it! Is Frank still not back?” Aoweir growled.

If he didn’t return soon, Sigcon was finished!

At this moment, a Sigcon Council member suddenly charged into the battlefield.

“Chairman! I’ve come to help you!”

Ignis and the others exchanged confused glances.

In a battle of this magnitude, a regular council member’s involvement was no different from sending themselves to die.

Aoweir was equally baffled.

“Kakatz, step back! This is not a place for you!”

However, Kakatz, the council member, resolutely approached Aoweir.

“Chairman, please let me contribute!”

“You?”

Aoweir was both anxious and touched. He hadn’t expected such loyalty in the council during this life-or-death moment.

“What can you do?”

With a flash of cold light, a dagger appeared in Kakatz’s hand.

In the horrified eyes of everyone, the dagger was thrust into Aoweir’s chest!

Ssshh!

Aoweir’s protective divine power erupted, sending Kakatz flying back.

“Chairman Aoweir!!”

“No!”

“Traitor! There’s a traitor!”

Everyone cried out in shock.

Aoweir’s face turned pale as he looked in disbelief at the grinning Kakatz from afar.

“Why?”

“Have you betrayed your oath?”

He gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain as he questioned.

Kakatz sneered.

“Chairman Aoweir, don’t resist in vain, you should understand this logic.”

Aoweir clenched his fists, no longer looking at the traitor. Instead, he focused his gaze on Steadfast.

“Such a move from the Empire… truly clever!”

However, Steadfast did not explain nor seem pleased.

Initially, he hadn’t planned to incite rebellion. With the Empire’s status, it wasn’t difficult to tempt others into surrendering, but he found that beneath his dignity.

What surprised him was that Kakatz had come to him first.

At first, he had ignored it, but after Lucio reminded him that Sigcon might have hidden depths, he accepted this defection.

It never hurt to have an extra pawn.

At this moment, Kakatz smiled obsequiously as he approached Steadfast.

“General Steadfast, as per your instructions, Frank has been dealt with.”

“This is impossible!!”

Aoweir and the others gasped in horror from afar.

Frank… was dead?

No wonder he hadn’t returned.

He was the last hope of Rage Starfield!

Once this news spread, all of Rage Starfield would fall into despair.

Steadfast, with an emotionless face, merely said, “Well done, your task is complete, you can go now.”

He casually threw a storage ring.

Kakatz took the ring, a frozen smile on his face.

“General, what do you mean by this?”

His intention was to join the Zisen Holy Empire.

Unfortunately, Steadfast had no such plan.

Steadfast ignored him and walked toward Aoweir, Ignis, and the others.

Kakatz looked at Steadfast’s indifferent back, then at the ring in his hand. Though his heart burned with unwillingness, he had no choice but to accept reality.

At least he had preserved his life and gained wealth.

If necessary, he could hide in a remote starfield for the rest of his life.

With a final glance at the battlefield, he fled in a hurry.

…

Looking at the overwhelmingly powerful aura emanating from Steadfast, Aoweir and the others’ hearts sank to the bottom.

The Sigcon coalition had fallen into a dire situation.

Their top-tier warriors could barely hold on, while the lower and mid-tier forces were completely crushed by the Empire’s army.

It wouldn’t be long before the boundary barrier would shatter completely, and at that point, the entire Sigcon starfield would fall.

With Steadfast closing in, despair enveloped everyone’s hearts.

Was defeat truly imminent?

“Aoweir,” Ignis’s voice was hoarse, “Does Sigcon… still have a trump card?”

Aoweir’s expression shifted, and finally, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes.

He took a step forward and shouted loudly.

“Are you really forcing us to go to the very end?!”

“I’ll tell you, Sigcon starfield has its own Supreme Sanctuary rank protector!”

This statement struck like a thunderclap, silencing the entire battlefield.

Supreme Sanctuary rank!

The peak of Sanctuary Lord rank was already the pinnacle in most star domains, but Supreme Sanctuary rank…

Aside from the Zisen Holy Empire, they had never heard of any other force possessing such an entity.

Sigcon starfield actually had one?

Ignis appropriately showed an expression of surprise.

“Aoweir! Such a joke is not to be made!”

“Supreme Sanctuary rank… how is that possible?”

Aoweir, however, smiled confidently.

“Hmph, it’s just that you don’t know!”

“So… who is this Supreme Sanctuary rank existence?”

Ignis continued to ask, seamlessly playing along.

Aoweir stood tall, his expression firm.

“It’s none other than our former chairman of the Sigcon Council—Lord Wade!”

Wade?

Upon hearing this name, Steadfast furrowed his brows.

He knew of this person, the former chairman of Sigcon.

He hadn’t seen him at all during this expedition.

Could it be… the old man really broke through?

At this moment, Ignis, in perfect timing, expressed wild joy.

“Haha! Supreme Sanctuary rank!”

“Zisen Empire, you’ve lost this time!”

He looked proudly at the imperial army.

“No matter how strong you are, facing a Supreme Sanctuary rank, you’d better think carefully about the consequences!”

Seeing Ignis’s expression, it seemed as though he fully believed Aoweir’s words.

Among the imperial army, some of the strong began to waver.

Though Aoweir’s words sounded like bluffs, they would never deceive their own people, right?

They couldn’t help but believe a little.

But what they didn’t know was that this was all part of Aoweir and Ignis’s act.

An imperial general approached Steadfast and whispered, “General, what should we do now?”

Steadfast sneered, “You believe that?”

The general quickly lowered his head.

Steadfast snorted, carrying his hands behind his back as he walked forward.

“Supreme Sanctuary rank?”

“I’d love to see just how powerful Sigcon’s Supreme Sanctuary rank truly is.”

He didn’t believe for a second that Sigcon could produce a Supreme Sanctuary rank.

As someone who was half in that rank himself, he knew just how difficult it was to break through to that level.

Even with the Zisen Holy Empire’s immense resources, it took him millions of years to make no breakthrough—how could a small Sigcon starfield do it?

Seeing that Steadfast was unfazed, Aoweir’s face remained calm, but his heart grew icy.

Moreover, he was severely injured. If he made a move now, it would all be over.

What should he do? There were no more options left!

Steadfast began gathering his power, the void around him fracturing.

He was about to get serious.

It’s over!

Aoweir’s heart filled with despair.

Could the Sigcon Council really be destroyed by his hands?

At this most desperate moment, a familiar voice full of rage echoed from deep in the starry sky!

“Wait!!”

Boom!

A powerful divine force pushed Steadfast back several steps.

Steadfast’s face changed slightly as he solemnly looked toward the depths of the starry sky.

A figure wearing an ancient robe was breaking through space, heading toward them!

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