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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 241: The Greatness of the Divine Clans
"I will participate in the Divine Clan Assmebly."
The moment I uttered those words, gasps of shock erupted from the watching crowd.
However, the knights of the Divine Clans guarding the barrier didn't spare them a single glance.
Only the lead Guardian Knight, who had been locking eyes intensely with me from the very front, furrowed his brow slightly.
"Samael?"
"Go inform your Clan Head. Tell him we are entering too."
"..."
Normally, a Guardian Knight wouldn't have let even a flicker of emotion show at my words.
He would have simply ignored me, only delivering judgment the moment he deemed a line had been crossed.
That's how sky-high the pride of the Divine Clans residing in their hearts was.
But the expression of the Guardian Knight looking at me now seemed slightly uncomfortable.
It was because of what happened that day.
What Commander Maohe, wearing the guise of a Guardian Knight, had attempted, and how we had stopped him.
"Turn back. This place is only for the Divine Clans."
"Open the way."
"..."
"We have the right."
Paat—
It was then that all the Guardian Knights, the Heavenly Swordmasters, and Seren's Dragon Knights simultaneously turned to look at us.
Had my words finally started to bother them?
The Divine Clan Assmebly.
The families from Heaven beyond heaven, revered as gods by everyone on the continent for ages untold.
A council of gods, where the Divine Clans gathered according to their pact only when faced with a threat concerning the very survival of humanity.
It was a sacred meeting upon which humanity's existence hinged, and before it, all people of the continent, without exception, must await the Divine Clans' counsel.
In their eyes, my current actions were no different from insulting the Divine Clans.
"I'll say it again. Turn back."
"If you don't move, I will force the way open."
An explosive aura flared up from my right.
"The prestige of the Divine Clans has certainly fallen."
A Dragon Knight from the Seren Clan, covered in golden scales, stepped forward and began staring at me.
His pupils were expressionless.
But the golden wave flickering within them clearly indicated his displeasure.
"Our tolerance ends here. Enough. Turn back."
From the left, a Heavenly Swordmaster blocked my path, speaking.
As expected, they were all the same.
It was hard to find any sign of genuine gratitude among them for the fact that we had stopped the Giant God and Maohe's schemes.
Heavenly Swordmasters, Guardian Knights.
There was only one reason they all wore such uncomfortable expressions.
Simply put, the very fact that a Divine Clan had received help from another family wounded their pride.
It had been too long.
Too many long days of peace had allowed them to stagnate.
I met the Heavenly Swordmaster's eyes and spoke.
"Move."
"This is the last time. Turn back."
"Then I'll force it."
Saaaaaaaaaaah—!
In that instant, the eyes of the two Dragon Knights on the right ignited with a golden light.
The Heavenly Swordmasters’ hands moved towards the swords at their waists.
Concurrently, the large-framed Guardian Knights unleashed their imposing, Mount Tai-like presence.
Just then, the Crazy Mage Squad and the White Horse Knight, arrayed behind us, activated all of their mana circles and mana cores.
"Move aside, if you have any conscience!"
"I'm the one who lopped off dozens of heads from Cecilia and the Giants!"
"I doubt Baltahar is in any position to stop us!"
"...!"
The expressions on the Guardian Knights and Heavenly Swordmasters contorted, and not solely due to the Crazy Mage Squad's taunts.
It began when the lead Guardian Knight stumbled back a step, drawing his shield; then, the thirty Guardian Knights behind him raised their inverted triangular shields in unison, generating an immense pressure that felt as if it could flatten the heavens – Heavenly Pressure.
Simultaneously, the Heavenly Swordmasters unsheathed their blades, and the eyes of the spear-bearing Dragon Knights grew intensely focused.
Paaaaaaaaang—!
As the unified aura blasted outwards from the Divine Clan knights, the onlookers were thrown back, many coughing up blood, yet our Samael group stood firm, unmoved.
"...Samael is... this powerful?"
"I heard they subdued Bellusia..."
"Keuk! Didn't you hear? They said Samael also held off Cecilia and the Giants!"
"So that wasn't just boasting?"
"There are countless testimonies! Even Swordmasters from Ardehain and Baltahar supposedly owe their lives to Samael."
"Kuuuuhk."
Saaaaaaah—!
With the pressure intensifying exponentially, the crowd was forced back even further.
Even the Elders started equipping mana stones between their fingers, one after another.
The situation was volatile, a spark away from exploding.
Rotating the circles within my heart, I peered past the barrier toward the site of the Divine Clan Assmebly meeting.
A moonless, dark night sky.
Beneath it, beyond hundreds of steps, the military encampment stood.
I never expected this could be settled with words anyway.
With these people, you have to prove it.
Prove you have the right.
Unleashing all seven circles, I slowly lifted my hand skyward.
Cheok—
Just then, a familiar figure stepped in front of me.
"For what purpose is this Divine Clan Assmebly?"
His voice carried no mana, nor was it a powerful kiai.
Yet, as if prearranged, everyone turned their attention to Kazen.
Before the eyes of the Heavenly Swordmasters, the Guardian Knights, and the Dragon Knights, Kazen gazed towards the meeting place beyond them and cried out.
"How can the Divine Clans be so rife with contradiction?"
"Humanity itself is threatened! Keplan has already fallen! The Magic Tower Alliance is collapsing! Even the Vassal Clans are collapsing! You Divine Clans profess to exist for humanity—then tell me, why have you simply stood idly by watching all this unfold?!"
"Wake up! Think about who the pact you made was for! Is this truly the moment to cling to your ego when we should be pooling all our strength for countermeasures?"
Pelleer came to mind.
The sight of Kazen's back, standing before me now, was identical to his.
Instantly, the Heavenly Pressure radiating from the Guardian Knights’ overlapping shields crashed down upon Kazen.
Taylor and the White Horse Knight shot forward from behind us, instantly forming hand seals to weave protective shields.
Through that opening, the Crazy Mage Squad chanted an incantation as one.
A large-scale 6th Circle Incantation.
Instantly, the prelude to a tremendous shockwave began to blossom in the Far North.
"D-Dangerous!"
"Everyone fall back! If you get swept up in this by mistake, we'll all die!"
Kung Kung—
The earth rippled like waves.
The Dragon Knights, engulfed in golden light, slowly ascended into the night sky, preparing for Dragon Slaying.
Simultaneously, the Heavenly Swordmasters, hands already on their hilts, began to draw their swords.
But just before they could, a single sword path was drawn across the dark night sky, bringing everything to a halt.
Kung—! Kung Kung—!
The barrier deactivated, and light simultaneously flooded the hundreds of steps.
The military encampment perched at the very top opened from both sides, light pouring out.
Disbelief flickered in the eyes of the Heavenly Swordmasters, Guardian Knights, and Dragon Knights as they turned their heads.
Cheok—
The Sword Master of Ten Thousand.
Standing before the encampment, he spoke as if delivering a verdict.
"Entry to the Divine Clan Assmebly... is permitted."
I raised the Black Scale Flag.
***
Kazen and Fichte.
And myself.
One step, then another.
Slowly ascending the stairs, we stopped before the military encampment.
The Sword Master of Ten Thousand attempted to restrain Fichte, but a voice came from within.
"Let him be."
The moment we entered the Divine Clan Assmebly, suffocating gazes converged on us.
Though it was clearly a temporary military tent, the interior felt nothing like it.
The first thing I saw were the Clan Heads of the Vassal Clans, standing quietly in the outer area holding their respective flags.
The Solsar Clan Head.
The Ziek Clan Head.
The Gaion Clan Head.
The Ardehain Clan Head.
Since Hyark's Red Tyrant King was unconscious, the highest-ranking member remaining, the Sixth Dominion Sword, participated.
And for Bellusia, someone stood holding the Alhard Clan flag.
"..."
The atmosphere was entirely different from the Vassal Clan Banquet.
The oppressive presence they had used to pressure me, as if delivering judgment, was completely gone.
It couldn't be helped.
An overwhelming aura completely erased the presence of all the Vassal Clan Heads.
The Divine Clan Assmebly wasn't primarily about the location itself.
Wherever the Clan Heads of the Divine Clans gathered according to the pact, that place became the Divine Clan Assmebly.
"..."
Without a single question asked, a suffocating pressure washed over us.
No one moved.
I looked sequentially at the three Divine Clans seated in the seats of honor.
The heirs of the three families, including Black, were lined up to one side, with the Clan Heads seated slightly in front of them.
Sword Duke, Julius Baltahar.
Julius's gaze, accompanied by three Sword Masters of Ten Thousand, was quite different from the last time.
He was watching Kazen and me with considerable interest.
Guardian Star, Markutan Arihama.
An overwhelmingly large frame.
The presence of Markutan, seated behind five Black Knights holding a large shield, reminded me of the Guardian Star of old.
And White Dragon, Iris Seren.
Her entire body was covered in pure white scales, and a large crown rested upon her head.
Her pupils were hard to discern, revealing only the whites of her eyes.
She, too, reminded me of a companion from the past.
These were the heads of the Three Great Divine Clans, said to lead humanity in this age.
"Samael. You have the right to speak."
It was then that the Sword Duke, Julius, looked steadily at me.
"Do you have something to say?"
All eyes focused on me.
A suffocating pressure still poured down, but...
I met their eyes without hesitation.
Finally.
Finally.
The situation I wanted had been created.
There was no need to beat around the bush.
"The plan prepared by the demons is not yet over."
"And so?"
"I believe... that among the Divine Clans, there is one who has betrayed humanity."
"..."
"Meaning, among the three families present here, there is a traitor."
Instantly, the suffocating pressure began to take form.
Kung—.
A blade-like pressure started pouring out from the Sword Masters of Ten Thousand.
Simultaneously, a powerful sense of oppression arose from the five Black Knights escorting Markutan.
Slowly, Markutan's lips parted.
"The grounds?"
A low voice.
I was about to immediately follow up, but...
Faster than me, Kazen stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Kazen, Head of the Samael Clan."
"Speak."
"You all know, do you not? Without a betrayal from within the Divine Clans, the demons could not be running rampant like this."
"..."
"Are you covering your ears? Or are you covering your eyes?"
Paaaaaang—!
An immense pressure slammed into Kazen.
Biting his lip hard, Kazen endured the pressure, his eyes, astonishingly, as unwavering as a calm lake.
For a moment, I could only stare blankly at Kazen, unable to even think of intervening.
‘Did he recover his mana circles?’
No.
That couldn't be possible.
As a familiar feeling welled up while looking at Kazen, I once again realized the reason.
Kazen was the Head of the Samael Clan.
The suffocating silence broke in the next instant.
Suddenly, a Dragon Knight with silver scales, standing before Iris Seren, spoke on her behalf.
"Samael. Are you the one responsible for the annihilation of the Giant God?"
It was the White Dragon Knight.
A title bestowed upon only one among the Seren Clan's Dragon Knights.
I nodded.
"That is correct. The Giant God had already been demonized by the demons."
For the Seren Clan, the Giant God and the Demon Dragon were akin to their sorest point.
The place where the Demon Dragon first quickened was the Fire Dragon Mountain Range, where the Seren Clan's main family resides.
It was the Seren Clan that had shed the most blood because of the Demon Dragon.
Though the Demon Dragon was annihilated, the Giant God who rode it hid deep within the Land of Death and never appeared again afterward.
Naturally, from the Seren Clan's perspective, it was an indelible wound.
"Your right to speak, I acknowledge."
The White Dragon Knight gestured outside.
"We will not take issue with your previous statement. Withdraw. Samael shall receive the protection of our main family."
"That cannot be."
"..."
Instantly, the White Dragon Knight's eyebrow shot up.
"What did you say?"
"You pathetic Divine Clan bastards."
"..."
"Discard that 'god' title you hold, starting today."
A brief silence.
It was then that the Sword Masters of Ten Thousand and the Black Knights shot up simultaneously.
Fierce killing intent flared as if they absolutely could not tolerate such an insulting address.
Markutan's massive frame shifted once.
"You cross the line."
Even the Sword Duke's interested expression began to slowly fade as he watched the situation unfold.
I looked around.
Gaion, Solsar, Ziek, Hyark, Bellusia.
The heads and acting heads of all the families trembled at the Divine Clans' fury, staring at me.
Floha, the Ardehain Clan Head, covered her mouth, her eyes showing she never imagined I would pull something like this even here.
"How dare you insult the greatness of the Divine Clans!"
"The greatness of the Divine Clans..."
Slowly, I raised the Black Scale Flag.
The flag of Samael.
"Samael will show you."
From the moment I first resolved to rebuild the utterly ruined Samael Clan until now.
Not once have I ever forgotten.
Everyone else had forgotten, but now, the time has finally come to let them know.
That Samael was the very first among the Four Great Divine Clans, positioned as the Meritorious Divine Clan.
Wheeeeing—.
Opening all my mana circles, I raised the Black Scale Flag high.
Saaaaaa—!
Just before sword aura could be discharged from the blades of the Sword Masters of Ten Thousand...
The black scales etched onto the flag turned an absolute darkness and began to surge towards the sky as if alive.
In the fleeting moment everyone stared at the spectacle...
White Dragon, Iris Seren, shot to her feet unconsciously and cried out.
"Reverse Scale!"
Her voice trembled, utterly disbelieving.
Iris Seren stared at the black shape rising from the Black Scale Flag as if she had seen something forbidden.
A moment later, she approached the Black Scale Flag and knelt before it.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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