The room descended into a heavy silence as Lyanna’s cruel words echoed.
Once again, the battalion commanders gulped, this time audibly. When Lyanna raised an eyebrow, the commanders flinched and scrambled out of the control room, leaving her alone, smiling as she stared at the display table.
Soon enough, she stood and walked out of the control room.
As tall as the border walls were, their width was almost as impressive. Numerous hatches suddenly slid open on the Ravenstein border wall, revealing the forms of massive ships ascending into the sky.
The Raven Vanguard fleet wasn’t nearly as numerous as that of the Alverians, but as soon as all ten airships emerged from the wall, many of the Alverians watching through monitors or displays felt their hearts instinctively quicken.
“Damn,” one of the Alverian operators muttered under his breath, a sentiment echoed by others across the entire Alverian fleet.
They were about to battle the Ravensteins. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined such a day would come. Every single one of them knew what the mad family was capable of.
Though they bordered the Ravensteins, the Alverians had always avoided war or any significant altercation with them. This was clear even years ago after Ariel’s death when the Ravensteins rampaged through Sector 4 in search of Ronad.
Rather than blatantly refusing and risking war with the Ravensteins, they had chosen to settle things by having Dell fight Atticus—a battle that ended in their loss.
No matter how much the regular Alverian soldiers tried to understand the reasoning behind this war, they were at a loss. The same question kept ringing in their heads: ‘What the hell was their family head thinking?’
The division heads, however, were much more composed. They were aware of the plan.
“Councilor Ferro! The Ravensteins are attacking!”
Councilor Ferro, who had been lost in thought, turned his gaze toward the division heads entering the control room. His eyes shifted back to the display table as he immediately entered deep contemplation.
“So, it’s the witch, huh,” Ferro muttered, feeling a shiver crawl down his spine. His body tensed. ‘How unlucky.’
Avalon would have waited for the Alverians to make the first move before retaliating with full force. Sirius would have done the same. Nathan would have tried to find a peaceful resolution.
But Lyanna was different. She thrived on chaos and would undoubtedly strike first.
“C-Councilor Ferro, how should we proceed?” one of the division heads asked, his voice trembling.
The others wore equally disturbed expressions.
They now fully grasped what Councilor Ferro had been getting at earlier when he suggested determining their opponent first.
They were facing Lyanna of the Silent Nexus, a woman as beautiful as she was cruel. But it wasn’t her cruelty they feared the most—it was her mind.
She was always one step ahead of her enemies, and she was the last person they wanted to face.
Councilor Ferro’s demeanor grew serious. “Our objective remains the same. Focus on defense and holding out as long as possible. We’re going with the shield wall formation. Get ready.”
The division heads nodded frantically and left the control room to assume their respective positions.
The Alverian family may have been known as alchemists, but that didn’t mean they were weak in battle.
In fact, given the dire state of the world, a strong military was crucial for survival. With the money they earned from their monopoly on the potions market, the Alverians had invested heavily in their military force, resulting in a staggering number of airships compared to the Ravensteins.
The Alverian military force was headed by Councilor Ferro and divided into various divisions, each specializing in different aspects of warfare.
An order from Ferro was soon transmitted from the mothership, the largest and most imposing airship among the fleet.
The shield wall formation.
The airships wasted no time, swiftly changing positions.
Intense winds whipped through the area, but despite being outside, not a single breeze touched Lyanna’s face.
Her body emitted a cold aura as she sat on an elaborate icy throne at the open helm, positioned at the forefront of the airship. Resting her chin on her fist, her eyes were fixed on the Alverian fleet as they moved into formation.
Unlike the Alverians, the current Ravenstein fleet consisted of only ten large black airships, each built for battle.
The hulls of these airships were open at the front, providing space for warriors to stand and launch attacks. Heavily armored and symmetrical, these airships were designed for endurance, capable of withstanding long-range assaults.
Along the sides of each airship were multiple smaller artillery turrets, positioned strategically to cover every angle. In the center of each airship stood a massive artillery cannon, significantly larger than the others, taking up a large portion of the deck. Its capabilities were unquestionable.
Each airship was identical in design except for the insignia representing their respective elemental battalions, with an army of warriors standing on the hull of the ships.
The elemental battalions stood like an impending storm, a wall of warriors clad in blackened armor that seemed to drink in the light.
Their very presence suffocated the battlefield, an oppressive wave of killing intent rolling off them, palpable even from a distance.
Someone had dared to declare war on their family, and they were ready to drench the earth with blood.
At the head of each army, the commanders stood like statues, their auras wrapping around their soldiers like a cloak of death. Among the Ravenstein army, there was no hesitation, no fear—only cold and lethal intent.
The silence among them was deafening. One of the four stars of the Ravenstein family was leading them; nothing could go wrong.
The earlier frightened and cautious demeanor of the commanders had completely disappeared as soon as they stepped onto the battlefield. Their title as battalion commanders wasn’t just for show.
But as the seconds ticked by, the battle-hardened demeanor of the commanders began to shift to one of uncertainty.
They each turned toward Lyanna, their expressions confused.
A minute had passed already, and the Alverians had finished getting into formation. Their fleet was now within range, close enough for the Ravenstein airships to start bombarding them with elemental attacks, but not a single order to attack had been given!
The buffer zone was only about 10 kilometers, and they were just seconds away from reaching the Alverian fleet!
Only one thought ran through their minds:
‘What the hell is she waiting for?!’
Yet Lyanna seemed unconcerned. The Raven Vanguard might not have been fully informed about the capabilities of the Alverian military force, but the same couldn’t be said about the Silent Nexus.
The Silent Nexus was divided into three main divisions, referred to as Cells:
The Surveillance Cell: An elite group trained in the art of surveillance and intelligence gathering. In essence, they were an elite unit of scouts, their reach extending throughout the human domain and even into other races.
The Assassination Cell: An elite unit of assassins responsible for eliminating any individual who posed a threat to the family in any way.
And lastly, the Infiltration Cell: The most elite of the elite, whose standing was sky-high within the Silent Nexus. Only a select few could join this group. They were responsible for infiltrating other groups and families, acting as spies.
The Alverian family had indeed entered this war prepared to face off against the Ravensteins.
Their formation, the Shield Wall, was simple.
At the center was the mothership where Councilor Ferro was located, surrounded by 30 large-sized airships and a staggering number of medium-sized airships swarming around them.
However, the major focus was not on the large airships or even the mothership but on the medium-sized ones, known as Wyrms.
Each Wyrm was coated with a special alloy made by the Alverians themselves, an alloy that gave them incredible resistance to all eight elemental attacks.
They were designed specifically for combat with the Ravenstein family. Unfortunately, the alloy was so heavy that it limited the Alverians to coating only the medium-sized airships.
The Shield Wall formation was a staggering number of Wyrms swarming around each large airship, covering every inch of them.
These airships were still equipped with weapons, allowing them to attack even while maintaining their defensive stance.
Councilor Ferro stood in the control room, his gaze steady on the screen.
“Fire in exactly five seconds.”
“Yes, Councilor,” came the response.
The atmosphere in the control room had noticeably improved, with confidence at its peak. When it came to defense, they were confident they could last as long as needed. They had simulated this battle countless times.
But a frown soon appeared on Councilor Ferro’s face as he noticed the small smile that suddenly appeared on Lyanna’s face.
An intense fear gripped him, but it was too late.
The Alverians would forever etch the witch that was Lyanna into their minds.
Lyanna’s lips parted, and she uttered a single word that resounded across the battlefield:
“Boom.”
Bare with me. 2 chapters from tomorrow dw 🙁
