Chapter 425: Matured

Upon receiving the message, Priam rushed to Dandara, and together they quickly boarded a Flying Boat, leaving the planet behind.

As they approached the exit of the inner sect, countless figures stepped forward to block their path.

Obviously, disciples weren’t allowed to leave the inner region without explicit authorization. However, Priam simply displayed his emblem, and the law disciples immediately sent messages to the Elders.

Within mere seconds, the passage was cleared without a single objection.

Priam’s authority within the sect was absolute. Aside from the Leader, only the Central Elders held greater hierarchical prestige. Even so, not even they could force him to do anything without first convening a bureaucratic meeting to deliberate on the matter.

Priam’s Flying Boat shot through the sect’s safe routes at maximum speed.

...

Half a day later, Priam and Dandara spotted the planet of the 11th branch emerging before their eyes.

They plunged straight into the atmosphere, heading toward the inner domains. No one would dare intercept them; the emblem of an inner disciple had the power to open any door throughout the branches.

As soon as they landed, Mishnar quickly appeared to welcome them.

"They... did well," she said softly before her expression grew clouded with complicated emotions. "However, they ignored the sect’s advice. They faced terrible setbacks and were forced to push everyone’s raw power to its absolute limit. As a result... everyone’s aura and all their internal energies have become chaotic and irreversibly unstable. In this state, unfortunately, none of them will ever be able to advance to another level or rank again."

Mishnar finished with a heavy expression. The price they had paid was devastating, although at least they had returned alive after completing the mission.

Dandara’s face immediately turned pale. However, when she turned toward Priam, she found his expression perfectly calm and indifferent. An overwhelming sense of relief washed over her.

Priam ignored the devastating diagnosis and asked for the details of what had happened. As the Leading Elder of that branch, Mishnar had already obtained the twins’ complete report.

Mishnar recounted every event in as much detail as she had received.

The mission had seemed simple at first, requiring cooperation with the local inhabitants to track down the various objectives. They had to reach unique locations throughout the universe in question and destroy mystical objects.

The two had been making excellent progress, but as they approached the mission’s final objective, the very Will of Heaven of that world awakened to stop the invaders from advancing.

They fought a terrible battle but managed to escape annihilation just in time. As a result, their progress came to a standstill.

Under the influence of the heavens, the native population took up arms and began hunting down and slaughtering every member of the expedition.

Relying on tactical intelligence and containment inscriptions, the twins kept their contingent alive, engaging in an endless cycle of evasion and guerrilla warfare.

Thus, after ten long years trapped without reaching their objective, a new support mission was automatically issued to the higher-caliber sects.

Support groups from the northern region were dispatched to the conflict.

Those reinforcements possessed the raw power necessary to turn the tide. However... instead of coordinating a joint effort, the northern sects demanded that the twins’ original group be used as cannon fodder in a bloody assault against the native forces.

The twins, in turn, refused to carry out an unnecessary massacre, choosing instead to follow the more difficult path.

They devised a bold strategy: isolate the native forces using rune formations and forcibly infiltrate the final objective, keeping casualties to an absolute minimum. It was an extremely risky plan, with the probability of total annihilation empirically very high.

Obviously, those arrogant figures from the northern region had no intention of following the plan.

Thus, the two sides began acting independently. One side actively fought the natives, killing them without hesitation. The other fled and avoided conflict, following a path that was unquestionably more complicated.

However, while the political deadlock between the two sides dragged on for years, the twins set their preparations into motion.

They devoted every spare moment to thoroughly studying that world’s resources, creating and refining high-level pills and inscriptions using everything available to them. They developed their own abilities to their peak and pushed every soldier under their command to the top of the Mage Master Rank.

As their final trump card, they forged a secret alliance with the natives of that world—a feat whose intricate details they chose not to disclose in the report.

When everything was ready, the sect’s original army launched the decisive operation.

They stormed the final sanctuary on their own and, with virtually no casualties, completed the mission before the northern sects could even intervene.

However... as Mishnar had warned, the price had been bitter. By forcibly advancing their ranks and pushing their levels to the peak within that Singular World, every member of the expedition had ruined their own foundations.

After absorbing the report, Priam took a deep breath, feeling immense pride ignite within his chest.

Those two... they had truly placed blind faith in him, carrying out the mission in the most flawless way possible.

They didn’t know the dark secrets behind the Sovereigns’ directives—they didn’t know that, in the end, those Missions served to devour and eradicate worlds.

Even so, they were perceptive enough to realize that exterminating the natives was morally abhorrent and that the mission’s purpose concealed something sinister. After all, otherwise, the Will of Heaven of that world wouldn’t have moved heaven and earth to stop them.

They trusted that Priam was aware of all this. If he had brought them into the sect and sent them on that mission without any major warnings, it was because the mission needed to be completed.

Possibly, completing this mission wouldn’t damage that world too severely. It would merely inflict heavy damage, paving the way for what was to come. As for the resources they would gain from completing it, those would be important in the present.

After reflecting for a few seconds, Priam spoke in an indifferent tone. "Don’t worry about their future or the future of their factions. I’ll resolve this problem personally. The 11th branch will probably gain another army of Sages."

After saying those words, Priam turned around and entered the teleportation inscription array alongside Dandara. He activated his emblem, and both disappeared in a beam of light.

Mishnar remained standing there, her expression frozen in utter astonishment.

...

The headquarters of Meien’s and Suien’s factions were practically right next to each other, separated by a distance of just a few kilometers.

As soon as Priam and Dandara appeared at the location, they immediately noticed a turbulent, dense aura emanating from every direction.

It was as if thousands of Mages had just advanced to the elemental level of a certain Rank and had absolutely no control over the new energy inhabiting their bodies.

The energy flowed chaotically from their bodies, making the atmosphere heavy and unstable. Normally, this state didn’t last long, since even at the elemental level, a Mage quickly learned to contain it. However... everyone there was at Level 9 of the Mage Master Rank.

This demonstrated just how terrifying and unstable the power currently flowing through their veins truly was.

Mishnar had been absolutely right: if nothing was done, those people would be condemned to never advance to another Rank for the rest of their lives. In fact, their power levels would naturally tend to decline over time, since that was the only way their bodies could achieve even a minimal degree of stability.

Priam walked slowly and steadily toward one of the central mountains.

He didn’t need to utter a single word. At the entrance to the complex, Meien suddenly appeared, looking flustered and breathless.

Shortly afterward, a powerful gust of wind swept across the skies from the horizon, bringing Suien with it.

The two had sensed his arrival and rushed desperately toward Priam. Their faces looked like dams on the verge of bursting under the weight of emotions they had kept bottled up for years.

Priam took a deep breath, feeling the double impact against his chest. The two embraced him with all their strength, burying their faces against him.

Just behind them, Dandara watched the scene, her gaze filled with deep emotion.

After all, both of them had spent nearly twenty years on those hostile battlefields, enduring crushing pressure day after day and bearing the lonely burden of every decision they made.

Physically, the two still looked exactly as they had before. However, a single attentive glance was enough to reveal how thoroughly they had matured.

They were no longer merely talented young women—they were now truly mature women, tempered by the pressures of life. They had endured their own personal hell, facing death head-on on multiple occasions, yet they had overcome every trial and emerged victorious.

After embracing him for several long seconds, they pulled away slightly and forced their emotions to settle.

Priam looked at them and let out a heavy sigh.

They had truly suffered this time. If it had been entirely up to him, he would have let them live peaceful, protected lives as princesses, never having to know pain or bear the burden of sacrifice. However, they were the ones who had chosen to fight and support him at all costs. Because of that, facing trials of this magnitude had become inevitable.

"I’m proud of you..." he murmured, looking deep into their eyes. At those words, the two women’s firm facades crumbled, and they burst into tears once again.

He let out a soft laugh. "When you’re with family, you never need to hold anything back. Everyone has already settled into the inner sect, and our clan has officially begun its rebirth. As for you two, you’ll have to wait a little longer to see them again—until you officially become inner disciples."

Both nodded vigorously, wiping away their tears.

Priam flashed a faint smile. "Let’s deal with the main issue first. Gather all your soldiers."

"Yes!" they replied in unison, clenching their fists with fierce determination.

Dandara smiled. The twins had now become true warrior women, and they even exuded an imposing aura remarkably similar to Priam’s.