Chapter 64 Council Meeting

Chapter 64: 64 Council Meeting

64 Council Meeting

At the center of the room stood a long stone table, and at its head sat Ariselle, the Queen of the Medusas.

Around her were the four elders of the council.

Vaelra remained with her arms crossed, her beautiful face rigid and her eyes attentive to every person present. She was the same elder who had harshly questioned Seraphina’s promise when Yun Che had first arrived in the territory.

Beside her sat Nysara, quieter and more calculating. Her gaze constantly passed over the information brought by the scouts, as if she were turning every word into numbers and possibilities.

Thesira maintained a military posture. She sat upright, her hands resting on the table and her eyes fixed on the entrance.

Mirevra was the calmest of the four. She did not display the same hostility as Vaelra, but she observed everything with an almost uncomfortable level of attention.

According to the system, all five were at the tenth stage of Profound Nascent, the same realm and level as Lian Yue.

On the other side of the table were the representatives of the Profound Flower Sect who had participated in the previous meeting.

Lian Yue.

Zhao Ming.

Guo Han.

Su Meilin.

Chen Ruyue.

Luo Xin was not among them.

Her absence was impossible to ignore. Yun Che remained among the cultivators, all of them wanting to know what had happened to the masked man. Had he managed to accomplish what all of them had failed to do? Or had he also been disqualified?

Everyone stared intently at the masked man. Perhaps he, too, had failed the final test, but regardless, this was neither the time nor the place to ask about it. There were problems that required their attention.

Yun Che did not seek a prominent position at the table. He simply chose a quiet seat.

He showed no intention of leading the discussion.

He merely sat in silence, wearing his white mask and the black robes from before, which revealed nothing about his origins.

To everyone in the room, he remained nothing more than the masked necromancer who had participated in the expedition. Yun Che preferred that everything about him remain exactly that way.

Ariselle raised her eyes and swept them over the gathered crowd for several seconds. Only then did she speak.

"Before we discuss any strategy, we need to understand exactly what we have lost."

Her voice was firm, but her exhaustion could be heard in the way she breathed between sentences.

"Our territory has suffered severe damage. Some of the defensive formations have been destroyed. Our reserves and spiritual crystals have decreased considerably, and several storage facilities were damaged during the battles."

Elder Nysara slowly tightened her fingers against the table. Ariselle continued:

"The medicinal herb plantations were also affected. Some can be recovered. Others were completely destroyed."

She paused.

"That means fewer medicines for everyone and a drastic reduction in resources of the same kind."

Elder Mirevra closed her eyes for an instant.

Ariselle continued:

"And the medicines we currently possess are already insufficient to properly treat all the wounded."

The room remained silent. Lian Yue lowered her eyes, while Zhao Ming clenched his fist against his own thigh.

Guo Han remained motionless, but his expression became more serious. Su Meilin watched Ariselle attentively.

Chen Ruyue seemed to be considering the consequences for their medicinal resources.

Ariselle placed both hands on the table.

"Our people number approximately ten thousand Medusas after confirming the casualties suffered in the previous attack, in addition to the losses we suffered outside the mountains."

She looked at each cultivator.

"Currently, around seven thousand still have the ability to fight."

Zhao Ming took a deep breath.

"Seven thousand is still a considerable force."

Nysara immediately replied:

"Not when the enemy possesses more than four times that number."

The hall door opened.

Two Medusa warriors hurried inside. They did not even knock or request an audience with the council and the queen.

Both were covered in dust, and one of them had a deep cut on her arm that had barely received any treatment. The other had clear signs of exhaustion on her face.

They walked toward the table and knelt. Ariselle, however, did not seem particularly concerned about their rude behavior. She merely looked at them.

"You may speak. What is the urgency?"

The first warrior raised her head.

"Reporting to Your Majesty and the council, the Beastmen and Lizardmen are gathering their forces as they march in our direction."

Hearing this, Elder Thesira leaned forward.

"How many are coming?"

The warrior hesitated for a moment before answering, urgency evident in her voice.

"More than thirty thousand are marching at this very moment."

Silence fell over the room. This time, even Vaelra briefly lost her expression of confidence.

Thesira broke the silence.

"More than thirty thousand? How many of them are peak elites, and what are their cultivation realms?"

The second scout answered:

"We identified approximately fifteen peak elite cultivators at the tenth stage of Profound Nascent."

Lian Yue slowly raised her eyes.

Fifteen.

She looked at Ariselle and then at the four elders. The difference was brutal. Ariselle noticed the young woman’s expression.

"When will they arrive if they continue marching at their current speed?"

"According to our estimates, the concentration of their forces will take approximately ten days."

Ten days.

The words seemed to pass through the hall, piercing everyone’s heart simultaneously. Thesira slowly ran a hand along her chin as the serpents in her hair stirred.

"Then we have ten days to prepare a defense against an army of more than thirty thousand."

Nysara corrected her:

"More than thirty thousand combatants."

She looked at Ariselle.

"And numerous beasts are marching with their army. Every one of them is a bloodthirsty beast."

Thesira’s face hardened.

"This changes everything. What madness could this be?"

Vaelra tapped her fingers against the table.

"No."

Everyone looked at her.

"This merely confirms what we already knew."

She looked directly at the representatives of the Profound Flower Sect.

"They did not come to negotiate."

The atmosphere changed. Ariselle then asked:

"How many cultivators do you have at the same stage?"

Nysara answered:

"Only five."

She looked at the queen.

"You and the four of us."

Lian Yue then spoke somewhat reservedly:

"Six."

Vaelra turned her face toward her.

Lian Yue maintained a firm posture.

"I am also at the tenth stage of Profound Nascent, and if I am added to your forces, then there will be six of us."

The elder slowly nodded.

"Yes, that is true."

Thesira calculated mentally.

"Six against fifteen."

She slowly exhaled.

"And seven thousand combatants against more than thirty thousand, in addition to the beasts."

Seeing that no one answered, Guo Han was the first cultivator to speak, breaking the momentary silence.

"That is not a difference that a good defensive formation or strategy can simply ignore, even with the mountains serving as a natural wall."

Thesira looked at him.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Guo Han was not intimidated by the question, despite several of the serpent hairs hissing at him.

"I am saying that I would rather understand the situation before making a decision that involves the lives of my companions or my own."

Zhao Ming frowned.

"What decision do you have in mind?"

Guo Han looked at Ariselle.

"I don’t know if we should remain in this territory under these circumstances."

Ariselle’s expression remained still. Su Meilin intervened before the tension could increase any further.

"The previous agreement did not anticipate a war of this magnitude. Therefore, we must carefully consider whether we should participate in the confrontation."

Her voice was calm but firm.

"We came to help defend the territory and receive controlled access to the Mausoleum of the Great Alchemist, and that is all."