Chapter 1239 - Taming the Old World - Perspective

Today, however, would merely leave the ticking clock resting at four days and sixteen hours.

They had to wait until tomorrow to force the margin to five days and officially finalize the marching orders. The strike force was slated to be big this time around, eclipsing any of their previous elite deployments.

But that heavy mobilization inherently meant leaving the capital's defensive perimeter significantly understaffed and highly vulnerable during the siege.

Yet they had proactively implemented severe logistical precautions.

They had successfully convinced almost the entire civilian populace to aggressively consolidate within the absolute center of the city, condensing the human targets as much as physically possible to drastically shrink the radius the remaining guards needed to protect. If Selthia attempted to exploit the absence of the elite strike force by launching a coordinated assault on the capital instead of getting her own sovereign dragon, she would crash into a significantly smaller, hyper-dense defensive ring that was exponentially easier to hold with limited personnel.

It would undeniably be a miserable experience. The citizens would be severely cramped for one or two days, heavily crowded in the central plazas, forced to sleep wherever they could find a square meter of stone.

Yet it was the absolute minimum sacrifice they could contribute when the overarching survival of humanity hung in the balance. Absolutely no one raised a genuine complaint. After the terrified populace learned that the Vanguard had literally watched half the Yino wall collapse and a five-headed corrupted Hydra physically ram the royal castle, a few days of physical discomfort was a toll the citizens paid with overwhelming gratitude.

♢♢♢♢

Ren finally concluded his architectural duties today, successfully locking the countdown at four days and sixteen hours, leaving his vessel completely exhausted and practically drained of ether.

He slowly stepped away from the ringing adamantium, breathing through the familiar, bone-deep fatigue, and mentally confirmed that his obligations for the day were officially complete. The mana was spent, the apocalyptic timer was safely extended, and the logistical preparations for the march were fully in motion. It had been an incredibly productive cycle.

"I am going to visit my parents," he informed the girls nearby. "It has been days since I..."

"Hold on." Larissa smoothly stepped forward, cutting him off. "Before you do that. I needed to ask you for a favor."

Ren blinked, studying her expression.

"And I will personally escort you flying to see your parents immediately afterward," she added quickly, her tone perfectly measured. "It is nothing major. I simply... wanted to discuss a private matter with you."

Ren instantly registered a glaring awkwardness in the atmosphere. Luna and Liora, standing quietly just behind Larissa, offered perfectly synchronized nods, radiating the unmistakable coordination of a unit executing a pre-rehearsed maneuver. This was absolutely not an impromptu request…

The three of them had clearly held a clandestine meeting, hammered out a unified strategy, and officially designated Larissa as the primary operative to spring the trap.

"Exactly what are you three plotting?" Ren asked, his eyes narrowing in deep suspicion.

"Nothing at all," Luna replied, her voice radiating an entirely unconvincing amount of serene calm.

"Things aren't always traps," Liora added unhelpfully, making the situation significantly more alarming at the mention of traps.

Ren let out a long, defeated sigh. He knew from extensive, agonizing personal experience that he possessed absolutely zero chance of winning an engagement when all three of his fiancées were operating in flawless sync.

"Fine," he surrendered gracefully. "Where exactly are we going?"

Larissa offered a brilliant, highly satisfied smile, clearly pleased that he hadn't mounted a futile resistance.

"To the castle," she declared. "I will lead the way."

And without offering a single shred of further exposition, she turned and began guiding him across the courtyard, leaving Ren with an intense, lingering curiosity while the other two women exchanged a deeply conspiratorial glance that promised absolutely nothing peaceful.

♢♢♢♢

Larissa guided him through the sprawling corridors of the royal castle, with the other two beautiful women following closely behind, turning eyes all around.

Ren desperately attempted to extract their plan along the way, failing entirely.

Larissa expertly dodged his interrogations with flawlessly empty answers; Luna walked with that highly suspicious, serene calm she always deployed when actively concealing a chaotic mind; and Liora occasionally let a faint smile slip, confirming that Ren was the only person in the formation completely blind to their destination.

"Does this concern my left arm?" Ren probed cautiously. "Because if it is about the remaining crystal, I can promise you that the second we eliminate the last dragon..."

"It is not solely about your arm," Larissa replied smoothly.

"Not solely? So it is definitively a factor?"

"It is a factor among many variables."

Ren completely abandoned his deductive efforts. Pitted against the three of them operating in flawless coordination, his highly analytical mind possessed zero tactical advantage.

♢♢♢♢

They arrived before a set of colossal double doors, and Larissa pushed them wide open.

It was the royal throne room.

A massive, cavernous space boasting impossibly high ceilings, supported by towering pillars that vanished into the upper shadows, flanked by sprawling stained-glass windows that allowed the afternoon light to pour in through long, geometric strips. And resting at the absolute far end, elevated upon a marble dais, sat the throne itself.

An Empty Seat…

Entirely empty.

It sat completely alone in the center of all that grandeur, silently waiting for a ruler who simply never arrived.

Ren halted at the threshold, genuinely surprised despite his usual vigilance. The atmospheric pressure of the chamber was fundamentally different from the rest of the castle. It felt incredibly heavy, saturated with a historical importance that prickled uncomfortably against his skin.

"Come here," Larissa commanded, guiding him directly toward the elevated dais.

And then, to his profound shock, they physically forced him to sit upon the royal seat.

Ren awkwardly shifted his weight after several failed attempts to refuse the idea, feeling intensely uncomfortable resting on a piece of furniture that did not belong to him.