Chapter 995: Alternate Timeline: Morvain Wolf (1)

Missile defense system – V (bound)

Grade: Diamond (max: God)

Weapon type: Mounted

Missile type: X-1, X-2, X-3

Launchers: 3 (Type-1, Type-2, Type-3)

Number of missiles per launcher: 20

Missile length: 3 meters

Missile weight: 50 kg (X-1), 90 kg (X-2), 160 kg (X-3)

Warhead type: Fragmentation

Max. Range of fire: 120 km (100% accuracy)

Absolute range: 200 km (20% accuracy)

Max. Speed of missile: mach 3.8

Target lock: Yes (only ether attacks)

Blast radius: 20 meters (X-1), 50 meters (X-2), 130 meters (X-3)

Storage chamber: Yes

Description: A missile defense system that can be used as an offense or defense, according to the situation. Moving at supersonic speed, X-3 could potentially obliterate all targets below 7-star rank in a blink of an eye.

Upgrade >>> 840,000 credits.

SKILLS:

Active:

Single-target Ether missile: Shoot a concentrated beam of ether energy from one of the launchers at different attack powers. Cost: (Type-1: 100k EP, Type-2: 1m EP, Type-3: 10m EP)

Multi-target ether missile: Shoot 20 concentrated beams of ether energy from one of the launchers at once with each containing 120% attack power of the user. Cost: 30% ether energy.

All-out Attack: Bombard the enemies with the 60 energy attacks from all of the launchers at the same with an attack power of 200% of the user (max stat-9.9). Cost: 50% of maximum ether energy. CD: 0 seconds

Invincible dome: Create an invincible barrier with a maximum radius of 50 meters and block all types of attacks as long as they don’t exceed stat 7.5. Cost: 10% of maximum ether energy per second. CD: 0 seconds

Passive:

Auto attack (Deactivated): When the defensive mode is switched on, the missile defense system will automatically use the missiles in the storage chamber and intercept all types of attacks that are aimed at its owner. Cost: none. CD: 0 seconds.

Kiara slowly exhaled.

A satisfied smile finally appeared on her face.

"Worth every single credit."

The more she analyzed the details, the more dangerous possibilities surfaced within her mind.

Long-range bombardment.

Automated defense.

Area denial.

Mass destruction.

And most importantly...

Complete anonymity.

"If I place this thing on the tallest peak once the Desmont bandits begin their war... I can bombard the battlefield from over a hundred kilometers away."

"With Juren nearby, no one would dare approach the location. And because the attacks are pure ether-based, not missiles... No one would even trace the strikes back to me."

The plan instantly began taking shape within her head like a giant war board unfolding piece by piece.

"With this... I can eliminate the strongest enemies from afar while Prince Icarus handles the battlefield."

Then her thoughts shifted toward ammunition production.

"So far, only twenty-five thousand lead rounds were completed."

"Still not enough."

"But the 72k tungsten rounds I saved should allow Prince Icarus to survive until I remove the true monsters from the battlefield."

Her eyes slowly narrowed.

"Now the hidden quest is completed. The next priority is the second spirit path."

Then another matter surfaced in her mind.

The upcoming expo.

Kiara tapped her fingers lightly against the metal wall beside her seat while organizing future plans.

"The expo needs influential guests. If foreign kingdoms participate, the prestige increases immediately."

"Hm..."

"Ares Frost should be useful for dragging Solaria into this."

"And Prime Minister Philip from Celestra will drag Celestra’s funds along..."

A faint smile appeared.

"Come to think of it, I remember I had a communication talisman to connect to Ares Frost. Sending a formal invitation would be annoying. I will just message him directly. As for Celestra, Noah can go there and deliver the invitation for me."

Then her thoughts moved toward the major noble houses and martial clans.

Some hated her.

Some feared her.

Some wanted her dead.

But none of that truly mattered.

Because money had always possessed one terrifying ability.

It could force enemies to sit at the same table while pretending to smile.

"Business is business."

"As long as gold keeps flowing, I can tolerate a few unpleasant faces."

"And if anyone attempts something foolish during the expo..."

Kiara’s eyes quietly flickered.

"I still have the Peak Potion."

After sending a message to Zion about her return, Kiara leaned back against the seat and finally closed her eyes while Noah calmly piloted the helicopter through the skies.

***

House Wolf Compound, Northern Wolf Duchy.

The Heaven Pavilion stood at the center of sprawling gardens covered in emerald grass, flowing streams, and towering ancient trees whose branches stretched like giant canopies above the stone pathways below.

Normally, this place served as the heart of political discussions within House Wolf.

The structure resembled an imperial courtroom in many ways, except everything here belonged solely to House Wolf.

And unlike ordinary Noble Houses... House Wolf possessed terrifying strength.

The house comprised about twenty-seven elders, where every single one was a 6-star rank.

Three Grand Elders were standing proudly at 7-star rank, with one among them having even reached the peak stage. Last but not least, the House Wolf’s guardian beast was the Electral Direwolf, a 7-star Beast King of lightning attribute.

Such overwhelming strength was precisely why House Wolf remained the strongest noble house within the Phoenix Empire. In fact, their influence was so strong that historically, almost every Emperor of the Phoenix Dynasty had the Empress from the House Wolf only.

So, whatever happens in House Wolf affects the Imperial Palace, too.

And because of the powerful strength and too many elders, usually, meetings inside the Heaven Pavilion lasted endlessly. After all, every elder represented different interests, different factions, and different ambitions.

Arguments frequently erupted like storms.

But today...

Silence ruled the hall.

Heavy silence.

Even the three mighty Grand Elders remained seated quietly without speaking.

Because all eyes inside the Heaven Pavilion were focused upon a single young man, who appeared to be only in his twenties.

One of his eyes remained covered beneath a dark patch.

Yet despite his youth, the moment he walked into the pavilion, no elder dared question him.

No one stopped him.

No one objected.

The young man calmly ascended the elevated platform and seated himself directly upon the House Lord’s chair.

Only after he sat down did the elders finally begin taking their own seats one after another.

The atmosphere felt strange.

Tense like wolves lowering their heads before the Alpha.

Then the young man slowly leaned back against the chair with a faint smile curved upon his lips.

The smile was not warm.

Not gentle either.

But sharp like a blade hidden beneath silk.

"Let us begin."

Morvain Wolf was born carrying two bloodlines that never truly accepted one another.

On one side stood the fallen royal blood of the Leon Empire through his father, Prince Cassius Leon.

On the other stood the proud lineage of House Wolf through his mother, Barbara Wolf, the former heiress whose brilliance once caused countless young geniuses across the Phoenix Empire to lower their heads in defeat.

Yet fate had treated both of them like chess pieces abandoned midway through a game.

His father died first.

Assassinated nearly three decades ago by the very royal guard sworn to protect him.

And because Morvain Wolf had been far too young at the time, the image of his father inside his memories was no more than scattered fragments without shape or warmth.

A pair of hands.

A vague laugh.

A robe fluttering beneath moonlight.

Nothing more.

His mother became his entire world afterward.

But even she was never truly accepted by House Wolf after giving birth to him.

The House feared the child.

Some feared his strange left eye.

Some feared the unnatural calmness he displayed even as a toddler.

Some feared the disasters that began occurring across the surrounding regions after his birth.

Floods.

Lightning storms.

Beast tides.

Droughts.

And because fear always seeks a shape to blame, the fellow members of the house eventually began calling him devil spawn behind closed doors.

If the Seventh Prince of the Leon Empire had still been alive, perhaps their lives might have unfolded differently.

But Emperor Leon never accepted Barbara Wolf as his daughter-in-law.

The prince had married her without royal approval during one of his journeys, choosing love over imperial law.

And emperors rarely forgave such things.

Thus, House Wolf quietly pushed the mother and son far away from the center of House affairs.

The current House head at the time, Hildegard Wolf, arranged for them to live in the Southern Wolf Duchy, a region plagued by frequent dungeon breaks and endless instability.

It was exile wrapped in silk.

A punishment disguised as responsibility.

Then came the night everything changed forever.

Morvain Wolf had just turned twelve.

That very night, several adventurers abducted him for reasons still unknown to this day.

His mother chased after them without hesitation.

That pursuit eventually led them toward the Dungeon of Baltrow.

And somewhere within that cursed place...

Barbara Wolf died.

Whether she fell to a beast or to human greed, nobody ever learned the truth.

But one thing became certain afterward.

The grief inside Morvain Wolf twisted into power.

Terrifying power.

The House elders immediately sensed it.

And fearing what the child might become, they forced him into a soul oath beneath the Heavens themselves, binding him to continue guarding the dungeon exactly as his mother once had.

In exchange, they granted him authority over the Southern Wolf Duchy after he reached adulthood.

A cage made of titles.

A leash forged from duty.

And for years... Morvain Wolf endured it silently.

Then, three years after becoming governor, the so-called invincible dungeon was finally conquered.

The chains binding him snapped apart.

And when he returned to House Wolf afterward...

He returned stronger than all three Grand Elders combined.