Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 397: The Natural Disaster!

A/N: Extra Chapter for the castle

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Through the Jungle of Pines, a dense forest of towering pine trees that lay along the path between the Duchy of Ironvale and the Duchy of Thornwall, the rumbling of countless marching steps echoed throughout the woods. Leaves trembled upon the branches, and flocks of birds burst into the sky as an army of seven hundred thousand soldiers from House Ironvale marched through the forest.

"I always hate this damn forest," Astrid muttered while riding at the front of the massive army along with his two personal knights. "If not for the Emperor’s wish to not harm nature, I would have cut down this whole forest. This place gives me the creeps."

"Suppress your discomfort for a few more hours, Duke," said the knight beside him. "We will soon reach the open plains."

"Tsk, let’s increase the pace," Astrid ordered, tightening the reins of his horse.

As his horse sped up, one of the knights turned and commanded in a booming voice,

"Move faster!"

The army increased its pace to match their commander, and the entire forest began shaking from the march of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Two hours later.

"Hahaha! I finally crossed the damn fore—"

Astrid’s words stopped mid sentence as a rain of Soulforce laced arrows crashed down upon him.

Thanks to his quick senses, he immediately covered himself behind his shield. However, his army behind him could not react as quickly.

Chaos erupted. Screams echoed and blood splattered as the arrows began piercing through the soldiers of House Ironvale.

"Who dares ambush us?" Astrid muttered, rising from the ground. He had fallen when the arrows struck down his horse.

Before him, five kilometres away, stood an army of thousands of disciples wearing silken robes and carrying a flag that bore the patterns of colossal mountains.

"Army of the Banes?" Astrid frowned in confusion. "Did they abandon their siege on House Thornwall and come here to ambush us?"

Without allowing his army to organise themselves, the soldiers at the forefront of the Banes army unleashed another storm of arrows upon them.

"What the hell? They are shooting arrows from that distance?" Astrid gasped in shock.

Turning to his army, he commanded, "Take cover. Either raise your shields or hide behind the trees. We are under attack!"

His commanding tone somewhat calmed the chaos within the army and, as the veteran soldiers they were, they instantly raised their shields or took cover behind the pine trees to protect themselves.

However, the arrows were strangely powerful. They pierced through shields and even the thick bark of the trees before striking the soldiers and killing them on the spot.

"No way mere soldiers possess such strength," Astrid muttered, slicing off incoming arrows with a swing of his blade.

His eyes narrowed at the enemy army, and only then did he realise what was happening.

A man with light green hair stood at the front with an amused smile, increasing the trajectory and lethality of the arrows by adding the wind element to them.

There was only one person who could control thousands of arrows with such ease.

"Barbatos El Windbane!" Astrid shouted in fury, unleashing his tremendous Soulforce. A wall of energy materialised before him, blocking the incoming arrows.

"Do you think you fools can defeat House Ironvale with such a pitiful army?" Astrid’s voice, laced with Soulforce, echoed across the open ground. "I will make you regret ambushing us!"

Now that the barrage of arrows was blocked, his massive army quickly organised itself.

Forming an arc formation, the army of House Ironvale rushed forward.

However, the Banes army remained strangely calm even even when a massive army ten times its size charged toward them.

"Something isn’t right," Astrid’s instincts told him.

The moment the entire army emerged from the Jungle of Pines, the temperature suddenly dropped terrifyingly.

Condensed breath escaped Astrid’s mouth and everything fell into eerie silence.

"Wh what is happening—"

His words stopped mid sentence as the catastrophe before him came into view.

The weather had turned completely upside down. The ground beneath him had turned white with a thick sheet of ice covering it. The seven hundred thousand veteran soldiers of House Ironvale had been completely frozen, turned into statues of ice, their posture still that of marching forward, revealing that they did not even realise they had been frozen.

Chills surged through his body as he slowly raised his eyes to the sky, where a man with long white hair and pale skin stood, appearing like a deity descended from the heavens.

"De Demi God Aure—"

Before he could complete his words, his blood ran cold and a thick sheet of ice completely covered him.

---

"We need to hurry!" Erik shouted, tightening the reins of his horse again and again to make it run faster.

His breath was ragged and his body was uncontrollably sweating from the ominous premonition surging within him.

Behind him, Brandon and the army of House Thornwall rushed at full speed toward the path leading to House Ironvale.

"Calm down, Lord Erik," Brandon said, matching his pace. "Even if the Banes targeted the reinforcements from your house, they still will not be able to do anything to an army of seven hundred thousands. They will be crushed by the armies from both sides."

"Those people are not fools, Duke Brandon," Erik snapped. "Aurelion and Taranis did not appear in the battle. Their target must have been our army from the beginning!"

"Isn’t he the one who said they were animals from the mountains," Brandon scoffed inwardly.

Now that his own house was being targeted, Erik did not seem as nonchalant and amused as he had been before. The sight certainly brought Brandon some satisfaction, yet he was still far from pleased.

It would be disastrous if the Banes managed to claim the Duchy of Ironvale. The supply of war machines, weapons, and armour all came from House Ironvale, not to mention the ultimate weapon that only House Ironvale possessed.

Madam Doom.

The Banes must not get their hands on that catastrophic weapon at any cost.

After five hours of relentless marching, the army led by Brandon finally reached the open ground outside the Jungle of Pines.

"Wh-what is this disaster?" Erik murmured, his eyes widening in horror.

In the scorching heat of the summer of the central plains, the temperature of the area had been completely reversed.

Cold winds flowed through the air. Snow fell from the sky. And across the land, thousands of statues stood frozen.

The army of House Ironvale.

It was as if the laws of nature themselves had been altered in that place.

Erik dismounted his horse and fell to his knees in horror at the catastrophe before him.

"Nooooooo!!!!!!!"