Rivers of the Night-Chapter 222: Horns

There was a calmness to Theron's smile that seemed to completely ignore the fact that the entire capital was on fire because of him. Even staring at him now, Dean Pennel couldn't quite believe what she was seeing at all.

Unlike the other families that had been distracted by Theron's schemes, she had gone personally to see what happened. While there was no way for her to confirm with 100% certainty that it was, indeed, Theron, what she did know was that it was most certainly just a single Water Mancer that acted back then.

There was no second person there that night.

Now whether that person was Theron, or if Theron was oblivious to it all and just drifted off into the distance, unknowing of the dangers that lay to waste behind him…

Dean Pennel shook her head. Who would even believe that nonsense?

After a long while, the Dean finally exhaled a breath.

"Child… you really know how to surprise an old woman."

"Surprise?" Theron blinked in confusion. "Didn't you say I had to represent the First Years?"

Seeing the genuine innocence and confusion on Theron's face, the old Dean almost wanted to throw her cup of tea at his head. Who was going to believe that nonsense?

"Tell me. How are you so powerful?" she got straight to the point.

"Powerful? Do you mean defeating those academy disciples? I don't think it was very impressive. They're not very strong."

Dean Pennel's lip twitched. "I—."

She was about to speak when the blaring sound of horns shook the windows behind them.

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With an abrupt movement, she violently stood to her feet, nearly shattering the desk to pieces. The woman suddenly had a vigor to her now that didn't seem possible given her slender and delicate frame.

With an abrupt push, the desk that was teetering on the edge really did shatter this time, and Theron had to leap back and over his chair to avoid thighs filled with splinters.

He raised an internal eyebrow, wondering what was wrong with this old woman. But he couldn't even react to her suddenly appearing in front of him, grabbing his shoulder, and then vanishing in a puff of darkness.

…

The horns sounded over the Imperial Capital. It wasn't just windows shaking, but even buildings themselves. Had most of the citizens of the capital not been decent cultivators or benefiting from Mana protections that came from their homes or otherwise, it was certain that many of them would have died from the booming sound of the horns alone.

They were truly that loud.

These horns rarely sounded, and they didn't foretell an enemy attack, but rather the return of allies. Most accurately, the return of the Northern Ebonstone Army led by the strongest General of their Empire.

General Pennel.

…

With a surging darkness, Theron stumbled a bit as he appeared on the city walls. By his side, the old Dean was standing, looking out into the distance as though she didn't quite trust her ears at all.

She peered forward, squinting as though she wasn't a powerhouse who could sense dozens of kilometers away with her Third Eye alone, let alone the range of her sight.

Theron had read about these horns before. But much like a lot of other things in his life, he had never experienced them personally. Because of that, he actually wasn't sure what was happening. This event wasn't the only one that required horns, and there were two other matters that could happen that would warrant these level of horns.

However, when he saw that sea of black in the distance, and the flags torn and caked in blood rising up to the skies, he understood.

One of the two legendary Legions of the Empire had returned.

When the torn flags got close enough that he could make out the symbols beneath the rips and blood, he knew it was the Northern Army.

Theron looked toward Dean Pennel and seemed to understand something. Only at that point did he well and truly relax.

One after another, powerful figures began to appear on the walls. Most of them used the formations that were present, and it was then Theron noticed that there were actually clear regions and spaces for each one of them.

It was a matter of respect. These armies spent most, often even years away on the frontline. In fact, as far as Theron knew, the last time the Northern Ebonstone Army had returned was easily over six years ago.

Coming to greet their return personally was the least these nobles, who benefited from the peace they brought, could do.

However, Theron couldn't help but notice that even as the Northern Ebonstone Army came to a slow stop beneath the tall city walls, there were still several figures missing—the largest standout of which being the Grand Duke Zhen Clan.

'Interesting.'

From the missing parties, Theron could deduce that many of them had ties to the Thistles. All Noble Clans, including the Thistles, had representation in the Imperial Capital.

But… the Zhen Clan was almost certainly not on the Thistles' side. After all, they would have worked together with the Imperial Clan and the Pennels to subdue and suppress the Thistles all those years back.

That meant that this represented another sort of rift.

The only "faction" that should have the right to not appear at all was the Imperial Clan themselves. They would greet the heads of the armies in the Palace later today.

Everyone else, though… had to be here.

Theron took some note of this. He wondered if this was because of his actions or not. If it was, then it would be a bit troublesome for him in the future. Those three powerhouses weren't the only ones that he would have to deal with.

BOOM!

There was a sudden flash of darkness in Theron's eyes, and a behemoth of a man had appeared before him. His eyes were shrouded by darkness, his helm hardly covering the wild mane of black hair that fell almost heavily to his shoulders and down his back.

Bits and pieces of flesh still clung to his armor, and there was a dense scent of blood wafting from him that could either make one faint or vomit.

The mouth of the man opened, his entire being focused on Dean Pennel. But before he could speak, he was distracted.

First came a flash from the Zhen Clan's formation, and then came his gaze toward Theron.

General Pennel seemed to have forgotten everything but the little boy he peered down on from above.