Legacy of the Dark Sage

Lucian observed several projections reflected on the semi-transparent walls inside the Palace of the King's highest tower. His facial expression remained blank, but his eyes gleamed with such intensity, suggesting his deep concentration while watching all the projections.

The projections showed different scenes around the Palace of the King, with several showing the central hall where the portals to the temporary residences were.

Initially, each residence included a hidden surveillance array. However, the surveillance formula could not adjust to the formation because of the complexity of imprinting the portals with specific magic signatures to grant them access to the residence and the transportation array in the central hall. In the end, Lucian removed that formula and instead placed several surveillance arrays in the central hall and other accessible areas in the palace.

The limited accessible areas in the palace allowed Lucian to easily view the projections from all the surveillance arrays alone.

It was just as well since Lucian preferred to view them alone. Only a handful of his clan executives were aware of those surveillance arrays, and he instructed them not to say a word about it.

Not that it mattered much.

All attendees of the Inter-Clan Conference were leaders and representatives of their respective clans and tribes. They definitely anticipated surveillance arrays scattered throughout the venue— with some visible but mostly concealed.

Most of the attendees had already returned to their temporary residences, with only a few gathered in the central hall. They were mostly the last ones who left the common area and had yet to conclude their business deals between their clans.

Lucian scanned the projections on the wall and checked on other accessible palace areas. Apart from Solis Clan members, who ensured everything was in place for tomorrow's conference, Lucian did not find anyone suspicious.

A male's voice came through the communication device on the only non-transparent side of the wall leading to the room's entrance and exit.

"Speak."

<<As you requested, we have confirmed that none of the Blade Dancer Clan and Crepuscule Clan have come.>>

"..." Lucian furrowed his brows at the news. He did expect it. However, being told of it was still a different matter. This was because he knew there were survivors among them.

Take the Blade Dancer Clan, for example. When Lucian visited them, he knew a few of their members were absent. They were either outside the plane and on a mission or doing an errand for the clan. One good example of the former was Raelia, who joined Lucian's Elite because it was one of the Blade Dancer Clan's responsibilities to send their most talented mage to serve him.

When Lucian

Accidentally

Destroyed the Blade Dancer Clan, he chose silence to address the matter. He never spoke of it with Raelia, even when he gathered the Elites, which the latter was part of, and ordered them to search for the Void Master's trace. Of course, Lucian anticipated that she would learn of the truth eventually because he did not believe there were no survivors after their plane was destroyed.

Lucian believed he had only damaged part of the plane; its destruction occurred later, allowing the surviving members of the Blade Dancer Clan enough time to escape before their clan faced total extinction.

Considering this, Lucian expected the surviving Blade Dancer Clan members to contact Raelia. He could only guess what they wanted from her, but among those was definitely to lead their clan.

But that did not happen. Or at least, as far as Lucian was aware of.

Instead, Raelia stayed loyal to him until she disappeared over a month ago.

Based on Deus's and Midnight's reports, the plane Raelia was the last scene showed signs of battle. Her magic trace was there, but unfortunately, they could not find its trace. She was definitely attacked by something or

Someone

. And whoever it was was strong enough to incapacitate or even kill her.

Anyway, Lucian admitted it was unfortunate to lose Raelia. Alone, she could rival even Deus's army of automatons. Such destructive combat power was only possible if they were dragons. Because of this, Raelia was considered Ames's rival.

Nevertheless, Lucian did not mind losing Raelia as long as she died. If it turned out that she was alive and was taken by others, he would rather kill her than have her join them.

Why would he kill her without trying to take her back? Obviously, the fact that she decided to stay among those who took her once was enough for him to consider her a traitor.

Putting the Blade Dancer and Raelia aside and focusing on the Crepuscule Clan's matter, Lucian felt even more irksome.

Unlike the Blade Dancer Clan, the Crepuscule Clan offered many benefits to the Solis Clan. From high-quality alchemy supplies, potions, and pills to reliable, in-depth analysis of different intel on other clans and tribes.

Lucian expected to lose support after his fallout with Estrid, yet he believed he could hold onto their backing once Estrid was out of the way. He was aware of the internal strife within the Crepuscule Clan. Initially, Lucian planned to eliminate Estrid and install the presumed next leader in her stead. However, before this plan, Estrid's body was taken, and Lucian was unable to locate any remaining he could executing members of the Crepuscule Clan.

Furthermore, if the mage that took Estrid found the first, and that mage did, in fact, support the Void Master, wouldn't that mean the latter would take control of the Crepuscule Clan's resources?

These were only speculations, but it would be a headache if it happened.

One of the reasons Lucian called for the Inter-Clan Conference was to force them out. At the very least, he was confident that the Blade Dancer Clan would fear his wrath if they did not obey his order.

Lucian might not be able to find them at the moment, but it would only be a matter of time before he did.

Both clans should be aware of it, and if they were wise enough, they should have reached out as soon as possible.

<<Would you like us to send a decree regarding their absence?>>

"...Leave it for now."

<<Understood.>>

"What about

Them

? Have they arrived?"

<<Yes. They are on stand-by outside. Their location has also been hidden as per your instructions.>>

"Good. Tell them to start patrolling the area."

<<Yes, Your Majesty.>>

After a few seconds, Lucian sensed the executive was still connected and sighed.

"What else do you want to report?"

<<...It's about Deus's generals...>>

"Are they still asking about him?"

<<Yes.>>

"What part of 'he is missing' do they not understand?"

<<...They said... they insisted they lost his signature and wanted a detailed account of what happened leading to his disappearance.>>

Lucian frowned and said, "Who do they think they are to demand something from me?"

<<Shall I arrange for Midnight to deal with them?>>

"She is still useless. Just ignore them."

<<Understood.>>

"Leave."

<<As you wish, Your Majesty.>>

The communication device clicked, confirming the executive ended the call.

Lucian fell into contemplation after being reminded that three of his promising Elite members were either missing or useless. Losing them was unfortunate. However, it was not like they would be missed. It was just that their combat power and abilities were handy that Lucian liked them.

'Whatever. If the rest of the Elite cannot handle their task, then I'll wake those guys.'

The guys he referred to were called Sentinels and were considered his

Children

. Obviously, calling them that was only figuratively speaking since they were created from his blood and energy. And honestly, he would not force them to hibernate if not for the responsibility he and the rest of the mages in the Higher Realm had to preserve the balance of their realm.

'Well... the Fates seemed to have granted me more leeway in using my authority these days. I suppose the appearance of the Void Master gave them the idea that imposing their influence on me would not be favorable for them.'

With this in mind, Lucian resumed observing the projections.

*

The Inter-Clan Conference's first agenda started early the next day. All leaders and representatives gathered in the Grand Auditorium, located at the north end of the Palace of the King.

The Grand Auditorium was a connecting building on the north. From the outside, its size did not seem big enough to accommodate all attendees. However, the inside was more spacious than expected and had no problem fitting everyone.

The first agenda of the conference was a forum. During this time, each faction would take turns reporting their affairs and projects. After that, the clans highlighted on each faction's reports would be given time to come up and talk about their clan's current activities and research.

If Lucian found their research fascinating, they could be allowed more time to elaborate on it and even demonstrate its application. The Crepuscule Clan was granted this opportunity in the previous conference, and Estrid showcased her new potion.

Basically, the first agenda mainly focused on getting on the good side of The Emperor.

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