Outside the Sorus estate, the night air was filled with the sound of groans and the rustle of expensive silks as the imperial elite scrambled to their feet.
The transition had been so fast, so physically impossible, that for a long mont, everyone stood there with a baffled look on their faces.
They were the powerhouses of the Aetherion Empire, yet they had been swept away like dust by a "Mythical" youth.
"What just happened? How did we get out here?" a high-ranking noblewoman asked, her tiara hanging crookedly off her head.
Her guards, n who were supposedly masters of space and ti, looked at their own hands in confusion.
They hadn’t felt a spatial jump. They had simply felt a force so absolute that resistance was not an option.
Kael Sorus was the last to stand.
He wiped the blood from his chin, his eyes fixed on the towering gates of his family ho.
His gaze was no longer just cold. It was venomous.
No way was he going down this easily.
He had spent years plotting for this promotion and this inheritance.
But as he looked at the gates, his rage began to twist into sothing else.
A sickening, hungry greed.
That treasure, Kael thought.
He was convinced that the "Big Brother" was nothing without so legendary artifact.
He wanted that power. He wanted everything that boy had brought with him.
"Please help ," Kael said, turning to the Major General and the other nobles.
He let his voice crack, putting on the performance of a lifeti.
"I think they have so kind of forbidden treasures. I don’t want to lose my late father’s last heritage to so common thieves. This isn’t just about . It’s about the safety of the Empire!"
He was fishing for sympathy, and he was using the right bait.
To the nobles, the idea of a lower-realm "bumpkin" owning a treasure that could slap a Brigadier General was an insult to the natural order.
"Don’t worry, Kael," the Major General said.
His voice was calm, but his eyes were narrowed with a sharp, dangerous light.
"Nothing will happen to your inheritance. They have taken action against the wrong people. We will never let so thieves snatch your position in broad daylight. It would be a disgrace to the entire military.",though it was still night.
Kael’s face lit up with a false sense of relief.
The Major General was an Immortal Venerable.
He was a man with deep connections to the Immortal Kings who sat at the peak of the Empire.
Kael believed that no matter how strong that boy’s "treasure" was, it couldn’t possibly be a match for the true power of an Immortal King.
"Thank you, sir," Kael bowed deeply.
"I only wish to serve the Empire and honor my father’s na."
While they were talking, a soft, humming sound echoed through the air.
A transparent, shimring barrier began to manifest, surrounding the entire Sorus estate like a giant glass do.
The Major General saw the barrier forming and didn’t hesitate.
He wanted to test the strength of these "thieves" imdiately.
He dashed forward, his fist glowing with the power of a dying star.
He punched the barrier with all his might.
BOOM!
The ground for miles around shook violently.
A huge crater appeared beneath the Major General’s feet, and the shockwave shattered the windows of nearby mansions.
But when the dust cleared, the barrier was still there.
It didn’t have a single crack. It didn’t even ripple.
The Major General pulled his hand back, his knuckles were white.
He looked at the estate with a newfound sense of dread.
"Who are these people? Your father was just a normal Immortal Venerable, Kael. There is no way he had treasures this powerful. This barrier. It feels like it belongs to a different world."
Kael was also shocked.
He had expected the Major General to shatter the house like glass.
Seeing the barrier hold firm only made the greed in his eyes burn brighter.
He imagined himself holding the remote control to such a shield.
"I am sorry for this poor hospitality," Kael said to the guests, playing the victim until the very end.
"I didn’t know sothing like this would happen."
"Please don’t apologize," the guests replied, though they were backing away from the estate now.
"It is our fault that soone could take over your assets in front of us all. We will support you in the Royal Court."
They said this because they felt humiliated.
Being blown out of a house was a story that would spread through the capital in hours.
They needed these "thieves" dead just to save their own reputations.
"I won’t go down without a fight," Kael said resolutely.
By the next morning, the news had beco a sensation across the entire Empire.
It was the only thing anyone was talking about in the tea houses and the military barracks.
Soone had snatched the assets of a Count.
Soone had slapped a Brigadier General.
How daring. And how foolish.
Soon, this information reached the Royal Court.
The Emperor of Aetherion was not in a good mood.
Ever since he had returned from the Earth, he had felt a constant weight on his chest.
His relationship with Alexander, one of his most powerful and loyal Dukes, had been severed.
He could feel the coldness in the air whenever they were in the sa room.
More importantly, he still had a bad taste in his mouth from the power he had sensed in that youth nad Noah on Earth.
It had made him feel small. A feeling an Emperor should never have to endure.
He was looking for sothing to vent his anger on, and this news of a "rebel" taking over a Count’s estate ca at the perfect mont.
The Emperor sat on his golden throne, looking down at the kneeling, toothless Kael.
"Don’t worry," the Emperor said, his voice echoing through the massive hall.
"The Sorus family has served well for generations. If your assets were snatched forcefully by so provincial thieves, you will get them back. I will not tolerate lawlessness in my capital."
The Emperor looked at his high commander.
"Send a notice. Order the inhabitants of the Sorus estate to present themselves at the Royal Court in twenty-four hours to explain their cris. If they defy the order, send the Imperial Guard to level the building."
"Thank you, your Majesty! Thank you!" Kael cried out, bowing until his forehead hit the floor.
He left the court with a cold, jagged smile on his face.
He could already see Noah and his "Big Brother" kneeling in chains.
Inside the Sorus estate, the atmosphere was completely different.
The shimring barrier Noah had placed made the inside of the grounds feel like a private paradise, disconnected from the chaos of the city.
In the middle of the lush gardens, Rudi was busy flipping steaks on a large, high-tech grill.
The twelve generals were sitting around a long table, laughing and drinking expensive wine from the Count’s cellar.
"Your Majesty," Fiona asked, picking up a skewer of grilled at.
"Why are we waiting? Why don’t we just annihilate the royal family and take the throne today? We could have this whole Empire under our thumb by dinner ti."
Noah was sitting in a comfortable lounge chair, tossing a grape into the air and catching it in his mouth.
He looked relaxed, but his eyes were sharp.
"Do you rember the people from the Chaos Temple?" Noah asked.
"There are nineteen beings in that temple who are not from this universe. They have a very powerful background. Deeper than this Empire."
"If we make too much noise right now, we beco their target. I don’t want to beco their enemy yet. I want all of you to break through to the Transcended Realm first."
Noah leaned forward, his expression becoming serious.
"Then, we will establish our empire. Not just as a kingdom of humans, but as a power that can stand against the Great Demon Realm."
He then began to give them details about the higher realms.
When they learned that there were entities out there who created the realm of infinity, their face turned pale.
They realized how small they were in the grand sche of things.
"We understand," they nodded.
Their desire for a quick conquest was replaced by a hunger for more power.
They realized Noah wasn’t just playing a ga. He was protecting them.
After the al, Noah looked toward the front gates.
He sensed a presence approaching.
With a snap of his fingers, he removed the shimring barrier.
"The ssenger is here. Let him enter."
A man in a royal white uniform, carrying a golden scroll, walked nervously up the driveway.
He looked at the "Mythical" people having a barbecue and felt a wave of confusion.
He had expected to see a fortress of dark mages, not a family picnic.
"His Majesty, the Emperor, orders the inhabitants of this estate to co to the Royal Court in twenty-four hours!" the ssenger shouted, his voice shaking slightly.
"Any defiance would be considered treason and will cost you your lives!"
He dropped the royal decree on the grass, turned around, and practically ran out of the gate.
Noah picked up the scroll, glancing at the golden seal of the Emperor.
He tossed it to Rudi, who used it as a napkin to wipe so grease off his chin.
"Looks like our tour is beginning," Noah said, standing up and stretching.
"They want to see the ’thieves’ who stole a Count’s house. Let’s go and introduce ourselves properly."
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