The Bone Palace slowly sailed out of the death zone that was the shattered frontline.
Sylvia lay pressed against the crystal window.
Watching the scenery outside gradually change.
The barren wasteland was slowly replaced by green vegetation.
The deathly aura in the air had also diminished significantly.
“Finally out of that cursed place.”
Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt much lighter overall.
Though still in flight.
At least she no longer had to see those twisted spatial rifts and the lingering wailing spirits drifting about.
More importantly.
She no longer had to worry about her sister suddenly putting on some “special performance.”
“Sis, look!”
Avira burst excitedly into the room.
Her blood-red eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Right ahead is the neutral zone!”
Sylvia peered down through the window.
Below was indeed much livelier.
Caravans of various races moved along the roads.
Dwarven carts, elves riding unicorn mounts, human carriages mingled together.
Occasionally, one could spot mages’ floating platforms gliding at low altitude.
This was one of the few places on the continent where different races lived in peace.
“How interesting!”
Avira leaned against another window.
Her eyes burning with fervor.
“Sis, let’s go down and explore!”
“I can catch you some elves as pets!”
Sylvia immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Just kidding, she only wanted to quietly reach Dawn City now.
No more antics.
Her sister’s idea of “shopping” was a completely different concept from normal people’s.
Her shopping trips were deadly!
At that moment.
The caravan below suddenly came to a halt.
Everyone looked up at the massive Bone Palace in the sky.
Fear was written all over their faces.
Then the caravan scattered in all directions.
The dwarves abandoned their carts and fled.
The elves mounted their unicorns and fled desperately.
The human merchants didn’t even bother with their carriages.
They bolted away on foot.
Within ten minutes.
The once bustling trade route was completely empty.
Only scattered goods and a few horses abandoned by their owners remained, disheveled in the wind.
“What’s going on?”
Avira blinked, confused.
“Why did they all run away?”
“Do we really look that terrifying?”
Sylvia looked down and inwardly rejoiced.
Perfect!
No onlookers!
This was the treatment she wanted.
It would be best if everyone in the world ran away at the sight of them.
That way she wouldn’t have to bear that terrifying pressure of being watched by thousands.
“Weaklings instinctively flee when they see the strong.”
Ophelia’s voice came from the doorway.
The queen entered the room and glanced calmly outside.
“That’s only natural.”
Avira curled her lip.
“How rude.”
“We came for a friendly visit, and they act like this?”
“Sis is so cute, and they don’t even dare to look?”
Sylvia silently scoffed.
Look at our setup!
Twelve bone dragons pulling a Bone Palace.
Behind them, three thousand fully armed Royal Guard.
How is this a friendly visit?
This is obviously an invasion!
If they don’t run, it would be a miracle!
The Bone Palace pressed onward.
Every town along the way reacted the same.
The streets instantly emptied.
All residents hid inside their homes.
Peeking out from cracks in doors and windows.
Some brave children would climb onto rooftops.
But the moment they saw the Bone Palace, adults would drag them back.
The entire world fell into an eerie silence.
Sylvia thought it was absolutely perfect.
No cheers, no crowds, no humiliations.
This was the way she dreamed of traveling.
Quietly, undisturbed.
If only it could stay like this forever.
But Avira obviously thought otherwise.
“This is outrageous!”
She grew angrier the longer she looked.
Her hand already resting on the sword hilt.
“We came here so sincerely.”
“And they don’t even show their faces!”
“Especially those kids.”
“They run away when they see us—so rude!”
“Maybe it’s time to teach them a lesson.”
“Show them what manners really mean?”
Sylvia wanted to say those kids had good survival instincts.
But she swallowed the words.
Better not provoke her sister right now.
At that moment, a massive mountain peak appeared ahead.
Halfway up the mountain stood a majestic fortress.
Its walls built entirely of black stone.
It looked impregnable.
A Dwarven kingdom’s warhammer banner fluttered atop the fortress.
A blazing warhammer emblem rippled fiercely in the wind.
“Ironforge Bastion has arrived.”
Ophelia said.
Sylvia looked through the window at the fortress.
This was the border stronghold of the Dwarven kingdom.
Also the first important point on their journey.
According to diplomatic etiquette, the dwarves should send envoys to welcome them.
But…
“What are they doing?”
Avira pointed at the battlements of Ironforge Bastion, her voice growing colder.
Sylvia took a closer look and almost laughed aloud.
The battlements were swarming with dwarven soldiers.
Each one holding massive crossbows.
All weapons aimed directly at the Bone Palace.
The gates were tightly shut, the drawbridge raised high.
The entire fortress was on the highest alert.
This was no welcome—it was a posture ready for war!
“Interesting.”
Ophelia’s voice was calm.
But Sylvia sensed a dangerous undertone.
“Looks like they consider us invaders.”
Avira’s face darkened instantly.
Danger flared in her blood-red eyes.
“What do you mean?”
She gripped her sword hilt tightly.
A low, mournful sound emerged from the scabbard.
“How dare they point weapons at my sister?”
“Do they want to die?!”
Sylvia sensed the danger brewing.
Her sister’s protective instinct flared again.
And this time, it was bigger than ever.
Those dwarves had no idea what kind of being they had provoked.
“They’re provoking the Eternal Night Empire!”
Avira’s voice grew icier, her killing intent spilling outward.
“I’ll flatten that blasted mountain!”
“Let those dwarves learn what happens when they offend my sister!”
She moved to rush out.
Sylvia panicked.
“Sis, wait!”
But Avira had already dashed out of the room.
Within a minute, Sylvia heard terrifying noises from outside.
Blood-red light began gathering around the Bone Palace.
It was the power of Avira’s heartworld awakening.
The Law of the “Bloodthorn Labyrinth” began twisting the surrounding space.
The air thickened with suffocating murderous intent.
The dwarves of Ironforge Bastion clearly felt the oppressive pressure.
Panic shouts rang from the battlements.
“Quick! Prepare all crossbows!”
“Where are the mages? Mages, reinforce the defenses!”
“Notify the king! The Bloodline is attacking!”
“That red-eyed one is the Legendary Godslayer Avira!”
Sylvia watched the panicked dwarves outside.
Her heart full of helplessness.
What the hell was going on?
They were just passing by.
Why was a fight about to break out?
Just as Avira’s killing intent peaked.
And the bloodthorns began to coalesce in the air.
“Enough.”
Ophelia’s voice rang out.
Just two words, but Avira immediately ceased all action.
The blood-red light vanished in an instant, and the murderous intent dissipated.
The thorny illusions slowly faded into the air.
“Mother?”
Avira looked at Ophelia in confusion.
Her eyes still blazing with anger.
“How dare they point weapons at my sister!”
“No need to use force.”
Ophelia stepped to the front of the palace.
Her voice eerily calm.
“Let them see what true power is.”
“What the dignity of the Eternal Night Empire really means.”
The Bone Palace hovered above Ironforge Bastion and slowly came to a stop.
Then Ophelia simply stood there.
Did nothing.
But the next second, an invisible pressure descended from the sky.
This was not killing intent, not anger, not even a threat.
It was pure Law Suppression.
A pressure from a pseudo-god level existence.
The power of the “Darkness Authority” law!
Sylvia felt the air around grow heavy.
Though inside the palace and protected, she still sensed that terrifying oppression.
It was as if the weight of the entire world pressed down on her shoulders.
The dwarves in Ironforge Bastion were not so lucky.
The whole fortress began to tremble slightly.
Not from attack, but from the sheer weight of the law itself.
One by one, the dwarven soldiers on the battlements fell to their knees.
Their weapons slipped from their hands, unable to be lifted again.
“W-what is this?”
“My legs… won’t move…”
“Your Majesty! Save us!”
“This is the pressure of a god!”
Panic spread throughout the fortress.
Sylvia watched through the window.
Even the massive crossbows began to tremble.
Emitting groaning creaks under the unbearable burden.
The barrels bent, the aiming mechanisms swinging wildly.
The entire Ironforge Bastion quivered under this pressure.
The warhammer banners on the walls were pressed tight against their poles.
No longer fluttering in the wind.
And Ophelia still just stood silently.
Not even lifting her eyelids.
As if watching a colony of ants.
“Mother is so formidable…”
Sylvia couldn’t help but admire.
Just standing there.
And yet she rendered an entire fortress powerless to fight.
Too terrifying.
After a moment, the pressure vanished.
As suddenly as it had come.
The Bone Palace resumed moving.
Slowly departing from above Ironforge Bastion.
As if nothing had happened.
Inside Ironforge Bastion.
King Brok slumped on his throne.
His beard soaked with cold sweat.
His entire body trembling.
At that moment.
He felt as if his soul was being crushed.
That kind of suppression from the level of the laws.
An absolute gap in the level of life.
“Your Majesty… shall we pursue them?”
A general asked, trembling, his voice shaking.
Brok looked at him.
Despair filled his eyes.
“Pursue?”
He gave a bitter smile, voice full of pain.
“Do you know what that was just now?”
“That was the pressure of a pseudo-god.”
“The true pressure of a god.”
“What do we have to chase them with?”
“Our lives?”
The generals exchanged glances and dared not speak further.
The throne hall fell into deathly silence.
Only the king’s heavy breathing echoed through the room.