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The Imperial System: Architect of an Empire

Chapter 90: The Mountain Begins to Break · Nov 04, 2026

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Chapter List (352)

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51 Chapter 51: The Eleven Dragons 2026-11-04
52 Chapter 52: Rank 2026-11-04
53 Chapter 53: The City Beyond the Palace 2026-11-04
54 Chapter 54: The Price of Peace 2026-11-04
55 Chapter 55: The Forgotten District 2026-11-04
56 Chapter 56: The Seven Pillars 2026-11-04
57 Chapter 57: A Vision Before the Throne 2026-11-04
58 Chapter 58: The Emperor’s Decree 2026-11-04
59 Chapter 59: The Weight of a Name 2026-11-04
60 Chapter 60: The Emperor’s Eyes 2026-11-04
61 Chapter 61: Eye of the Empire 2026-11-04
62 Chapter 62: The Village in Flames 2026-11-04
63 Chapter 63: The First Display of Imperial Blood 2026-11-04
64 Chapter 64: A Prince Worth Following 2026-11-04
65 Chapter 65: Echoes of the First Emperor 2026-11-04
66 Chapter 66: Eyes Begin to See 2026-11-04
67 Chapter 67: The Forgotten Fortress 2026-11-04
68 Chapter 68: The Heir Apparent 2026-11-04
69 Chapter 69: The Guardian of Ironridge 2026-11-04
70 Chapter 70: The Last Warden 2026-11-04
71 Chapter 71: The Weight of an Oath 2026-11-04
72 Chapter 72: A Prince’s Duty 2026-11-04
73 Chapter 73: Beneath the Empire 2026-11-04
74 Chapter 74: The Hall of Guardians 2026-11-04
75 Chapter 75: The Answer of a King 2026-11-04
76 Chapter 76: The Trial of the First Guardian 2026-11-04
77 Chapter 77: Night Awakens 2026-11-04
78 Chapter 78: The Guardian’s Recognition 2026-11-04
79 Chapter 79: The Dragon’s Heart 2026-11-04
80 Chapter 80: Return of the Black Dragons 2026-11-04
81 Chapter 81: The Black Dragon Company 2026-11-04
82 Chapter 82: The First Court After Ironridge 2026-11-04
83 Chapter 83: Before the Expedition 2026-11-04
84 Chapter 84: The Imperial Expedition Corps 2026-11-04
85 Chapter 85: Divided by Blood 2026-11-04
86 Chapter 86: The Mountain That Roared 2026-11-04
87 Chapter 87: The Enemy in the Dark 2026-11-04
88 Chapter 88: Beneath the Crimson Highlands 2026-11-04
89 Chapter 89: The Last Prisoner 2026-11-04
90 Chapter 90: The Mountain Begins to Break 2026-11-04
91 Chapter 91: The Road Back 2026-11-04
92 Chapter 92: The Long Road Home 2026-11-04
93 Chapter 93: The Shadow on the Road 2026-11-04
94 Chapter 94: The Forest That Moved 2026-11-04
95 Chapter 95: The Beast of the Elderwood 2026-11-04
96 Chapter 96: The Beast Beneath the Lake 2026-11-04
97 Chapter 97: The Hunters of the Western Road 2026-11-04
98 Chapter 98: The Price of the Road 2026-11-04
99 Chapter 99: The Road Home 2026-11-04
100 Chapter 100: The Children of the Emperor 2026-11-04

The roar faded.

But the ground continued shaking.

RUMBLE...

CRACK!

Another section of the Crimson Highlands collapsed in the distance.

A cloud of dust rose above the trees.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Hundreds of Imperial soldiers stood frozen.

The rescued villagers stared toward the mountain in terror.

Even the monster warriors who had survived the confrontation looked afraid.

Kael turned toward Colonel Gareth.

”We need to evacuate.”

Gareth didn’t argue.

”How many?”

”Everyone.”

The Colonel looked toward the mountain.

”That could take hours.”

Kael shook his head.

”We don’t have hours.”

Gareth immediately raised his voice.

”ALL UNITS!”

His command echoed through the valley.

”Abandon the southern positions!”

”Prepare for immediate withdrawal!”

”Protect the civilians first!”

Officers began shouting orders.

Wagons were turned around.

Horses were brought forward.

Healers gathered the wounded.

Soldiers formed defensive lines around the villagers.

For once...

The Imperial Expedition Corps moved as one.

There was no argument between the main force and the Black Dragons.

No noble titles.

No branch-family disputes.

Everyone had the same problem.

The mountain.

Kael’s Warning

Darius approached Kael.

”What did you see down there?”

Kael remained silent for a moment.

He didn’t want to explain everything in front of hundreds of soldiers.

”There is something beneath the mountain.”

”Something old.”

Darius waited.

”And?”

”It was sealed.”

Darius’s expression hardened.

”The thing causing the monster migration?”

Kael nodded.

”Yes.”

Walter approached.

”And you broke the seal?”

Kael looked at him.

”No.”

”The seal was already breaking.”

That answer didn’t make Walter feel better.

The Ironhorns

Rokan approached.

His massive body towered over the surrounding soldiers.

Several Imperial soldiers raised their weapons.

Kael immediately held up his hand.

”Lower them.”

The soldiers hesitated.

Then obeyed.

Rokan looked toward the mountain.

”We must leave.”

Kael nodded.

”Your people can travel with us.”

Rokan looked surprised.

”You would allow that?”

”You helped rescue the prisoners.”

”We’re not leaving you behind.”

Rokan stared at Kael for several seconds.

Then he lowered his axe.

”My people will remember this.”

Kael turned away.

”Just get everyone out alive.”

The evacuation began.

But the mountain wasn’t waiting.

The first monsters appeared from the forest.

A pack of horned wolves burst through the trees.

Soldiers raised shields.

”Hold!”

The creatures charged.

BOOM!

The Imperial line met them.

Steel clashed with claws.

Kael watched carefully.

These monsters weren’t attacking with purpose.

They were terrified.

They were trying to escape.

One wolf broke through the line and ran toward the civilians.

Kael moved.

Night Aura wrapped around his legs.

He disappeared.

BOOM!

He appeared beside the creature.

His sword struck the ground in front of it rather than its body.

Ice exploded upward.

The wolf stopped.

Kael looked directly into its eyes.

”Go.”

The creature hesitated.

Then turned...

And ran.

Walter stared.

”You let it go?”

Kael nodded.

”They’re fleeing.”

”They aren’t our enemy.”

Darius looked toward the mountain.

”Not yet, anyway.”

The evacuation continued for hours.

During short pauses...

Kael trained.

Not because he had time to waste.

Because he knew something worse was coming.

He moved away from the main force.

His sword rested in his hand.

Night Aura appeared around his legs.

He activated it.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Then released it.

He repeated the process.

Short bursts.

Controlled breathing.

No wasted energy.

Again.

His previous battle had taught him something.

Power wasn’t the problem.

Control was.

Kael suddenly moved.

BOOM!

He crossed twenty meters.

Stopped.

Turned.

Another burst.

BOOM!

He crossed the distance again.

This time...

He added Light Magic.

The acceleration increased.

But his legs immediately became heavier.

Kael stopped.

He breathed deeply.

”Still too much.”

He tried again.

This time he used less light.

The result was smoother.

Night Aura accelerated him.

Light sharpened his movements.

Neither power overwhelmed the other.

Kael nodded.

”Better.”

Kael looked toward a fallen tree.

He raised his hand.

Ice spread across the ground.

Then Night Aura gathered around his legs.

He moved.

Instead of running directly...

He stepped onto the ice.

His body slid forward.

Night Aura propelled him.

Light sharpened his balance.

He curved around the tree.

Then he launched himself upward.

Kael landed on a branch.

He stared down.

The technique wasn’t perfect.

But it worked.

A combination of his ice movement and Night Aura.

Fast.

Efficient.

Hard to predict.

The system appeared.

Technique Created Night Frost Step

Combination:

Ice Movement + Night Aura

Effect:

Allows rapid movement across ice while using Night Aura for sudden acceleration and directional changes.

Current Mastery:

Warning:

Excessive use may cause muscle fatigue.

Kael smiled faintly.

”Useful.”

Then the mountain roared again.

His expression immediately became serious.

There would be time to improve it later.

By sunset...

The expedition had moved nearly ten miles from the Crimson Highlands.

But the mountain was still visible.

The sky above it had changed.

Dark clouds gathered unnaturally.

Lightning flashed without thunder.

A strange red glow appeared between the mountains.

Colonel Gareth stood beside Kael.

”I’ve never seen anything like that.”

”Neither have I.”

Gareth looked toward him.

”What did you find below?”

Kael hesitated.

”Something from the ancient war.”

The Colonel’s expression changed.

”You mean the Demon War?”

Kael nodded.

”Possibly.”

Gareth looked at the mountain again.

”Then the Emperor needs to know immediately.”

”Agreed.”

A horse was prepared.

Kael wrote a report.

Not everything.

But enough.

To His Imperial Majesty

The monster migration in the Crimson Highlands is not natural.

An ancient underground structure has been discovered.

Evidence suggests the existence of an ancient seal connected to the Demon War.

The seal is deteriorating.

I strongly recommend immediate investigation by Imperial scholars and high-ranking military personnel.

The region should be considered unstable.

—Kael Asterion

The messenger took the letter.

”Ride without stopping.”

”Yes, Your Highness.”

The horse disappeared down the western road.

That night...

Kael sat beside the campfire.

The mysterious egg rested inside its protective case.

He looked at it quietly.

The mountain had shown him something that had existed before the Empire.

Something connected to dragons.

Something connected to demons.

Something powerful enough to make monsters flee.

Then—

Thump.

Kael looked down.

The egg pulsed.

Not once.

Twice.

Thump.

A faint silver line appeared across the shell.

Kael reached toward it.

The system appeared.

Unknown Object Reaction

Energy detected:

Ancient

Source:

Unknown

Correlation:

Crimson Highlands — Confirmed

Kael’s eyes widened.

The egg wasn’t simply reacting randomly.

It had recognized something.

Something beneath the mountain.

Before he could investigate further...

The silver light disappeared.

The egg became still.

Kael stared at it.

”You know something...”

”...don’t you?”

No answer.

Back in the Crimson Highlands...

The ground opened.

A massive crack split the mountain from peak to base.

Ancient stone structures collapsed into the abyss.

Then...

A hand emerged from beneath the earth.

Black.

Enormous.

Covered in ancient markings.

It gripped the edge of the mountain.

Something began pulling itself upward.

Far away...

Every monster in the Highlands stopped moving.

The Ironhorns lowered their heads.

The wolves fled.

The stone trolls disappeared into caves.

Even the creatures that had never known fear...

Ran.

Because whatever was awakening...

Wasn’t simply another monster.

It was something the monsters themselves remembered.

Something from a war that history had forgotten.

And beneath the mountain...

A voice whispered for the first time in thousands of years.

”Finally...”

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