Earth's Greatest Magus

Five days later,

A general meeting convened at the Faulen grand chamber. The hall, an imposing room with walls adorned in emerald and dark gold, resonated with an air of gravitas. Two dozen elders and several chosen experts were gathered, each seated at a long, ornately carved table. The Viceroy had summoned them to deliberate on the faction’s pressing issues.

Presiding over the gathering was Roland Faulen, a man whose dark hair contrasted sharply with his powerful, commanding presence. He exuded the formidable aura of a three-cosmos grand magus. Not merely the second-in-command, Roland was the most outstanding son of the Serpent Supreme himself. For over two centuries, he had led the faction with an iron fist, ruthlessly maintaining his father’s legacy as the viceroy.

This particular meeting crackled with an unusual tension. The air was thick with unease, punctuated by murmurs and anxious glances exchanged among the elders. The reason for their heightened anxiety soon became clear: news had arrived that one of the three major serpent clans, the Ouroboros, had mobilized their armada, gearing up for war.

An elder, his voice seasoned by decades of experience, spoke up first. “Viceroy, I believe she is just bluffing. Queen Silviana would not dare wage war against the entire serpent clan.”

Another elder, with a steely gaze, quickly interjected. “You think?! The Silver Serpent holds more influence than you realize. Unlike us, she has deeper ties with the Magus Alliance.”

The room buzzed with murmurs of agreement and dissent, creating a cacophony of anxious whispers. One elder, tall and austere, stood up to make a more pressing point. “Viceroy, I have confirmation from my spy within the Boa and Krukk factions that Queen Silviana plans to visit them first. She is gathering her allies. I believe her intentions are not to be taken lightly.”

The chamber fell into a tense silence as the gravity of his words sank in. The Boa and Krukk factions were among the seven medium clans, each classified as a grade 2 faction. These clans, residing outside the Cerulean Zone, wielded considerable power and influence.

The elders couldn’t help but speculate that Queen Silviana of Ouroboros was rallying these outside clans to impose her will upon the Faulen faction. Despite the inherent disharmony among them, most elders understood that an all-out civil war would be detrimental to all involved, heightening their anxiety.

One elder, his voice trembling with indignation, asked, “Is it true that all of this turmoil is because of one young girl? Did we really dispatch a brigade, a warship, to forcibly take her from the Magus Academy?”

The mention of the Magus Academy only served to intensify the tension among the elders. The Academy was a symbol of unity and learning within the Magus Alliance, and any conflict involving it was fraught with peril.

Roland Faulen, the Viceroy, who had been silent until now, turned his gaze to one of the grand magus in the room, signaling him to give his report. The grand magus, an imposing figure with silver streaks in his dark hair, stepped forward. His presence commanded attention, and the murmurs in the room died down.

The one who spoke was a Grand Magus and spirit master named Kodiak. He was the one in charge of the operation to retrieve Shinta and was currently overseeing her captivity. Having undertaken similar assignments many times before, Kodiak had earned the trust and respect of the elders. His reputation for efficiency and discretion was well-established.

Not wishing to tarnish his standing, Kodiak withheld certain difficulties he had encountered. Controlling Shinta had proven more challenging than anticipated. Her willpower and resistance forced him to resort to threatening both Annara and Shura’s lives to force compliance. With this tactic, Kodiak managed to extract the necessary information from her.

The Grand Magus laid out a comprehensive report on Shinta, detailing her background, her unique medicals, and the clear violations committed by Ouroboros in concealing her and sending her to the Magus Academy. This revelation provided a sense of relief to the elders, vindicating their actions as they perceived Ouroboros to be in the wrong for defying the Patriarch’s wishes and the Viceroy’s orders.

As the elders pored over the report, the room buzzed with mixed reactions. Some felt justified, while others harbored lingering doubts. One elder, after a thorough reading, voiced his concern, “She is certainly an interesting girl, but do we need to go to such lengths? Could we not have waited a few years until she finished her education at the academy? She could then come here voluntarily to assist with the gene research.”

This query sparked a ripple of murmurs among the elders, reflecting a shared sense of unease about the aggressive approach taken.

The discussion among the elders delved deeper into the intricacies of gene research, an open secret within their ranks. Like all half-blood communities, each had their own ongoing research on their bloodlines, viewing it as the key to unlocking potential breakthroughs.

For the Serpent bloodline, this has been a tradition for over 5000 years. It was customary for the Patriarch to father offspring among the three major clans and the seven medium Serpent clans, to preserve the purity of the Serpent bloodline and ensure the emergence of true Serpent heirs across generations.

Viceroy Roland Faulen himself was a product of these traditions; as the seventh son of the Patriarch, he embodied the lineage’s legacy. Shinta’s deceased mother, Silva, had also been part of this lineage as the 32nd daughter. While it was not uncommon for second-generation heirs like Shinta to take an interest in gene research, the method of forcefully extracting her from the Magus Academy and bringing her into their fold had crossed a line, especially considering the Academy’s reputation and influence.

“She is not even pure blood,” said another elder, convinced that there was something more beyond the report.

The elder’s skepticism prompted Viceroy Roland Faulen to call upon another respected figure among their ranks: Elder Asclepius. Despite being only a peak magus level, Elder Asclepius commanded great respect from his peers, particularly in matters concerning the serpent bloodline’s intricate genetics. As the faction’s foremost grand master apothecary and gene expert, he had played a pivotal role in countless Serpent magus breakthroughs and had also served as a trusted medical advisor to the Patriarch himself.

Elder Asclepius stepped forward, his demeanor composed yet authoritative, ready to shed light on the matter at hand. He began by elucidating the Patriarch’s keen interest in dual bloodlines, a subject that had long fascinated the serpent bloodline community. He explained how Shinta’s unique lineage made her a rare and precious asset, possessing both her mother’s esteemed Kemoying bloodline and her father’s high-grade wolf bloodline.

“Who is the father?”

“This report said the father was just a magus from a lower realm… how could he have a high-grade wolf bloodline?”

The elder’s inquiry regarding Shinta’s father’s high-grade wolf bloodline prompted Grand Magus Kodiak to reflect on the information at hand. While he had not yet gleaned specifics from Shinta herself, he had unearthed a tantalizing clue during his investigation—a certain individual by the name of Emery Ambrose, linked to the academy and the broader magus universe database.

As Kodiak delved deeper into the database, he encountered a wealth of information surrounding Emery’s exploits, from his remarkable feats to his enigmatic background. Yet, despite his extensive research, Kodiak found no conclusive evidence to explain how Emery had acquired such a rare and coveted bloodline.

One notable recent incident stood out: the savage magus’s purported capture of a grand magus criminal, a feat that had garnered attention within magus circles. However, skepticism lingered among the elders, who doubted that Emery could have accomplished such a feat single-handedly.

At that moment, the Viceroy’s calm demeanor suddenly shifted to a frown as he received an incoming message from the Ouroboros queen. “She calls for a conclave!”

The unexpected summons to a conclave by the Ouroboros queen incites a mix of surprise and simmering anger through the gathered elders. The conclave held significant weight in serpent clan tradition, typically reserved for urgent matters requiring the attention of the Faulen leadership and the ten allied clans. It was a solemn occasion often linked to changes in leadership, a fact not lost on the assembled elders.

“The nerve of her! Does she consider herself as the Dowager herself?!!”.

The Ouroboros queen’s audacity in calling for a conclave amid the patriarch’s extended seclusion was viewed as a brazen attempt to undermine the Faulen leadership and sow discord within the serpent clans.

To compound matters, the confirmation of the conclave’s legitimacy came not only from the Boa and Krukk factions but also from Mauritius, one of the three major clans.

Amidst the mounting chaos of the meeting, the viceroy rose to address the gathered elders. “There is no cause for alarm,” he declared with steely resolve. “Even if the patriarch cannot emerge from his closed training, we can still confront them. We have more allies than they do.”