I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1218: Northern’s Ride

Northern left with Kai, heading toward the section of the mountain situated behind the main castle—the place where Shin and his wife had stayed for the few weeks they’d been around.

Kai explained that they had arrived only three weeks ago. And although his father harbored animosity toward Shin, he’d still received them with open hands... albeit with barely concealed hostility. At least, until those people came a few days later.

He didn’t know exactly how they’d reached an agreement, but what he did know was this: the visitors had met only with his father and were hosted in a separate section. No one knew who they were, aside from the fact that they were the Patriarch’s guests. From what Kai had observed, it seemed like they were negotiating something—and whatever it was, the Patriarch wasn’t pleased with the terms.

Eventually, they appeared to reach some kind of consensus.

And that just happened to be when the clan got attacked.

Things were put on hold while everyone fought together to destroy the monsters. After the battle, the Patriarch grew suspicious of the elven people, claiming they’d tried to deceive him. Somehow, though, they managed to prove their innocence. Just when things were settling down, the group of humans arrived. With their appearance—and the news that the entire continent was under siege—the Patriarch made a rash decision.

Which included fully accepting the alliance with the elven people... and settling scores with his brother.

He’d drawn Shin into the palace, effectively letting those visitors have their way. Even though Shin had tried to run, the Patriarch had bent the entire clan toward finding him, then dragged him down to the depths.

This escalation had affected everything. Deaths among the foreign group. Deaths among the knights—friends, people Kai had known. Even one of the Kageyama’s direct bloodline had fallen.

Then the elven creatures disappeared.

So did Northern’s mother. So did Nebulous Lord.

Northern studied the destroyed wall that led down to a wide yard, surrounded by mountain plains scarred with the evidence of battle. Scorch marks scorched the ground in sweeping arcs and blackened craters.

’Mother’s work.’

She was proficient with fire, after all. These patterns matched her style—wild but controlled.

The signs he followed seemed to mirror Kai’s explanation perfectly.

Except for one thing.

Northern stood at the bottom of a wide cliff, where a massive crater had been torn into the earth. He positioned himself at the crater’s edge, looking down into its depth—easily a hundred feet, maybe more. The rock at the bottom had been pulverized into fine gravel. Then he tilted his head back, tracing the cliff face upward to its peak.

’Nebulous Lord.’

The scale of destruction, the sheer force required to create something like this... there was only one explanation.

He was certain of it.

Realizing that Nebulous Lord had definitely been with his mother brought a measure of peace to his anxious heart. The Void creature was powerful—perhaps powerful enough to protect her, even against the elves.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it?

He still had to worry about the elves.

They were a race he knew almost nothing about. He didn’t know the kind of power they possessed or how they wielded it. While he wanted to believe no one could defeat Nebulous Lord, at the end of the day, the creature was just an Apex Destroyer.

’And the elves might have something worse.’

Northern’s gaze swept across the devastated landscape one more time, committing every detail to memory.

’I’ll find you.’

He exhaled slowly and turned back to Kai.

”Well, thank you for everything... uhm...” His brows furrowed for a moment. ”Don’t say it. I’m certainly going to remember. Kelan?! Kelan, right?”

Kai gave him a blank look.

”I’m Kai.”

Northern’s mouth opened slightly, mild disappointment flickering across his face.

’Damn it.’

”Right. Kai.” He cleared his throat. ”I’m going to take it from here. I’d like to take that guy with me... Sael.”

Kai sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion.

”My brothers will object. However... if you were to hand over our father, I know you didn’t kill him—”

Northern looked at Kai and laughed. The sound was low, slightly uncomfortable. Wrong, somehow.

He fixed Kai with a look, his blue eyes cold as winter ice.

”Listen here, Kai. Perhaps you misunderstood my tone, but I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

The words came out flat, matter-of-fact.

”If it takes me burning this place to ash to take that guy with me, I don’t mind it.”

He held Kai’s gaze, unblinking.

”Now make a decision. Do you want to build from ash, or can you manage from here on out?”

Kai was silent, his jaw working as he processed the threat—and the very real possibility that Northern would follow through.

Northern nodded once.

”Thought so.”

He walked past Kai, and soon both of them arrived back at the main castle building.

”Master!”

”Master!”

Knight Chrys and Eskedar cried out happily as Northern emerged onto the terrace. They were among the new batch of prisoners Northern had commanded the Kageyama clan to release.

There were a lot of people here—many of them silent, looking lost. Hollow-eyed and uncertain. None of them Northern recognized, and frankly, he wasn’t interested. He didn’t think he had any right to dictate their freedom beyond opening the cells.

That decision depended entirely on the prisoners and the clan themselves.

He leaned against the terrace railing and whistled loudly, the sharp sound cutting through the murmur of confused voices.

After a moment, a dark storm cloud that had been stationed near the northeast region—where the Black Canyon was—began to move. It rolled closer, growing larger as it approached, thunder rumbling in its depths.

Northern glanced at Knight Chrys.

”Help our friend here onto the ship.”

Jiang stood opposite Northern on the terrace, clenching his fists until his knuckles went white. His expression was caught between too many emotions—disbelief, anger, fear, all warring for dominance.

Never in his life had he imagined the white-haired boy standing before him would defeat his father.

’Father... lost.’

It made him feel devastated. Hopeless. They all were—his sisters stood silent, unable to say anything. Even the three siblings who weren’t present would have noticed by now, since the domain was gone. They would never have believed their father could be defeated by anyone unconnected to the Reimgard Empire.

And it had been Shin’s adopted son, of all people.

But that was just one of the many surprises this boy had brought with him.

Their eyes nearly tore open when they saw the terrifying vessel of flight that descended through a storm of clouds to collect Northern. The ship was massive—easily the size of a small fortress, wreathed in dark clouds and crackling with barely contained lightning.

’He—he had an army?!’

Jiang’s thoughts raced, his face going pale.

’And yet... he fought alone. He had an army that could’ve destroyed us all, and yet he chose to fight with just two knights?!’

His already shocked expression became even more stricken—bone-deep shock that rattled through him and made his legs weak. The sheer audacity of it. The confidence.

’What kind of monster did we provoke?’

With the size of the Thunderhead Dreadnought, it was understandable why battle-oriented minds would naturally assume this was an entire battle fleet. The vessel was built like one—imposing, menacing, bristling with unknown capabilities.

It could have been a fleet.

But it wasn’t.

This was just Northern’s personal ride.