Eternal Thief

After they heard Midnight Duke’s assessment of the deterioration of the Undead Boundary and the ’owl phenomena’ in the sky, the Evernight Dukes’ eyes flickered with a similar light to the former.

Furthermore, it wasn’t as if the Midnight Duke was letting his imagination run wild; in fact, the other Evernight Dukes, or anyone with their experiences, would have had similar thoughts.

Moreover, the presence of the two Evernight Kings alone proved that there might be something extraordinary hidden or most likely unraveling behind the Undead Boundary.

The Dread Duchess seemed quite satisfied with this information as well, and once she takes over the first battlefront, she can take her time investigating more. Not to mention, once the Undead Boundary falls, the Evernight Kings will rush inside first.

’Since this is such a rare opportunity...’ Dread Duchess’s eyes flickered with a hint of concern before a faint smile appeared on her face, but no one saw it because of her crimson devil-motif mask.

”Thank you for clarifying our doubts, Lord Midnight.” Dread Duchess stated politely.

The Midnight Duke nodded in acknowledgment, ”It’s not worth dwelling over.”

But just when the Evernight Dukes thought the Dread was done, she said, after a pause, ”Lord Midnight, I’m wondering if you can fulfill my small request.”

A cold glimmer flickered in the Midnight Duke’s eyes as he felt this woman was testing his patience, and he asked impassively, ”A request?”

The Dread Duchess, despite sensing the Midnight Duke’s disapproval, nodded without backing down and stated, ”I want you to assign my disciple and Nomad to my region.”

The chamber suddenly fell quiet; even Yin Duchess glanced at her with a hint of perplexity; the Enchantress Demon Duchess’s eyes flickered with profound interest; the Corpse Duke remained motionless, with thoughts unknown; and the Midnight Duke appeared surprised and somewhat hesitant.

”Your disciple and Nomad?”

Although the Midnight Duke hadn’t left the Evernight Sanctuary for a long time, he naturally knew about the Dread Duchess’s disciple; there was only one person she could be referring to, the Evil Diva!

But his hesitation came from the Dread Duchess’s request to assign Nomad to her region. If it was before, it wasn’t a big deal, since the Dread Duchess had been taking care of Nomad.

However, Nomad had been able to enter the Undead Boundary when even Evernight Kings couldn’t, despite his origin as a ’living’ abyssal being, and this was the main reason the Evernight Demon King ended up coming into the Undead Cradle.

Moreover, it was the Midnight Duke who was given the task of retrieving Nomad from the Corpse Clan, if they had him, at all costs, and this nearly drove the former mad because of the complexity of the task.

But somehow, just as the Midnight Duke was on the verge of madness and a mental breakdown, the ’owl’ appeared, and the Undead Boundary began to deteriorate.

Afterward, the Evernight Kings’ focus shifted to the Undead Boundary, and they no longer seemed to care about Nomad as much as before. Not to mention, even the Evernight Demon King didn’t say anything about Nomad, so the Midnight Duke already assumed that Nomad had most likely died!

However, this information was very sensitive right now, as it was directly associated with an Abyssal King, so the Midnight Duke didn’t dare share it rashly. Not before receiving further notice from the Evernight Kings.

Midnight Duke arranged his thoughts before he replied, ”There is no problem in assigning your disciple to your region. In fact, since every one of you has disciples present in the Undead Realm, it wouldn’t be excessive for them to learn from their masters since this is a rare opportunity.”

”We appreciate your consideration, Lord Midnight.” The Yin Duchess was the first one to thank him, while a peculiar plan surfaced in her mind to teach the Dread Duchess a lesson.

The Enchantress Demon Duchess and Corpse Duke also showed their appreciation towards the Midnight Duke while secretly admiring Dread Duchess’s courage.

But the Dread Duchess instantly picked up on the underlying meaning behind the Midnight Duke’s words and sought clarification, ”What about Nomad?”

The Midnight Duke already expected this kind of response, and replied curtly, ”Apparently, Nomad’s whereabouts are a secret under the direct command of her regal majesty, the Evernight Demon King!”

The moment he used the Evernight Demon King’s name, he left no room for the Dread Duchess for any further inquiry.

As expected, the Dread Duchess and the other Evernight Dukes were startled, all wondering what Nomad could’ve done to earn the Evernight Demon King’s interest.

However, the Dread Duchess also felt something was wrong, but she neither had the authority nor the audacity to demand an explanation from the Evernight Demon King, and she knew the Midnight Duke also wouldn’t go as far as to secretly disclose information about Nomad.

Seeing that the Dread Duchess had finally gone silent, the Midnight Duke didn’t want to drag this any further and announced, ”Alright, everything, you should all head towards your battlefronts. If you have any questions, you may contact me at any time. But since we all are peers, I don’t think you need my guidance about how to handle the Undead Race scums!”

The Evernight Dukes all showed murderous intent, as no further words were needed, and they vanished towards their distant battlefronts.

The moment the last of the Evernight Dukes departed, silence descended upon the command chamber. The vast hall, which moments ago had housed Evernight Dukes and even the terrifying Protector Envoys, now contained only a single figure: the Midnight Duke.

His eyes quietly watched the enormous Realm Gateway standing before him as the ancient portal still pulsed with spatial power from the recent arrivals.

A connection remained, which also meant an open path remained, and in war, an open path was a vulnerability.

The Midnight Duke stood motionless for several moments before his lips slowly moved and a strange language emerged from his mouth.

It wasn’t the Abyssal Tongue, nor the language of fiends, devils, demons, or even the Evernight Council, for it sounded ancient and forgotten like countless voices whispering from the depths of a primordial abyss.

Each syllable caused the surrounding space to tremble, and the runes engraved upon the Realm Gateway began to flicker one after another.

The crimson currents flowing through the circular frame slowed, then weakened and reversed.

It was the Ark Realm Seal Chant, and only Evernight Kings and those personally entrusted by them possessed authority to invoke this seal!