Chapter 1368 Engage

Somewhere a far distance away, a crimson red spaceship was seen crossing the border between the two warring races. It left a disappearing trail of light across the vast expanse of the void as it headed into hostile territory.

[Taurus - Zodiac City flagship]

"My king, we scanned multiple elven ships approaching. We have visuals on them, one freighter and five assault fighter class spaceships. A standard elven border patrol squad."

The figure of King Alduin was standing on the bridge together with several powerful figures. All eyes looked at the screen that showed the situation. A moment later, he calmly gave the order.

"Engage."

Without even giving out any explanation, the Taurus ship fired all of the weaponry installed on its hull. Piercing lights colored the void, before explosions occurred as all but one of approaching elven spaceships were reduced to smithereens.

The only spaceship that managed to survive, or rather, deliberately not be destroyed, was left with a message.

"I am Alduin, King of the Half-Bloods. I came for the acolytes you have captured and the traitors of my kingdom. Give them up or prepare for battle."

Meanwhile, after the message was sent, King Alduin turned to look at the people standing next to him and said, "We are going to hold out here as long as we can."

Getting out of the ship, he brought with him a total of five grand magus to the battle. The five were none other than Elder Sinure of the Bird bloodline, Lilith the Black Salamander and three Magus Academy head instructors: Grand Magus Api of the Fire Institute, Ororo of the Lightning institutes and Aurora of the Light Institutes. They all had come to give extra chances for the acolytes' survival.

"Let them come, the more the merrier."

****

When it was detected that a supreme magus figure came across the border, the high elven command of the sector would be immediately notified. With that, all the elven garrisons situated close to that section of the border would receive an order.

One of such orders was sent towards one particular abandoned planet, which quickly led to five grand magus figures holding a gathering where they discussed this piece of news.

"It's Alduin. He's finally here."

"It's quite surprising he would do such things," Esbern said in an intrigued tone. After all, he had been the man's right-hand man for a long time, so he understood some of the man's traits.

"Is it because we captured his favorite nephew?" asked Shan, the tiger bloodline grand magus.

"Still, he would not come across the border like this without a plan. It's also too close to this planet to be called a mere coincidence. It's most likely that our location has been found."

Esbern elaborated on what he thought was most likely to be happening right now.

"You mean he's merely a distraction?" one of the dark elf grand magus asked.

Nodding his head, Esbern said, "Most likely."

A look of disbelief appeared on the face of the other dark elf grand magus. "Are you saying that he will be sending other forces here? How exactly? Anyone less than a supreme magus cannot destroy the barrier at this location and those who attempt to approach will undoubtedly be known to the empire."

Hearing those words, Zenonia smirked as she said, "The same situation with the academy, but look what happened to it." While her words stunned the two dark elves, she continued, "Scan for any spaceship in the vicinity of the planet. I'm sure we'll find something."

One of the officers present quickly jumped into action as he filled the nearby console and began operating it. In the meantime, one of the dark elf grand magus said, "Even if you are right, I have still been ordered by the empire to explain the situation and speak in response to that supreme magus' demands."

"Returning the acolytes is, no doubt, a ridiculous demand, but I guess you can bring his favorite nephew along and see how much he would be willing to pay for his freedom," Zenonia said without missing a beat.

Hearing that, the old grand magus Esbern quickly said, "I will go deliver him myself. He did ask for my presence, after all."

A calculative look appeared on Zenonia's face before she said, "You two can go meet Alduin, but request one unit to reinforce this place just in case."

"Hahaha," A chuckle escaped Shan's mouth. "Being paranoid like always, aren't you Zenonia?"

As if oblivious to the sarcastic remark, Zenonia nodded her head while saying, "Of course, remember, we have high value prisoners held here."

With everyone's agreement, Esbern and one of the dark elf grand magus quickly retrieved Zach from one of the cells that held all of his captured acolytes. Upon stepping out, the dragon half-blood immediately struggled fiercely as always.

"I will no longer fight those abominable creatures, or be a part of your experiments! Just kill me already!"

Bearing a wicked smile on his face, the dark elf grand magus said, "Don't worry, that's not going to happen. We already have other plans for you."

"Where are you taking me?!" Zach screamed frantically as his struggles intensified. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to escape the grasp of a grand magus.

Ignoring his hysterical actions, the two grand magus boarded one of the small ships in the hangar and took off, flying up into the sky as they swiftly made their way towards where King Alduin was.

A few minutes after they left, the three grand magus who had stayed behind to guard the base finally obtained a positive result from the scans.

"The scan detected one human ship, a reconnaissance type. It just landed on this planet, 800 miles away to the south. Thats outside the barrier"

Hearing the news, the remaining dark elf grand magus praised Zenonia for her foresight before asking what she thought they should do with this uninvited visitor. A thoughtful look lasted on her face for a while before she gave a response.

"We cannot leave the compound." Saying those words, she then looked at the tiger grand magus and said, "Shan, with your tiger bloodline, you have the best tracking ability out of the three of us. So you go and check it out."

"Alright, I'll do it…"

Ignoring the tone in his reply, Zenonia added, "If there are too many of them, don't engage. Return and we will wait for the reinforcements to arrive."

As she watched the tiger half-blood left, Zenonia was still restless. The reason was because she believed there was still something else at play.