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Chapter 576: Did Lord Kael actually…?
The next day, the sun rose just like usual, as if nothing had happened.
The dense, dark clouds were still above the Velmourn City, but it wasn’t snowing, which was surprising since getting to spend more than twenty-four hours without snowfall during this time of the year was... quite rare.
Of course, twenty-four hours of no snow didn’t magically erase the horrors of winter.
The people were still freezing, everything was still white, complete white. Heights did not look habitable, not one bit.
But even then—
People lived.
Even after everything that had happened.
This was the fifth day since the Stonefangs had entered the Velmourn Wall and had started to live with them.
And the tension between the two sides?
It was gone.
Completely.
Obviously, it wasn’t because people managed to get along after just five days of living together. No, these two sides held twelve hundred years of generational hatred for each other.
Such hatred doesn’t get automatically removed in five days, no matter how well controlled those five days may be.
If it were a normal situation, then even now, the hatred would still be there, the tension would still exist.
But right now—
The people had something far more important to worry about than things like hatred and tension.
Things like... survival.
And this time, it wasn’t just the word itself.
It was actual survival and... a possible war.
Just yesterday, when they were discussing what should be done with the traitor, they were attacked; the enemy managed to move past the Wall they had trusted for twelve hundred years and attacked them.
Many were hurt, many were dead even, and the entire day was spent recovering from that attack.
And with that recovery came the solemn mood.
The grim mental preparation of... war.
Somewhere in their minds, people could sense it—the war was coming soon, and this time, it wouldn’t be minor raids like when the Stonefangs or some other tribe attacked them for the sake of food and them defending.
It was something bigger.
Something... much, much bigger.
Because this time, the enemy wasn’t here for food.
Food—they had ample of it.
They were here for complete annihilation, and with them, they brought several other tribes and forces... no one knew about.
Forces that gave them the food and the means to gather all tribes and breach the Velmourn Wall.
The tension was higher, so much more that the tension between the Velmourns and the Stonefangs... seemed like it didn’t even matter.
Not when both sides might perish any time, crushed by the innumerable enemies that would rush through them.
Yes, the sentiment of the crowd was at an all-time low, especially after seeing the destruction and the death yesterday.
But even now—
Even when the people felt trapped, suffocated, and afraid...
When the Leaders called them, they moved and arrived at the centre. The same place where the traitor was executed yesterday.
The same place where it all began.
This time, their nervousness was clear. No one—not the Stonefangs, not the Velmourns—left anyone home.
Every single person was here, so the place was more crowded than usual.
What if they were attacked here, when all of them were together? Then at the very least, the people would get to die together.
It was far better than the cruel sight of children crying for their fathers in their last moments and the fathers not being there for them.
None of them wanted to repeat the tragedy that happened yesterday, and it showed.
The courtyard felt different.
People stood waiting, packed together until there was barely space to breathe. Velmourns, Stonefangs, scouts, workers, soldiers... every single person was here.
Waiting to know why they were called.
In this tensed atmosphere, some were actually hopeful.
After all, rumors had already spread—rumors about Kael going out alone and bringing destruction in the Stormcaller Camp.
Of course, not many believed it.
Yes, Kael had done miraculous things right in front of them, but attacking an enemy territory alone felt... too far stretched.
Even for Kael.
But along with non-believers, there were also believers.
The Dawn of Dragon.
Especially the Stonefangs who were part of the group; they had spent the entire yesterday night under the tree, hearing stories about Kael, hearing the divine miracles he had pulled off.
And today—
When their hearts burned with the thirst for revenge, combined with rumors of Flying Man having gone to the enemies who had attacked them—
They had now stuck all their hopes on him.
Every single one of them was looking at him with a strong fervour, as for Kael—
He just looked ahead, nowhere in particular, with a somewhat... dead look on his face, not reacting to anything at all.
He just... stood there, tightly holding Lavinia’s hands, as if leaving that hand might push him somewhere he didn’t want to go.
Lavinia too grabbed his hand as tightly as she could, telling him that she was here for him while she constantly checked on him.
She remembered how many times Kael cried in his sleep yesterday; everything that happened the night before was still very, very clear in his eyes and it had a strong impact on him.
But even then, Kael held on.
And was now here, to continue what they had begun.
On the platform, Morvain stepped forward, the cold air blowing her hair. She raised her hand and a hush spread.
Then—
She began.
"Yesterday, the Stormcallers attacked us."
She spoke with a grim look on her face.
Zakaar translated her words; he too had a solemn look on his face, but he seemed... visibly more well-rested.
Especially after quite a few people, at this point, had learned the language of the other and could work as translators. Of course, they weren’t perfect, but as long as it worked, Zakaar wasn’t needed as desperately as he was before and got the well-deserved rest.
Morvain waited for him to translate; she then looked at the Stonefangs, as if she was directly talking to them, and—
"You were hurt, you felt the terror.
You lost family and friends."
For a moment, there was silence. Velmourns didn’t speak, and the Stonefangs recalled yesterday’s details. Those who had lost their loved ones felt their bodies burning with intense anger; others clenched their fists too.
Morvain saw that and she continued—
"The enemy acted cowardly, they didn’t target the warriors, but the weak instead, and they celebrated it.
I know what you have lost cannot be brought back, and I am not trying to make you feel better.
I understand what losing a loved one means, better than most."
For a moment, there was a listless look on Morvain’s face, as if she was remembering something, or... someone.
The Velmourns, at those words, felt bad as they too remembered a certain man who was no longer with them.
Morvain’s expression then changed and it shined with a furious, determined glow—
"But this does not mean there is nothing we can do."
She spoke.
"The enemy attacked us first, that too cowardly. There was no way we were going to sit down and just let it happen.
The enemy challenged us, so we—
Someone from our side accepted that challenge."
She spoke, her words making the people raise their heads; surprise, confusion—it all spread across the space.
Were the rumors true?
Did Lord Kael actually...?
The people thought about the possibility, then shook their heads because it just seemed impossible.
But that didn’t stop Morvain—
"While we were tending to the wounded, while the enemy celebrated their cowardly raid..."
She spoke, slowly turning her head towards Kael—
"Lord Kael left the Wall."
The moment those words were said, the Stonefangs—especially the ones who were part of the Dawn of the Dragon—felt a fire burning in their hearts.
The fervour with which they looked at Kael now became even stronger, and now they were more desperate to hear what Morvain wanted to say.
Morvain didn’t make them wait for long either—
With her eyes still on Kael, she smiled—
"Your Lord Kael, shaken and angered by the horrifying sight he saw, flew straight to the Stormcaller Territory.
He didn’t talk to us, neither with me nor with Chief Gruumak, because he knew that would take time.
Time that he did not wish to spend.
So he left on his own, without an army, without backup, and..."
For a moment, Morvain paused.
She then turned towards Aurelia and then took out something else from her Sanctuary—
"You don’t have to imagine what happened."
She spoke while setting up everything she had brought out of her Sanctuary on her own. A recording crystal, a strange white sheet that was kept in front of the crystal and was floating in the air.
Then, she activated the crystal, and the floating sheet began showing images.
Images of a being surrounded by storm and lightning, images of those lightning bolts raining down on the Stormcallers, images of the Stormcaller Settlement burning, images of explosions, broken bridges, isolated sections, images of Stormcallers crying and screaming in terror.
Yes.
It was Kael’s recording.
Not the entire thing, just the result—a few that were actually important.
And finally—
The image of the Stormcaller’s Holy Sign, burnt to a crisp.
And the people—
They couldn’t believe it.