To buy time and set the stage, Elara mobilized her elite vanguard, gathered her heroic soul subordinates, placed the captured aquatic soldiers under heavy guard, and set off down the road.
Toji Hisami followed close behind with the Xuanwu Guards and the elite swordsmen.
Concurrently, Elara utilized her resources to broadcast an official regional notice across the public channel of the Southern District.
[Lord Elara of Level 5 [Heaven]: Lords of the Southern District, I am marching directly toward the Holy Spirit Alliance to confront them regarding their treacherous betrayal and assassination attempt upon my territory. All interested parties are welcome to bear witness.]
Outside of formal trial assessment windows, the frequency and duration of public channel broadcasts were heavily restricted.
To ensure her message reached every corner of the region, Elara paid a steep gold coin premium for a system-wide zone announcement.
The broadcast guaranteed that every single lord received the notification.
Just as Toji Hisami had anticipated, the moment the announcement hit the network, the public channel of the Southern District erupted in total chaos.
Lords from all directions flooded the chatrooms with frantic speculation.
[What is happening? Is this real? Aren’t the factions within the Sacred Realm supposed to be completely united?]
[Good grief! Lord Elara is openly claiming she was stabbed in the back by the Holy Spirit Alliance.]
[Hey, did anyone else notice the alliance suffix attached to Lord Elara’s name? Heaven Drive! Oh my god!!!]
[Holy shit! I completely missed that until you pointed it out! Elara has joined Heaven Drive? Someone please point me toward her territory!]
[Count me in for the escort! Let’s head over to the Holy Spirit Alliance right now and back Elara up.]
[Level 5 Territory Wood Arts [Holy Spirit]: Elara! What in the world are you playing at? Why would you drag outsiders into internal Sacred Realm affairs?]
[Level 5 Lord Shizong [Holy Spirit]: Elara, you must be laboring under a massive misunderstanding.]
While a segment of the populace debated the underlying grievances between Elara and the alliance, a far larger group fixated on the revelation of her affiliation with Heaven Drive.
Ordinarily, internal political squabbles within the Holy Spirit Alliance would fail to capture the broader regional interest.
Yet the moment Heaven Drive’s name entered the equation, public sentiment shifted dynamically.
Numerous distant lords immediately packed their supplies and began marching toward the designated territory of the Holy Spirit Alliance.
Such was the immense prestige commanded by Heaven Drive within the trial world today.
Any event intersecting with Heaven Drive or the Jiuzhou Territory inevitably drew absolute, undivided attention.
Had Elara casually dropped the detail that Toji Hisami himself was accompanying her, the entire Southern District network would have completely broken down that day.
At that moment, Elara had already closed her public channel interface, maintaining a steady, disciplined pace along the road.
Deep within the core territory of the Holy Spirit Alliance, their internal alliance communication channels had devolved into a vicious, brawling mess.
Countless lords demanded explanations regarding the crisis, questioning why Elara had aired their dirty laundry across the global channel.
They attempted to contact Alliance Leader Musa and Deputy Alliance Leader Ai Lan repeatedly, only to be met with dead silence.
Instead, radical loyalists aligned with Ai Lan and Musa stepped forward to hurl public insults at the dissenters.
They claimed Elara’s return was merely a theatrical display of arrogance, fueled by her recent integration into Heaven Drive.
[Hmph, just wait until she arrives; she is obviously only coming to flaunt her backing!]
[She is merely trying to use foreign pressure to intimidate our Holy Spirit faction. I refuse to swallow this insult!]
[Frankly, I care little for her past grievances. The moment she aligns with Heaven Drive and dares to set foot in our alliance domain, I will show her no mercy!]
[Elara is acting with reckless impulse. Internal matters of the Sacred Realm must be resolved internally. What sort of message does dragging outsiders into this send?]
The overwhelming majority of the alliance membership expressed vocal opposition and deep hostility toward Elara.
Her public exposure of the faction’s underhanded dealings had severely bruised their collective pride.
Affairs within the Sacred Realm had historically remained strictly internal matters; since when did they require foreign spectators?
Was this not an invitation for outsiders to mock the dignity of the Holy Land?
Many lords began grinding their weapons and mobilizing their combat units, settling in to teach Elara a harsh lesson the moment she crossed their borders.
A small faction of lords who harbored genuine concern for Elara attempted to offer reasonable rationalizations, but they were quickly drowned out by the rising tide of hostility.
Through it all, neither the alliance leader nor his deputy offered a single word of official guidance.
Inside the half-dragon’s estate, Ai Lan strode swiftly along the stone-paved corridor, her expression dark and sullen.
Outside the austere, imposing doors of the Lord’s Hall, the half-dragon lord Musa stood waiting with an equally grim demeanor.
As Ai Lan drew near, Musa swung his arm in a vicious backhand strike that caught her cleanly across the cheek.
The blow sent the charming Sea Tribe leader tumbling backward through the air.
The guards stationed outside hastily averted their gazes, stepping away from the entrance in tense silence.
Never before had they witnessed their supreme lord display such uncontrollable rage.
To strike a prized companion like Ai Lan with such unmitigated violence...
Ai Lan’s hair fell in disarray across her face, stripping away her usual alluring composure and leaving her in a thoroughly humiliated state.
Yet she dared not register a single flicker of defiance toward Musa, scrambling hastily to her feet to offer an immediate apology.
"Did you not assure me that your backup plan was foolproof? Did you not claim every contingency had been accounted for?"
"Explain to me precisely what has gone off the rails!"
Musa’s voice thundered with barely contained fury.
Beneath the overwhelming anger, Ai Lan caught the distinct tremor of suppressed panic threading through his words.
Lowering her gaze to conceal a cynical, mocking smile, Ai Lan smoothed her features into a mask of absolute submission before looking back up.
"Brother Musa, at this stage of the game, retreating is no longer an option."
The moment those words left her lips, Musa’s massive frame shuddered violently, his fists clenching so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
Ai Lan’s underlying meaning was painfully clear. Elara undoubtedly possessed irrefutable proof, which explained her willingness to detonate the political landscape so ruthlessly.
The captured soldiers of the Water Tribe remained alive in Elara’s custody, constituting the most direct, unassailable evidence imaginable.
Once those prisoners were publicly paraded, any diplomatic attempt by Musa to spin the narrative would become entirely worthless.
The Holy Spirit Alliance was on the verge of an irreparable schism!
Ai Lan’s underlying proposal was simple: rather than waiting passively for Elara’s arrival to shatter the alliance in front of jeering spectators, they should consolidate their loyalist forces and strike first.
They would intercept and crush Elara’s contingent before she reached the capital!
Whether operating under the pretext of treason or conspiracy, Elara had to be silenced decisively!
"When the time comes... whatever you wish to do to Elara, I will assist you..."
Wiping the residual blood from the corner of her lips, Ai Lan pressed herself against Musa’s broad chest, whispering the poisonous suggestion in a low, intoxicating cadence.
Like a siren luring a sailor to the rocks, her words fanned the flames of dark ambition burning within Musa’s heart.
"Whether we push this to the bitter end or face mutual ruin... Brother Musa, do not hesitate now."
Musa drew a ragged, shuddering breath, slowly closing his bloodshot eyes.
When he had first entered the trial realm, his singular ambition was to ascend as the wise, righteous sovereign of the Sacred Realm!
How had circumstances degenerated into this nightmarish spiral?
At what precise juncture had everything begun to rot away?
Musa snapped his eyes wide open, staring upward through the soaring window toward the golden scroll suspended in the firmament.
The Gold List.
His gaze locked onto the name reigning supreme at the very top, Toji Hisami, as a savage, vulture-like expression twisted his features.
Every single catastrophe had traced its origin back to the moment Toji Hisami had set foot in the trial!
That damned monster!
Dark, malevolent energy spilled uncontrollably from Musa’s physique, while Ai Lan, resting against his chest, curved her lips into a sharp, triumphant smile.
Her gaze drifted blankly toward the distant horizon, concealing thoughts whose depths remained entirely unreadable...
As night descended across the region, covert elements within the Holy Spirit Alliance quietly broke camp under the cover of darkness, initiating their movements...