2025-07-18 19:52:04A ripple of shock swept through the plaza.
“What the heil? She’s demanding an oath?”
“Does she even realize what that means for the Sables?”
If Calista didn’t ask for it, there would at least be some breathing room, other houses wouldn’t dare squeeze the Sables dry as long as House Crowne left a crack open.
But forcing Ronan to swear?
That sealed every exit.
The Sables would be doomed.
Was this beauty simply foolish, or did she actually harbor hatred toward her own family?
Some spectators let out mocking chuckles, already eager to see how the Sables would survive.
Meanwhile, Ronan couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.
How had he ever fallen for such a woman so foolish in his previous life?
Low talent, weak cultivation, and not even that bright.
Yet Calista seemed completely unaware of the whispers around her.
Her gaze never left Ronan.
“Swear it here, in front of everyone,” she demanded coolly.
“Say you’ll break this engagement, and let me be free. If you do that, I’ll finally believe you.”
Her arrogance stunned the crowd.
“Very well,” Ronan answered calmly.
He lifted his right hand, palm to the heavens.
“I, Ronan Crowne, vow before the heavens and the Will of Arken: I will never love Calista Sable. I will annul our engagement tomorrow. And I will bear no regret.”
“Should I break this oath, may my cultivation collapse and my soul be scattered.”
BOOM!
Golden light flooded across the plaza, billowing from Ronan’s body.
Mystical runes coiled through the air as an ancient aura wrapped him in brilliance.
Everyone understood, the Will of Arken had witnessed the vow.
The plaza fell deathly silent.
Now there was no doubt.
Ronan truly intended to sever all ties with Calista!
“Oh my gosh.. the Sables are finished!”
“Honestly... this is ridiculous. I can’t wait to see how the Sables react.”
The murmurs never reached Calista.
In her mind, there was only one thought: she was finally free.
If Ronan broke that vow, he would face death and annihilation.
That alone was enough to satisfy her.
“Hmph, at least you know your place,” Calista said lightly, her tone dripping with condescension, as though praising a well-trained servant.
The onlookers exchanged baffled looks.
Where on earth did she get that sense of superiority?
Didn’t she know that without House Crowne, the Sables were nothing?
Ronan, however, was not surprised at all.
In his previous life, Calista and the Sables had always carried themselves with such unearned pride.
As memories of his family’s slaughter surfaced, a lethal chill flickered through Ronan’s eyes.
Ending the engagement was just the beginning.
There were blood debts yet to be paid.
The Sables, and that so-called Chosen One, would not escape!
At that instant, a gentle warmth pulsed from the family pendant at his neck.
The silver relic melted into liquid light, sinking into his chest.
When it cooled, the Crowne crest burned itself above his heart.
And a voice echoed within his mind:
[Your resolve to change fate has been confirmed. From this moment on, you are marked as a Sovereign Candidate. Welcome, Ronan Crowne, to the road of ascension—the path to become Sovereign of All Realms.]
[Every attempt to rewrite destiny will yield rich returns.]
The pendant pulsed. Then, another shimmering message followed:
[Frist target revealed: The Chosen One, Lucien Cross.]
Data unfurled like flowing script before his inner sight.
[To bring down the Chosen One, you must sever his destiny.]
[Three paths await you: Seize his opportunities. Steal his allies. Break his spirit. Each loss he suffers becomes your gain.]
As the final fragments of information settled, clarity washed over Ronan’s heart.
If that was the case ...
Well then, he now had a more solid reason to dismantle the Sables.
After all, at this point in time, Calista and the Sables were already using Crowne resources to nurture Lucien Cross.
Just then, the smug smile on Calista’s face faded as she cut into Ronan’s thoughts.
“I’ll be waiting at home tomorrow,” she said coldy. “Break your vow, and you’ll die.”
The she added, her lips curling, “Actually… I hope you do. Just so I can watch you suffer.”
The crowd recoiled in stunned disbelief.
“She just… cursed the Crowne heir?”
“After everything he gave her, resources, status, divine weapons and numerous gifts, and now she wishes him dead?”
“Disgusting. No shame. No gratitude.”
“She deserves whatever storm is coming.”
“I’ll be there.” Ronan replied lazily. “Exactly at nine.”
“Good,” Calista said. She turned to leave.
“Why the rush?” Ronan drawled, his tone laced with mockery.
“Since you want nothing to do with me or House Crowne, please return everything that belongs to us then.”
“That includes the B-rank Energy Weapon you’re clutching… and that violet-gold bracelet on your wrist.”
“You see, they were never yours.”
Calista froze mid-step.
“What did you just say?” she asked in disbelief, her voice rise in rage.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Cost of Holding the Line
“Seal the lattice!”The command tore through every channel at once.At the Outer Defense Command, Captain Hale slammed his palm against the console, eyes locked onto the collapsing window of time.“Crowne, move!” Hale barked into the open channel. “All long-range units—cover him! Clear the path!”Orders cascaded instantly.From the perimeter towers, rail cannons and long-range pulse rifles roared to life. Brilliant streaks of compressed force tore across the unsafe zone, slamming into lesser beasts that surged forward, drawn by the blinding cadence of the Golden Blade.Several fell.Several more replaced them.“There are too many!” an operator shouted. “The unsafe zone is swarming—fire is slowing them but not stopping them!”“Doesn’t matter,” Hale snapped. “Buy him seconds. That’s all he needs!”On the ground, Ronan could feel it—the pressure shifting as distant fire carved narrow gaps through the chaos ahead. Not enough to secure the field. Not enough to make it safe.But enough to r
Beyond the Line
The decision did not echo with ceremony.Ronan Crowne left the grounds of House Crowne under a sky already bending with pressure, the distant air trembling faintly as if the land itself sensed what was coming. The outer lights of Thalara dimmed behind him—not by command, but by instinct, as civilian grids rerouted power inward.Garrick Crowne walked at his left.Magnus Crowne at his right.Behind them, the fighters of House Crowne moved in disciplined silence—no banners, no proclamations. This was not a march meant to be seen. It was a path meant to be carved.“Once we cross the outer line,” Garrick said calmly, eyes forward, “there is no military command that can pull us back.”Ronan nodded. “I know.”Magnus glanced toward the distant horizon, where pressure warped the night into a low, distorted haze.“We clear what follows you,” he said. “You do not slow down. You do not turn back.”“I won’t,” Ronan replied.The moment they stepped beyond the final defensive marker, the difference
The Decoy
The command post near Thalara’s outer boundary was no longer tense.It was frantic.“How long until reinforcement arrives?” someone shouted.A voice answered immediately, too fast, too sharp.“Eight minutes minimum!”“Eight minutes?!” another snapped. “The beast will reach the inner city in five!”On the projection, the dominion-class beast was already pushing past the last rural buffer. Its massive silhouette warped the pressure field ahead of it, steps slow but unstoppable. The defensive grid tried to compensate—failed—recalculated—failed again.The system had already lost the race.“This isn’t possible,” an officer said hoarsely. “That zone was classified stable!”“Stable doesn’t matter anymore,” another replied. “It’s already inside trajectory!”Ronan Crowne stepped forward.“I can pull it away.”The words cut through the chaos—not loudly, but cleanly.Several heads snapped toward him.“Pull it away?” someone repeated, incredulous.“You mean you lure it?”“That’s insanity,” anothe
When Silence Breaks
The auditors had not yet left their seats.Slates were still open. The last exchange—procedural, measured, unresolved—hung in the air like a blade paused mid-fall. Cassian Holt stood near the head of the chamber, posture straight, expression unreadable. Magnus and Garrick Crowne remained composed, hands folded, eyes alert.Ronan stood with them.Then the floor hummed.Not loudly. Not violently. A low, unfamiliar vibration slipped through the chamber’s foundation, subtle enough that only those trained to notice instability reacted at once.Cassian Holt’s head snapped up.The room’s ambient lights dimmed a fraction—then steadied.A heartbeat passed.Then every emergency slate in the room lit up at once.Red.Not audit red.Defense red.A sharp tone cut through the chamber—brief, clipped, unmistakable.“Outer Defense breach alert,” an automated voice announced. “Unregistered dominion-class entity detected within Thalara inner perimeter.”The auditors froze.“What does that mean?” one of
Breach Without an Alarm
The audit did not begin with accusation.It began with silence.Morning light filtered through the tall windows of the Crowne audit chamber in Thalara, casting pale reflections across stone floors polished by centuries of restraint. The auditors took their seats in disciplined order, slates activating one by one, their expressions neutral enough to be unsettling.Ronan stood with the elders of House Crowne—Magnus and Garrick flanking him like immovable pillars. No Patriarch sat at the head. Lucas Crowne remained in interstellar command, his absence noted by everyone and spoken by no one.Cassian Holt occupied the observer’s position.As oversight.“The audit of House Crowne,” the lead auditor announced calmly, “will proceed in accordance with planetary governance statutes of Arken. This session concerns compliance, transparency, and risk evaluation. No conclusions will be drawn today.”Measured. Careful. Surgical.The first inquiries were administrative—records of holdings, deployment
Fault Lines
The golden trace moved again at dawn.Captain Hale was already in the command pit when the perimeter lattice recalibrated itself—quietly, without alarms. The update slid across the main projection like a scar shifting under skin, its coordinates tightening along the defensive arc nearest Thalara’s civilian sectors.“Confirm drift rate,” Hale said.“Confirmed,” an operator replied. “Incremental advance. Same cadence. Same restraint.”Hale leaned in, jaw set. The trace wasn’t testing boundaries anymore. It was learning habits—how close it could press without provoking response, how long command would watch before acting.“Shadow it,” Hale ordered. “Passive only. Randomize patrol cadence within tolerance. I don’t want them reading us.”“Yes, Captain.”The map steadied. The golden residue hovered just beyond escalation thresholds, deliberate as a held breath.Hale exhaled once. “They’re daring us to blink.”Behind him, General Alaric Bray observed in silence. His eyes tracked the data wit
You may also like
Programmer in Another World
AmeronWerschrux_16.7K viewsGlad He Hate All ~Gladiator~
Zuxian15.5K viewsThe Tribrid
Author Wonder18.6K viewsI AM DESTINY'S MISTAKE
Dere_Isaac16.8K viewsThe Seven Demon's Tamer
Saliu Ibrahim1.5K viewsAfter I Died, I Recarnated as a dragon lord
Alex Nick1.1K viewsCalamity In The Another World
Bimbroz1.3K viewsVillain Eternal
MaxHolmes745 views