Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Wynhorn suddenly realized at that moment that she was considering too much, worrying about too much. That was right, she was a swordswoman.

It sounded like she was simply being instigated by Ryu, but as far as Wynhorn was concerned, disagreeing only because she was worried about being painted in such a light would be nothing short of childish and immature. She herself knew the truth and that was all that mattered.

Wynhorn matched Ryu's gaze once more, her calm returning.

"I can't tell whether you are brave or foolish."

Ryu didn't respond, he didn't feel the need to. Ultimately, he wouldn't be the one to decide which of them he was, maybe only the result itself could do so. Plus, as far as he was concerned, bravery had nothing to do with it. Being brave implied that he had a fear to overcome to begin with. And the Martial Gods…?

He didn't fear them.

"From this day forth, my swords faction will be on the side opposing the Martial Gods. However, I hope you don't believe that this will be a unilateral affair. I may be the Matriarch of the Ferum Clan, but I don't have absolute control over everyone. In fact, there is still the Gione Clan as well."

The Swords Faction was made up of two large halves. One was the Ferum Clan, the Sword Armament Clan, and the other was the Gione Clan, the Short Sword Armament Clan.

The good news was that most of the Clans had sided with Arcus because Wynhorn was vaguely on the side of the Martial Gods. If she made a hard stance against them this time, it was likely that the Clans would follow suit and fall in line.

The bad news, though, was that this had been the status quo for too long. With Wynhorn's inaction, the Martial Gods had been able to sink their influence into the Armament Guild deeper and deeper.

Wynhorn suddenly pulling back like this wouldn't automatically erase everything that had happened. There would be many in both high and low positions that had already accepted benefits from the Martial Gods and couldn't exactly extricate themselves easily. There were also many examples of inter-marriage that couldn't just be annulled. There were now children and whole families involved.

It could be said that Wynhorn's inaction had made the problem far worse, but she wasn't the only one at fault. Weren't there countless others who had made the same decision?

"To tell you the truth, I don't particularly care about the details. The only reason I insisted on your taking this path is because wouldn't I be too foolish to strengthen and enemy?"

Wynhorn just shook her head. She was already getting used to Ryu's arrogance. Clearly he was implying that he would destroy the Martial Gods with or without her help, so he didn't care about all these complicated details.

If he did care, he would have Wynhorn secretly change her affiliation and scheme in the background to spring a trap instead of doing things like this. It was obvious he had no mind for such games, or more accurately, he didn't care to play them.

"As for what else I would like you to promise me, that much is even simpler…"

Ryu explained what he wanted. As he did so, whether it was Ryza or Wynhorn, both had expressions that only continuously became weirder and weirder. When Ryu finished, Wynhorn was speechless.

"You… I'm a True Sky God."

Wynhorn finally settled on these words as though she felt the need to remind herself more than she needed to remind Ryu.

What Ryu asked of her wasn't impossible, nor was it difficult. In fact, it would be quite easy on her part. But, why did she feel so used and dirty? How could a person use a favor owed to them by a True Sky God like this?!

Ryu smiled. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

Wynhorn's gaze flickered before she finally sighed. "Fine."

"Excellent."

Ryu's smile brightened.

"Supreme Blacksmith Okie has already been studying the blueprint for a year now and I'm certain that I can trust you two to coordinate appropriately. Here," Ryu handed over a spatial ring, "this should have all the materials you need. If there's a failure, let me know, I have a few more sets."

Wynhorn's expression turned weird again. Just how rich was this young man? Multiple sets of these materials? How was that even possible?

Too bad before she could snap out of her daze, Ryu had already left with Ryza.

**

The location was the Bowman Faction, deep within its territory. Before Ryu and Ryza stood an elaborate palace of gold. Compared to the silent ambience of Wynhorn's gardens or the stoic atmosphere of Okie's valley, this place was abrasive to the point of being blinding.

Ryu and Ryza both stood expressionlessly at the gate. The two of them had already given word of their arrival, and the messenger had even already returned to their post as a guard, but there was no longer any movement.

The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes began to stack one after another.

However, before even the five minute mark, Ryu turned on his heels and began to walk away.

Ryza's expression flickered slightly, but she too followed him away in silence.

Ryu wasn't a man who liked to explain himself, and saying words of revenge was even less likely. He preferred to act when he could do so.

However, that didn't mean that the words themselves weren't spoken in his heart. He would make certain that Supreme Blacksmith Arcus knew that this was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Right at that moment, the world began to shake and quake violently. The cities that hung upon nothing swayed wildly, threatening to fall from the starry skies like streaking meteors.

Ryu's gaze narrowed, his head tilting up into the skies. But, what he saw caused even his eyes to widen, a rarely seen expression of shock appearing on his features.

ROOOOAAAARRR!!!!

BANG!

The sound of shattering glass resounded, bits and pieces of space spiraling out of control.

In the skies, an enormous creature appeared.

It was covered from head to toe in vibrant green scales. It had the body of a snaking serpent and the head of a horned dragon. It had four legs, each vibrating with shimmering claws.

Every time it roared, space would be split apart by countless windblades, the emerald slit of its pupils reflecting dominance and superiority.

A Wind Dragon had appeared above the Armament Guild.

The Ancestral Beasts had returned.