Chapter 214: The Last Hope of the Everdawn Salvatore [Part 2]

The Last Hope of the Everdawn Salvatore [Part 2]

"Lucas, open your eyes!"

Nothing.

The injuries Jacob had forced himself to ignore finally erupted.

Blood sprayed from countless wounds across his body.

His clothes were already soaked crimson.

Now even more blood dripped onto the ground.

His vision blurred.

His legs buckled.

He nearly collapsed.

But he refused to let go.

Even when his body screamed at him to stop, his arms remained wrapped around Lucas.

"The main family..."

Jacob’s voice trembled.

His eyes stared blankly at the empty mountain.

"I was so foolish..."

A bitter laugh escaped his throat.

It sounded almost broken.

"The Salvatore Family is gone..."

He looked around again.

There was nothing.

"Where is there a main family..."

His voice faded into a whisper.

He had crossed an entire domain because of a rumor.

He had believed it.

He had gambled everything on it.

His family.

His life.

Lucas’s life.

Everything.

And now, at the end of that journey, there was nothing.

Nothing except an empty mountain.

Jacob lowered his head.

A tear slipped down his cheek.

Then—

BOOM!!

A brilliant light suddenly erupted.

Jacob’s pupils contracted.

He instinctively raised his head.

The empty sky seemed to ignite.

A vast wave of warm energy exploded outward.

It swept across the mountain.

Then it washed over Jacob’s battered body.

Jacob froze.

The warmth seeped into his flesh.

It felt like spring rain falling over land that had been dry for centuries.

His wounds began closing.

One after another.

The bleeding slowed.

Then stopped.

The torn muscles across his body began repairing themselves.

Even his shattered bones started knitting back together.

Jacob could barely believe what he was seeing.

But the greatest change happened inside him.

His crumbling dantian, which had been hanging on by a thread, suddenly began stabilizing.

The chaotic energy inside it gradually settled.

Jacob’s breathing stopped.

"What..."

The word barely escaped his lips.

He slowly raised his head.

Something had appeared in the void.

A massive, ethereal stone floated silently above the mountain.

It looked ancient.

Far too ancient.

Its surface was covered in countless weathered marks.

It seemed as though it had existed since an age beyond human memory.

Jacob stared at it.

Then his eyes widened.

There was a single word carved into its surface.

SALVATORE!!!

The moment Jacob saw it, his heart shook.

The characters radiated an immense pressure.

Yet it wasn’t murderous.

It wasn’t oppressive.

Instead, there was warmth within it.

A strange warmth.

A feeling that reached directly into his blood.

It was as though blood was recognizing blood.

The stone’s radiance continued spreading.

A stream of light entered Jacob’s body.

Then another portion flowed toward Lucas.

Jacob’s heart nearly stopped.

The dying child suddenly moved.

His eyelashes fluttered.

His chest rose.

Once.

Weakly.

But it rose.

Jacob’s eyes widened.

"Lucas?"

The child took another shallow breath.

Although a portion of bone was still missing from his chest, the terrible bleeding had stopped.

His condition had stabilized.

Jacob stared at him.

For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.

Then realization struck him.

"The main family..."

His voice trembled.

"The main family!"

His eyes filled with tears.

"It’s the main family!"

His voice grew louder.

"The rumors were true!"

"TRUE!!"

Jacob laughed.

Then he cried.

He didn’t care anymore.

He couldn’t stop himself.

The tears poured down his face.

But for the first time in countless days, they weren’t tears of despair.

They were tears of relief.

He had found them.

The main family really existed.

His journey hadn’t been meaningless.

Lucas wasn’t alone.

He wasn’t alone either.

Jacob held the child closer.

His shoulders shook as he laughed through his tears.

Then—

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

Jacob’s laughter slowly faded.

A figure emerged before him.

Tall.

Majestic.

He wore a black robe embroidered with golden dragons.

The fabric moved gently in the night breeze.

Long black hair fell to his shoulders, swaying softly behind him.

His golden eyes were deep and radiant.

They seemed to contain countless rivers of stars.

Looking into them felt like staring into an endless night sky.

His features were almost impossibly handsome.

Yet there was nothing frivolous about his appearance.

He didn’t need to release an overwhelming aura.

He didn’t need to announce his identity.

He simply stood there.

And the entire world seemed to grow quieter around him.

It was Victor Salvatore.

The Patriarch of the Sovereign Salvatore Family.

Victor’s gaze fell upon Jacob.

Then it moved to the child in his arms.

For a moment, his eyes remained there.

"A descendant of my clan?"

His voice was soft.

Warm.

There was no deliberate majesty in it.

No arrogance.

Yet those simple words carried an indescribable sense of belonging.

The moment Jacob heard them, something inside him finally broke.

He had endured countless dangers.

He had faced killers without begging for mercy.

He had dragged himself across an entire domain while carrying an injured child.

He had continued moving even when his own body was falling apart.

But those words—

They were enough.

Jacob’s knees gave out.

He collapsed onto the ground.

Tears streamed freely down his face.

"Descendant of the Everdawn Salvatore Family greets the main family!"

His forehead lowered toward the ground.

"I beg the main family..."

His voice shook.

"Please save my nephew’s life!"

His entire body trembled.

He could feel it.

The moment he stood before Victor, something within his blood had awakened.

That connection couldn’t be faked.

It wasn’t something that could be explained with words.

It was instinct.

Blood recognizing blood.

The distant connection between branches of the same ancient family suddenly became clear.

Lucas stirred in his arms.

The little boy slowly opened his eyes.

His vision was still blurry.

He blinked several times.

Then his gaze settled on Victor.

The child stared at him.

There was no fear in those blue eyes.

Instead, there was an instinctive sense of closeness.

A warmth Lucas couldn’t explain.

He didn’t know who this man was.

He didn’t know why being near him felt so comforting.

But something inside him told him that this person was safe.

"Are you... my family...?"

His little voice was barely audible.

Victor remained silent.

Lucas blinked.

"Are you..."

His voice became even softer.

"Lucas’s family...?"

Victor’s expression remained gentle.

But something deep within his golden eyes changed.

He looked at the small child.

The pale face.

The weak breathing.

The terrible wound across his chest.

The missing piece of bone.

The blood that had soaked through his clothes.

Something stirred inside Victor.

An unfamiliar fury.

It came so suddenly that even Victor himself had to suppress it.

His golden eyes became colder for a brief moment.

Who had done this?

Who had dared to treat a descendant of the Salvatore Family like this?

Victor’s fingers slowly tightened inside his sleeve.

Then—

[Ding!! Investable Black-Quality Heavenly Mandate clansman detected!]