Chapter 212: Assembling the Blades

Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Assembling the Blades

The Knights of the Horizon council chamber was located deep beneath the New Miami mansion — a vast underground hall with reinforced walls, mana-shielded communication arrays, and a circular table that seated thirty. Lucian stood before the council alongside Miss Solstice for over two hours, presenting his evidence, answering questions, and dismantling every objection.

The Nasrullah documents sealed it. The council approved the operation unanimously.

Three hours later, Solstice had assembled the force.

The training ground behind the mansion was enormous — a reinforced concrete arena designed to withstand Grand Core combat easily. Fifty cultivators stood in formation. Nineteen of them were Grand Core masters. The rest were Elite Core Realm Knights — support staff, healers, technicians, and assassins.

Lucian stood on the elevated platform beside Solstice, scanning the assembled force with his Primordial Sight. Clara and Mickey beside him, their presence drawing curious glances from several Knights who didn’t recognize them.

Two figures stood at the front of the formation. Both radiated Peak Grand Core aura.

The first was a towering man in his late fifties. Silver-streaked black hair tied in a topknot. Scarred forearms. A heavy broadsword strapped to his back. His name was Gideon Hart — Vice Guild Master of the Silver Dawn Guild, one of the most reputable hunter guilds in the United States. His ability was S-Rank Gravitational Compression — the power to crush anything within a fifty-meter radius into a singularity. He was forty-seven years old and had been a Peak Grand Core master for over a decade.

The second was a woman in her early forties. Sharp features. Auburn hair cut short. Cold, calculating blue eyes. Serena Holst — Vice Guild Master of the Iron Fortress Guild. Her ability was S-Rank Absolute Zero — the power to freeze anything, including mana itself, to temperatures approaching absolute zero. She was fifty-three and had survived more vampire encounters than anyone else in the Knights.

Behind them stood two Late Grand Core masters — aThe two Late Grand Core masters stood behind them — Darius Thorne, a scarred veteran with A-Rank Earth Fortress, and Linnea Frost, a quiet woman with A-Rank Sound Manipulation.

Five Mid Grand Core masters. Ten Early Grand Core masters. All seasoned Knights with combat experience.

Among the Early Grand Core masters, a familiar face caught Lucian’s attention. A young man with red hair, broad shoulders, and an easy grin. Declan Rhodes.

He stood at attention with the other Early Grand Core Knights. The last time Lucian had seen him, Declan was Mid Core Realm. Now, in just over a year, he had broken through to Early Grand Core. With an S-Grade ability like Golden Body, the rapid progression wasn’t surprising.

Declan’s eyes scanned the platform. He spotted Lucian and waved enthusiastically. Lucian raised his hand in return.

Clara glanced at Lucian. "Friend of yours?"

"Knight mission in Egypt a while back," Lucian murmured. "He’s quite strong."

Solstice stepped forward. The assembled Knights straightened.

"Listen carefully. Some of you are not aware of what we’re about to face. What I’m about to tell you has been classified at the highest level of the World Government for centuries."

A murmur rippled through the formation. Whisper. Whisper.

"Vampires are real."

Silence. Then —

"What?"

"Vampires? Like... actual vampires?"

"Is this a joke?"

Solstice raised her hand. Silence returned. "I assure you, this is no joke. Vampire clans have existed on Earth for close to a millennia now — long before the Cataclysm. They operate in secret, feeding on humans, manipulating governments, and growing their power from the shadows. They possess superhuman strength, speed, senses, and most critically — regeneration. A vampire at the same cultivation realm as a human is physically superior in almost every category."

The Knights exchanged glances. Some faces hardened with resolve. Others paled. Those hearing about vampires for the first time struggled to process the revelation.

Solstice continued. "These vampires have committed countless atrocities. They destroyed the European All-Star Academy two months ago. They were involved in the New Geneva crisis. They run blood farms — facilities where humans are kept as cattle, drained of their blood to feed vampire families. They’ve destroyed settlements, killed thousands, and infiltrated the World Government itself."

Tick. A Knight shifted uncomfortably. Another clenched his fists.

"Among the people I’ve selected for this mission are reputable healers and supporters. You’ll need them. Vampire attacks are brutal — their claws and fangs carry venom, their abilities are combat-oriented, and they do not stop unless destroyed."

Solstice paused. Her expression hardened.

"There will be casualties. I won’t lie to you. But we will reduce them as much as possible through teamwork and coordination. Never — under any circumstances — fight a vampire alone in a one-on-one engagement. They will outlast you. They will outspeed you. They will regenerate from wounds that would kill any human. Fight in pairs. Fight in teams. Overwhelm them with numbers and coordinated attacks."

The formation was silent. The weight of her words settled over them like a physical burden.

"We leave now," Solstice said. "Vampires are generally stronger at night. We strike during the day, when their power is at its lowest. The journey will take several hours."

She turned toward the platform. Her eyes found Lucian.

"This operation will be led by the person who brought us the intelligence. Lucian Grimaud."

Every head turned toward Lucian. Fifty pairs of eyes settled on him — a sixteen-year-old boy with silver hair, crimson eyes, and an Early Grand Core aura that felt utterly unremarkable compared to the powerhouses in the formation.

Gideon Hart stepped forward. His voice was deep. "With all due respect, Miss Solstice — you want us to follow a kid? He’s Early Grand Core. I have socks older than him. What combat experience could he possibly have leading an operation of this scale?"

Whisper. Whisper. Several Knights nodded in agreement.

Lucian’s expression didn’t change. He stared at Gideon Hart without blinking.

In his mind, however, a different world flickered.

Lucian Noctis Vael. Standing before armies of fifty thousand. Planning campaigns that spanned continents. Manipulating entire factions into destroying each other before his forces ever engaged. Leading generals who had fought for decades. Conquering cities. Toppling an empire.

His past life memories were still incomplete — fragmented, scattered, like a shattered mirror. But he had recovered roughly a third of them, including the final Chapters of his past life. The memories of betrayal. The memories of war. The memories of a man who had commanded more soldiers than every person in this room combined.

What would these people think if they knew? Lucian wondered silently.

Solstice spoke before Lucian could respond. "Lucian Grimaud has completed multiple Knight missions, including the Kharga operation where he fought Late Core Realm vampires as an Early Core Realm cultivator. He provided the intelligence for this operation. He has direct combat experience against the vampire clans we’re targeting. And he has an ability that allows him to identify enemy abilities and cultivation realms at a glance."

She paused. Her eyes swept the formation. "I chose him for a reason. If I didn’t trust his capability, he wouldn’t be standing here."

Gideon Hart stared at Lucian for a long moment. His jaw tightened. Then he stepped back into formation. He didn’t look convinced — but he wasn’t arguing anymore. Afterall, this was Miss Solcitise who was rumored to already be at the Early Astral Realm.

Serena Cross, the other Peak Grand Core master, studied Lucian with sharp, analytical eyes. She said nothing but her expression carried a hint of curiosity.

Solstice nodded. "Move out."

The formation broke. Fifty cultivators loaded into five reinforced, mana-powered transport vehicles. Vrrrrm. Vrrrrm. Engines hummed to life. Doors slammed shut. Bam. Bam.

Lucian, Clara, and Mickey climbed into the lead vehicle. Clara sat beside Lucian. Mickey took the seat across from them, cleaning the blade hidden in his walking stick. Click. Slide. Click.

The convoy departed the mansion. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a private airfield. Three military-grade transport aircraft waited on the runway.

The flight to Egypt took less than an hour. Inside the aircraft, Knights reviewed mission briefs, checked equipment, and meditated. Lucian sat with his eyes closed, reviewing the Apep fortress layout from Ramses’s memories one final time.

They landed at a military airfield in southern Egypt. Vehicles were waiting. Vrrrrm. The convoy moved into the Western Desert, following coordinates Lucian provided.

Four hours of desert driving. The sun hung low on the horizon. The dunes grew rockier. The terrain shifted from soft sand to jagged stone formations.

"Stop here," Lucian said.

The vehicles halted. Doors opened as the fifty cultivators stepped out into the late afternoon sun.

"We go on foot from here," Lucian said. "The base is two kilometers ahead. They have sensory formations. Vehicles will trigger them easily but we can conceal our presence to the bare minimum to avoid the formation’s detentions."

Dorian Vale, one of the Late Grand Core masters, stepped forward. He raised both hands. Thrum. Mana gathered around his palms. He chanted softly, his voice resonating with ancient syllables.

Fwooooosh.

A wave of mana washed over the entire group. Fifty cultivators shimmered — their bodies blurring, fading, becoming one with the desert landscape. Within seconds, they were completely invisible leaving no trace of their mana signatures or presence.

Lucian examined the spell with his Primordial Sight. Even with his enhanced perception, the invisibility was nearly flawless — only the faintest distortion in the air gave any hint of fifty people standing in formation.

"Impressive," Lucian murmured to Clara. "I wouldn’t be able to see through this without Primordial Sight."

Clara nodded, her eyes scanning the empty space around them. "I wouldn’t even notice with my vampire senses. And my senses are sharper than most Grand Core cultivators."

Mickey chimed in, his voice low. "That guy’s invisibility ability has to be at least A-Rank or higher. That level of concealment across fifty people simultaneously... that’s not something you see every day."

The group moved. Fifty invisible cultivators advancing across the rocky desert in disciplined formation. Tap. Tap. Tap. Silent footsteps on stone. The sun dipped lower. Shadows lengthened across the dunes.

After twenty minutes of careful movement, Lucian raised his fist. Stop. The formation halted.

Before them, a massive wall of swirling sand stretched across the horizon — a perpetual sandstorm that roared without wind, a sand veil that obscured everything behind it. Fshhhhhh. Sand particles spun at high velocity, each grain carrying enough mana to slice through steel.

The entrance to the Temple of the Forgotten Sun.