Baron Von Hess paced his grand hall, a furious, portly figure in silks and furs, his face puce with rage. Kaelen, Borin, and Sylas, battered and humiliated, stood before him, stammering out their tale of the mysterious young man who had single-handedly decimated his elite cultivators and defied his authority.
"One man?" the Baron shrieked, striking a fist against a nearby table, sending goblets clattering. "One insolent upstart laid low my Blade and Hammer? This is an insult! A direct challenge to my rule! He must be crushed! Oakhaven must be razed!"
His advisors, a collection of equally fearful and sycophantic nobles, murmured agreement, careful not to meet his eyes. They knew the Baron's temper.
"My Lord," Borin, still nursing a throbbing head, managed to interject, "He is no ordinary man. He possesses a Qi Condensation cultivation, perhaps even mid-stage. His spiritual energy is incredibly pure, and his techniques... they were devastatingly precise. He did not kill us, but he crippled our Dantians. It was a clear message."
"A message?!" the Baron roared, his eyes bulging. "The message is that he is dead! Gather the legion! All twenty of my best footmen, and my remaining cultivators! This time, I will lead the charge myself! We will show Oakhaven, and this 'Rylan Sterling,' the true might of Baron Von Hess!"
Borin and Sylas exchanged glances. Leading the charge himself? The Baron was a loudmouth, not a warrior. But his pride had been wounded too deeply for reason.
Back in Oakhaven, Rylan felt the shift in the spiritual currents. The calm that had settled after the last confrontation was subtly disturbed, replaced by a growing ripple of agitation. His newly refined spiritual sense, a product of his Qi Condensation (Mid-Stage) realm, picked up the distant but undeniable presence of a large, armed force heading their way. And at its head, a single, less refined but very prominent spiritual signature – the Baron himself.
"He's coming," Rylan announced to Elder Kael, his voice quiet but firm, as he stood at the village's edge. "And he's bringing his entire legion. And himself."
Kael's face paled. "The Baron himself? But he never leaves his keep! This is truly a declaration of war, Master Rylan!"
"Indeed," Rylan replied, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "And it is precisely what I expected."
He turned to his Harem. Elara stood beside him, her small form radiating fierce loyalty. Lyra was already preparing a new batch of her smoke concoctions, her intelligent eyes alight with anticipation, while Lena tended to a nervous villager, her healing aura calming.
"Elara," Rylan instructed, "take a few of the younger children and keep them in the safest, reinforced house. Keep them calm."
"Yes, Master Rylan," she replied, already moving to gather them.
"Lyra," Rylan continued, "your skills will be crucial. Position yourself with Lena near the main path. Create a diversion, obscure their vision, disrupt their advance. Do not engage directly. Their focus will be on me."
Lyra nodded, her gaze sharp. "Understood, Master Rylan. We'll make it messy for them."
Lena, though still visibly nervous, gripped her healing pouch. "I will do my best to help Lyra, Master Rylan, and keep the villagers safe."
Rylan gave each of them a reassuring nod, then looked towards the approaching dust cloud. This was it. Not just a test of his power, but a grand display to break the Baron's rule entirely. He moved to the center of the path leading into Oakhaven, a lone figure once more, but this time, he wasn't just defending. He was conquering.
He expanded his spiritual energy, letting it flow outwards, a silent, imperious challenge that rippled through the air, pushing back against the advancing force's own oppressive presence. The Baron and his legion were approaching Oakhaven, but they were not marching into a helpless village. They were marching into the domain of the Lustful Emperor. And this time, there would be no simple retreat.
End of chapter 19