Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 410: Victory had lasted only hours.

Night had fallen by the time whispers began moving through the Usurpers’ outer tents.

Patrick did not need to ask twice.

He had overheard enough.

The General’s rage and the messenger’s departure.

Ken’s name spoken in low, tense tones.

A Celestial entering the battlefield would not be escalation.

It would be annihilation.

Patrick stood alone near the dim firelight of his assigned post, staring toward the dark horizon where Valerion’s camp lay. He had already done his part once, subtly weakening supply reserves, ensuring the front lines marched slightly nauseous, slightly drained.

But that would not matter if Ken stepped onto the field.

There would be no clever sabotage then...o0pnly overwhelming suppression.

He exhaled slowly.

Then he slipped into the darkness.

---

Valerion’s camp was alert but exhausted. Guards moved in doubled rotations after the day’s battle. Torches lined the perimeter, casting long shifting shadows.

Patrick avoided the main sentry lines, moving through the outer brush with precision born from necessity. When he finally allowed himself to be seen, it was deliberate.

Steel met his throat within seconds.

"Identify yourself," a soldier hissed.

"I’m here for Commander Xavier," Patrick replied calmly. "Tell him his spy wants to speak."

That earned him a pause.

He was escorted, under heavy watch, into the central medical tent.

Inside, the air smelled of herbs and faint residual heat.

Lucas was upright now, though barely.

Bandages wrapped his torso and shoulder. His charred skin was partially treated with restorative salves. His face, without the mask, bore the mark of survival—scorched lines faintly etched along his cheek and jaw.

Jennifer knelt nearby, maintaining a slow healing circulation technique. Lira and Selene stood close. Nyx watched from the rear, silent as ever.

The Ice Belle stood apart, her presence keeping the air cool enough to prevent flare-ups from Lucas’ unstable core.

When Patrick was brought in, several hands moved toward weapons instantly.

Lucas’ vision was clearer now, though still heavy.

He recognized him.

"Let him speak," Lucas said quietly.

Patrick studied him for a moment.

"You look worse than I hoped," he said bluntly.

Lucas almost smirked, though it cost him.

"I’ve looked worse."

Patrick didn’t waste time.

"The General sent for Ken."

The name landed heavily inside the tent.

Even those unfamiliar with Celestial ranks felt the shift in tone.

Patrick continued. "A messenger rode to Rus. If Ken comes personally... your first victory won’t matter."

Jennifer’s hands paused for half a heartbeat before resuming.

Selene’s jaw tightened.

The Ice Belle’s gaze sharpened.

Lucas remained silent for several seconds, processing.

"How long?" he asked.

"Soon," Patrick replied. "The General wasn’t pleased. Rus cost them too many men. Valerion embarrassing them on the next front will force Ken to show up."

Silence settled thickly.

Patrick took a breath.

"There’s more."

Several eyes shifted toward him.

"I’m not going back."

The statement hung in the air.

"They’ll suspect you," Lira said immediately.

"They already do," Patrick replied calmly. "And once Ken steps onto the field, subtle sabotage won’t matter. I chose my side when I weakened their front lines. I’m choosing it fully now."

Lucas studied him carefully.

"You understand what that means," Lucas said.

Patrick nodded. "If Valerion falls, there’s nowhere left to stand anyway."

The Ice Belle spoke for the first time since his arrival.

"You are aware that fighting against a Celestial is not the same as undermining soldiers."

Patrick’s expression didn’t waver.

"I am."

Nyx’s eyes flickered faintly with something unreadable.

Jennifer finally withdrew her hands slowly from Lucas’ core.

"He shouldn’t even be sitting up," she muttered. "And now this."

Lucas inhaled slowly.

The Dragon’s Inferno within him was quieter...for now...held in tenuous balance by the Empress’ celestial essence threading through damaged meridians. But even conscious, he could feel how fragile that balance was.

A Celestial, he wasn’t ready...not physically. But retreat was no longer an option.

He looked at Patrick.

"Then you fight with us," Lucas said simply.

Patrick gave a single nod.

Outside the tent, the camp remained unaware that the scale of the war had just shifted again.

Valerion had won the first exchange...But if Ken answered the summons

The next battle would not be fought between Sages.

It would be fought under the shadow of a Celestial.

Lucas sat upright despite Jennifer’s glare, breath shallow but controlled. The Dragon’s Inferno inside him was quiet for now, but it felt like a coiled storm beneath cracked earth.

"Nyx," he said.

She stepped forward immediately.

"Go to the King. Tell him Ken has been summoned. The next battle will not be fought at Sage level."

Nyx held his gaze for a brief second, then nodded once. No wasted words. No visible fear.

She slipped from the tent like a shadow.

---

The royal command pavilion was still lit despite the late hour.

Victory had not brought rest.

When Nyx entered under guard escort, the atmosphere inside was already tense. Maps were spread across the central table. General Varran stood with arms crossed. Commander Alexander leaned over terrain markers, calculating possible defensive positions.

And at the head of it all stood the King.

His expression was dark.

Nyx gave a slight bow and delivered the message without embellishment.

"The Usurper General has summoned Ken. Patrick confirms the messenger reached Rus. A Celestial may enter the battlefield."

The King’s jaw tightened visibly.

General Varran was the first to speak. "If Ken steps onto the field, our current formation collapses."

Commander Alexander nodded grimly. "Even our Sage ranks would struggle to stand under Celestial pressure."

The King said nothing at first.

Then he exhaled sharply, anger rising not outward, but inward.

"So," he said slowly, "they escalate."

No one answered.

His hand tightened around the edge of the table.

"We have one Celestial who could balance this," he continued, voice edged with restrained fury.

No one needed clarification.

The Empress.

A Celestial-tier existence.

And absent.

The King’s eyes darkened.

"If she had remained true..." he stopped himself, then continued anyway. "If she had stood with us openly, the odds would be even."

In his mind, her distance, her silence, her refusal to act decisively in previous escalations had already planted seeds of resentment. Now, with Ken poised to descend onto the battlefield, that resentment ignited.

General Varran spoke cautiously. "Your Majesty, we do not know her full position."

"We know enough," the King snapped, then immediately regained composure.

He turned away from the table, pacing once.

"A Celestial chooses where to stand," he said quietly. "Neutrality in war is a choice."

Nyx remained kneeling, but her eyes flickered faintly at that.

The King stopped.

"If Ken comes," he said firmly, "we do not meet him in open valley."

Commander Alexander looked up. "You intend defensive fortification?"

"I intend survival."

He turned back toward them.

"Signal all inner territories. Begin phased withdrawal of non-essential forces. Fortify the second ridge line. If a Celestial descends, we make him fight through layered resistance."

General Varran’s voice was tight. "And Xavier?"

The King paused.

"He has done more than expected," he admitted. "But if he stands before a Celestial in his current state, he will die."

The words were blunt...truth, not cruelty.

Outside, the camp still carried remnants of celebration.

Inside the pavilion, that optimism had evaporated.

Nyx rose when dismissed and slipped back into the night.

As she walked, she could feel it.

The shift.

Victory had lasted only hours.

Now doom whispered at the edges again.

If Ken came, and the Empress did not...

Valerion would be facing extinction beneath the shadow of a Celestial.