Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 415: Ken’s arrival 2

Commander Alexander stepped forward beside the King, his jaw tight.

"So it’s true," he muttered.

Captain Varran’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword, though he knew very well that such a weapon meant nothing in the face of a Celestial.

"The usurpers brought him," Varran said quietly.

The King said nothing.

His eyes remained fixed on the distant figure.

Henrietta, Lira, Selene, and Nyx had now moved to Lucas’s side. They had clearly felt the pressure the moment it arrived.

Lira crossed her arms tightly across her chest, trying to hide how uneasy she felt.

Selene stood very close to Lucas now, her gaze fixed on the opposite army.

"They look confident," she said softly.

Lucas let out a quiet breath.

"Of course they do."

He nodded toward the enemy lines.

"They have a Celestial standing with them."

Nyx watched silently for a moment before speaking.

"If he joins the battle..."

She did not finish the sentence.

She did not need to.

Everyone present already knew the ending of that thought.

The battle would be over before it even truly began.

Lucas studied the enemy lines carefully.

Some of the usurper commanders had already begun gesturing toward the valley floor, clearly preparing their troops. But none of them moved too quickly.

They did not need to.

With Celestial Ken present, they had all the time in the world.

Lucas exhaled slowly.

"I don’t blame them," he said quietly.

Selene looked at him.

"For what?"

"For smiling."

He nodded again toward the enemy.

"If I had a Celestial standing behind my army, I’d probably be smiling too."

A few steps away, the Ice Belle stood calmly with her hands behind her back. The bracelet on her wrist glowed faintly as it continued drawing Qi from the Core of Dominion.

Unlike the others, she did not seem even slightly troubled by the pressure filling the valley.

In fact, Lucas noticed something else.

Her eyes were fixed on the distant figure of Celestial Ken.

And she was smiling with clear interest.

As if she had finally found something worth her attention.

Lucas noticed it immediately.

He wiped the last trace of cold sweat from his temple and muttered quietly to himself.

"Well..."

His eyes remained locked on the Celestial across the valley.

"...this is going to be interesting."

The silence across the valley did not last long.

From the opposite side where the usurpers army stood gathered, the mood was unmistakable. Their lines were relaxed in a way soldiers rarely were before battle. Helmets tilted casually. Spears rested loosely on shoulders. Some of the men were even laughing among themselves.

Those smug expressions were impossible to miss.

They knew exactly why they were confident.

At the center of their formation stood Celestial Ken, unmoving, his presence alone pressing down on the entire valley like a silent declaration that the battle had already been decided.

The Ice Belle’s eyes narrowed.

For a moment she watched them quietly.

Then she clicked her tongue in open irritation.

"Disgusting," she muttered.

Lucas glanced sideways at her.

Her gaze remained fixed on the enemy soldiers who were grinning and whispering confidently among themselves.

"They smile as if victory is already theirs," she said coldly.

One of the enemy officers on the far ridge lifted a hand and said something to the men around him. A ripple of laughter spread through that section of their army.

The Ice Belle’s lips curled slightly.

"Idiots," she cursed under her breath.

Then louder, with clear annoyance in her voice, she added, "I hope they keep those smiles when the battle starts."

Lucas almost smirked, though the situation hardly deserved humor.

Behind them, the Valerion camp had begun to move.

Commander Alexander’s voice rose across the field, sharp and disciplined.

"Form ranks!"

Captain Varran echoed the orders immediately after, his tone carrying the authority of a veteran who had commanded countless battles.

"Shield lines forward! Spearmen behind them!"

The soldiers responded quickly despite the crushing pressure in the air.

Armor clanked.

Boots shifted across the ground as formations slowly took shape. Rows of shields rose together while spears aligned behind them. Cavalry units gathered along the flanks as officers moved through the ranks shouting instructions.

Even under the oppressive aura of a Celestial, discipline held.

These were not untrained men.

They were Valerion soldiers.

Lucas watched them carefully...Some of them were pale. Some gripped their weapons too tightly.

But they were all determined, that alone said a great deal.

Near the front of the forming ranks stood the King.

His posture was straight, though Lucas could see the heaviness in his shoulders. The weight of betrayal, the losses of the campaign, and now the arrival of a Celestial had clearly carved deep lines into his expression.

He looked tired. Defeated, perhaps. But he had not stepped back.

He had not hidden in his tent.

Instead he stood where every soldier could see him.

A king among his army.

Captain Varran approached him briefly and spoke in a low voice. The King nodded once before stepping forward several paces, his gaze fixed firmly across the valley at the usurpers’ army.

Lucas studied him for a moment.

"He knows," Selene said quietly beside him.

Lucas nodded slightly.

"He knows the odds."

Nyx stood with her arms folded, watching the soldiers assemble.

"And he’s still standing there," she added softly.

Lira let out a quiet breath.

"That’s what a king does."

Across the valley the usurpers continued watching, their confidence unshaken. Some of them pointed toward the forming Valerion lines as if discussing how quickly the battle would end.

None of them seemed worried.

Why would they be?

They had a Celestial.

The Ice Belle looked from their smug faces to the distant figure of Ken standing among them.

Her irritation had not faded.

In fact it seemed to grow sharper.

"They think that man has already won this war for them," she said.

Lucas crossed his arms slowly.

"They’re not entirely wrong."

The Ice Belle glanced at him.

"You really have no faith today."

Lucas gave a quiet sigh.

"I deal in probabilities."

She studied him for a moment before looking back toward the valley again.

"Well," she said calmly, "I deal in surprises."

Behind them, the Valerion army finally settled into formation.

Shields locked together. spears angled forward.

Thousands of soldiers stood ready, their faces grim but steady.

The King stepped slightly ahead of the first rank.

For a brief moment the entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath.

Even with defeat looming over them, the soldiers of Valerion stood prepared to fight.

Not because they believed they would win.

But because this was their kingdom.

And if it had to fall today...

Then they would fall defending it.

A movement from the enemy lines slowly drew everyone’s attention.

Celestial Ken had begun walking forward.

There was nothing dramatic about it. No burst of power. No lightning tearing across the sky. He simply stepped out from the center of the usurpers’ formation and moved down the gentle slope toward the valley floor.

Yet every step he took seemed to press deeper into the air.

The ground did not tremble, but it felt as if the world itself shifted to accommodate him.

Beside him walked the general Lucas had fought earlier, the same man whose armor still bore the marks of their brutal clash. Though the general carried himself with authority, standing next to Ken made even him seem smaller.

The two figures continued walking until they reached the center of the valley.

Right where the battle earlier had raged.

Right where men had died screaming beneath steel and fire.

They stopped there.

Lucas watched them carefully.

Around him the Valerion lines remained steady, though many soldiers had instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons.

The King saw it too.

He raised one hand slightly.

Commander Alexander leaned closer. "Your Majesty?"

The King’s gaze remained fixed on the two figures waiting in the valley.

Then he spoke quietly.

"Xavier. Alexander. With me."

Neither of them hesitated.

Lucas stepped forward immediately, adjusting the glove on his hand where the Dominion bracelet rested hidden beneath his sleeve, then he adjusted his mask. Commander Alexander followed from the other side, his posture stiff but controlled.

Together they walked down the slope toward the valley floor.

Behind them thousands of Valerion soldiers watched in silence.

Across the battlefield the usurpers army did the same.

The distance between the two sides felt immense.

The closer Lucas came to the center of the valley, the clearer the aftermath of the earlier battle became.

Bodies still lay scattered across the ground.

Valerion soldiers, Usurpers soldiers. Dead horses twisted where they had fallen.

Broken spears and shattered shields littered the earth like discarded bones. The smell of burnt wood and scorched earth lingered in the air where elemental techniques had torn through the battlefield earlier.

Thin trails of smoke still rose from a few blackened patches of ground.

The King did not slow.

His cloak moved slightly behind him as he approached the waiting figures.

Soon the five men stood facing each other in the middle of the battlefield.