Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Stepping into the Vaelstrum Estate

Chapter 280: Stepping into the Vaelstrum Estate

"Rhain?"

The captain muttered the name, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Then, the realization crashed into his mind.

Rhain.

There was only one person named Rhain whose existence had recently shaken the entire Solathane Dynasty to its very core.

The lunatic who had murdered the Crown Prince’s clone openly.

The prime target of an Imperial Royal Decree, currently hiding behind the walls of the Valdris Royal Academy.

"R-Rhain Voss???" the captain gasped, blood instantly drained from the captain’s face, leaving him as pale as a sheet of paper.

The elite guards behind him also sucked in sharp breaths of cold air, their hands sweating profusely against the hilts of their weapons.

The youth standing before them was the walking calamity who had provoked the wrath of the Emperor himself!

Why was he standing outside the Vaelstrum Clan’s gates?

"You..." The captain swallowed hard, his throat completely dry. He didn’t know if he would be punished for reporting that such a notorious man was standing right before their doors.

Rhain’s dark grey eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you deaf?" Rhain asked lazily. "I said, go tell your Patriarch that I have the solution for the problem they are facing."

The captain felt cold sweat break out in his forehead.

His mind was spinning rapidly. He didn’t know if he would be punished just for reporting that such a notorious, dynasty-shaking fugitive was standing right before their doors.

But looking into the youth’s placid, unbothered dark grey eyes, the captain felt an invisible weight pressing down on his chest.

"Y-Yes! Yes, of course!" the captain stammered, nodding his head repeatedly like a chicken pecking at grain. "I will go and report this matter immediately! Please, wait just a moment!"

He abruptly turned back to the dozen elite guards standing behind him, his voice trembling.

"Hold the line! Do not let anyone enter before I come back!"

It was a strict, authoritative command for the sake of appearances, but in his heart, the captain knew perfectly well that it was a meaningless order.

If this monster, who had the audacity to slaughter the Crown Prince’s clone and walk the streets with a bounty on his head, actually wanted to break in... his squad of Core Formation guards wouldn’t even be able to stall him for a single breath.

Without wasting another microsecond, the captain turned on his heel and sprinted frantically into the sprawling estate, heading straight for the central grand hall.

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Meanwhile, deep inside the opulent, silver-and-gold-draped grand hall of the Vaelstrum Clan.

The atmosphere was unspeakably grim.

The Vaelstrum Patriarch stood with a deep frown on his face.

Standing around him were the dozen Domain Master elders comprising the clan’s inner council.

And standing directly opposite of the patriarch was First Elder Draven, his face dark and incredibly ugly.

"Patriarch," Draven reported, his voice filled with suppressed humiliation. "I went to the Celestial Elixir Pavilion personally. I met with their manager, Vulcan. I offered them astronomical sums, exclusive trade routes, and guaranteed protection."

Draven’s fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"But he flatly refused any cooperation. He stated clearly that the Celestial Elixir Pavilion will never do business with the Vaelstrum Clan. They didn’t even leave room for negotiation."

A heavy silence descended upon the council.

"This is a disaster," a hot-tempered elder groaned, his face pale. "Nebula Sword Sect is already purchasing thousands of those flawless Epic-Grade pills. Their younger generation is experiencing breakthroughs every single day. If we cannot find a way to access that Pavilion’s supply, we will be completely crushed within a decade!"

"But what else can we do?" another elder argued bitterly. "We cannot attack them. We cannot buy from them. Are we just supposed to sit here and watch our thousand-year legacy crumble?"

Just as the elders were descending into a frantic, helpless debate over their next steps—

BANG!

The giant doors of the grand hall were violently pushed open.

The captain of the gate rushed in hastily, his chest heaving violently.

It wasn’t exhaustion from the sprint that made him gasp for air, but the sheer, mind-numbing fear and pressure of the matter.

"Patriarch! Elders! Something urgent has happened!" the captain yelled, dropping to one knee.

The sudden intrusion instantly drew the ire of the already stressed council.

"Insolence!" one of the elders scolded the captain furiously. "Why are you in such a frantic hurry? We are in the midst of a critical clan meeting! How dare you disturb us without proper summons?"

Another elder gave a fierce glare to the captain. "You are the captain of the main gates! Your duty is to safeguard our borders! Why are you here instead of standing at your post?"

The captain kept his head bowed, swallowing dryly as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"Forgive me, Elders! But I had to report this immediately!" the captain gasped out. "Rhain... Rhain has come to our doors!"

The grand hall went silent for a fraction of a second.

The elders exchanged bewildered, slightly confused glances.

"Rhain?" Draven frowned deeply. "Do you mean... Rhain Voss?"

The captain nodded vehemently. "Yes, First Elder! It is him!"

The confirmation dropped like a thunderclap.

"What is that madman doing here before the doors of our Vaelstrum Clan?" the hot-tempered elder shouted, his Domain Master aura leaking out in alarm. "What could he possibly want with us?"

"Patriarch!" another elder immediately turned toward the man at the front, his face painted with panic. "We must turn him away from the gates immediately! Emperor has issued a Royal Decree for his head! If the Royal Court even suspects that our Vaelstrum Clan has anything to do with that man, it will not be good for our clan!"

"Exactly! Chase him away! We cannot afford to be dragged into his suicidal war with the Royal Family!"

As the elders erupted into a chaotic frenzy, demanding the youth be chased away, the Patriarch slowly raised his hand.

The hall quieted down.

The Patriarch’s sharp, questioning gaze locked onto the kneeling captain.

"Guard," the Patriarch spoke, his voice deep and authoritative. "A man hunted by the entire dynasty does not casually stroll up to a Noble Clan’s gates without a reason. What exactly did Rhain say?"

The captain took a trembling breath, recounting the exact words with precision.

"Patriarch... he said he wanted to meet you. And he said... he has the solution for the problem we are facing."

The words echoed clearly in the vast hall.

The Patriarch and the dozen Domain Master elders froze, looking at each other in utter bewilderment.

Currently, the Vaelstrum Clan was facing only one existential crisis.

Celestial Elixir Pavilion.

Why would Rhain Voss, a nineteen-year-old martial prodigy currently running for his life from the Emperor’s executioners, claim to have a solution to a commercial blockade established by a mysterious Grandmaster Alchemist?

It made no logical sense.

"A solution?" Draven muttered, "Is he trying to trick us into granting him asylum?"

The Patriarch sat in silence for a long moment.

If they let Rhain in, they risked the Emperor’s wrath.

But if Rhain truly possessed a way to break the Pavilion’s blockade, it could save the Vaelstrum Clan from a slow, inevitable death.

"Bring him in," the Patriarch finally commanded.

"Patriarch!" several elders exclaimed in protest.

"Enough," the Patriarch silenced them with a sharp glare. "We will hear what he has to say. If it is a trick, we will throw him out ourselves. Guard, go."

"Yes, Patriarch!"

The captain hastily stood up, bowing deeply before turning and sprinting back toward the main gates.

---------------------

A few moments later, the captain arrived back at the colossal silver gates, his chest still heaving.

He stopped a polite distance away from Rhain.

"Patriarch has invited you in." the captain said respectfully, "Please, follow me."

Rhain’s expression remained perfectly placid.

With Elara and Commander Zorak flanking him, he stepped across the threshold and into the sprawling ancestral estate of the Vaelstrum Clan.

Guided by the captain, the trio navigated through magnificent corridors and opulent gardens, eventually arriving before the towering golden doors of the grand hall.

The doors were pushed open.

Rhain stepped into the room, his dark grey eyes leisurely sweeping across the luxurious hall.

Standing at the far end was the Vaelstrum Patriarch, a peak Domain Master Realm expert whose aura was dense and oppressive.

On his both sides were a dozen late and middle-stage Domain Master elders, all of them staring at him with intensely wary, scrutinizing gazes.

Rhain, Elara, and Commander Zorak stepped forward.

They stopped at the center of the hall.

Commander Zorak and Elara offered their respectful greetings to the rulers of the Vaelstrum Clan.

Despite his usual arrogant indifference, Rhain offered a polite bow, keeping his hands clasped casually.

Vaelstrum Patriarch’s sharp eyes meticulously evaluated the strange trio standing before him.

A wanted fugitive who had committed regicide, and fleeing from dynasty.

The brilliant mercantile daughter of the Thunderwood Noble Family.

And the commander of the royal family.

It was a combination that he hadn’t expected to see.

"Commander Zorak," the Patriarch spoke, his deep voice echoing in the hall. His gaze shifted slightly. "Lady Elara of the Thunderwood Clan. And... Rhain Voss."

Patriarch’s piercing eyes locked directly onto Rhain.

"To what does my Vaelstrum Clan owe the pleasure of such an unprecedented gathering coming to our doors?"

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