Legacy of the Dark Sage

All transmission arrays near the portals lit up soon after every portal in the Higher Realm closed. The clans managed to send their representatives before the portals closed, but they barely gathered enough supplies to take with them.

The Blade Dancer Clan, Glacio Clan, and Adamas Clan representatives stood in front of the portal in a cave covered in ice. This portal was one of the portals under The Council and was shared by the three clans that supported The Emperor.

Each clan had six members, and they all looked young. Nonetheless, the aura they emitted was more potent than a Sovereign. They had yet to step to the level of a High Sovereign, but it was not wrong to say that their strength could easily defeat an average High Sovereign.

It should have been easy to differentiate each clan from their physical appearance. However, since most clans chose not to send members from the main branch, some could be mistaken for another clan. Thus, to differentiate them, each clan would wear color-coded attire.

The Blade Dancer representatives wore dark red robes or leather armor with gold ornaments. The Glacio Clan wore dark blue robes or leather armor with silver rune writings embedded on the sleeves. Lastly, the robes and leather armor the Adamas representatives wore were light gray with different black patterns at the back and front.

A young man in light gray armor with a long spear strapped behind his back frowned while looking at another young man in dark red robes. Both young men had short, auburn hair. However, the former had shorter hair than the latter and amber eyes, while the latter's eyes were dark green.

"The report sent by Senior Alta, is it true?" the young man from the Adamas Clan, asked the leader representative of the Blade Dancer Clan.

"Yes," replied the young man with dark green eyes. "Unfortunately, she did not get a good look at the intruder's face, so she could not give us his photo."

As soon as he said this, everyone's expressions turned grim. How would they search for someone if they did not know what he looked like?

"She did say the intruder had black hair and was wearing black clothes," the young man hastily added with a bitter smile.

"Black hair?"

Almost all of them repeated with a scowl.

"Yes," the young man replied. "Few clans belonging to an independent faction had members with black hair, even in the clans belonging to The Council. Obviously, we can already rule out clans belonging to The Council because we'll recognize them."

"That leaves us with independent factions and neutral clans, right?" the young man who first addressed the latter supplied.

"That's right."

A young woman with short, wavy red hair in a light gray armor frowned, "Neutral clan... The portal is near Ogen, right?"

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The young man looked at her, "You're thinking about the Ogen Clan, right?"

"Yes," the young woman replied. She added, "Even if Ogen is neutral, our spies have seen suspicious movements on Overlord Oceanus's side that suggest he is up to something."

The young man shook his head, "I know about that. But our side checked and confirmed he only seeks talents to secure their clan's future. Besides, we have complete intel on their members. They don't have one with black hair."

"Even new recruits?"

"Yes. In the meantime, we can rule out Ogen, but we can't completely rule out the other neutral clans."

"In my opinion, it is better to round up all those independent factions and wipe them out."

A raspy-voiced young man with dark blue hair and red eyes wearing dark blue armor suddenly said, resulting in almost everyone turning their attention to him.

The first young man who spoke looked at him with a frown and said, "You know very well why we can't do that. Besides, some neutral clans that are part of an independent faction and also on good terms with the Dragon Clan."

The young man with red hair glared at them and growled in annoyance, "Why the f*ck do we have to give the Dragon Clan face just because they are on good terms with those f*ckers?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" A woman with blue hair and light blue eyes in dark blue robes shook her head at the latter in annoyance. "Are you stupid?"

"What was that—?"

"Stop it, you two," the first young man told them off before their exchange could escalate. "We only have a little time before the transmission array opens. We need to plan our act when we see that intruder."

"But how sure are we that he claimed the portal?" asked another young woman wearing a light gray robe with long, braided blonde hair and sea-green eyes.

The young man leading the Blade Dancer Clan replied, "In Senior Alta's report, she said that the magic signature coming out from the portal did not respond to any of the clans in our database. Her last update also mentioned four people with black hair slipping past their defenses and successfully entering the portal."

"So we're looking for five people with black hair?"

"Well... Senior Alta said she cared little about the last four and only wanted the first intruder."

"Why is that?"

"He has a rare concealment ability."

"You..."

After hearing this information, they all glared at the leader representative of the Blade Dancer Clan.

"How the f*ck are we going to look for him if he possesses a rare concealment ability?"

"It's not like he can hide himself all the time. Besides, his black hair will stand out like a sore thumb once we gather at the platform."

"Then do we make a move as soon as we see him there?"

"Are you stupid? If we do that, what do you think the Dragon Clan will do?"

"Why the f*ck do we have to be mindful of our actions in front of those f*ckers?"

"Did you forget how the Glacio Clan suffered at their hands two months ago?"

"Don't you dare go there," the red-haired young man growled at the leader representative of the Amadas Clan.

"Humph," the young woman with short, wavy red hair snorted at the latter before saying, "And you'd dare talk like that to Leader? Do you have a death wish?"

"That is enough," the leader representative of the Adamas Clan said, looking at his fellow clan member before looking at the red-haired young man. "There is no point in us arguing. Instead, let us agree on what we have to do."

"Uhmm..."

A short and weak-looking young man with effeminate features, short auburn hair, red eyes, and a dark red robe raised his hand and said, "Did it not occur to you guys that he may have already changed his appearance?"

"Only weaklings cannot see through a mage's disguise."

"All of us here possessed strengths similar to a High Sovereign. I doubt we won't be able to see through his disguise," the leader representative of the Adamas Clan replied with a wry smile.

"True... but that only applies if he's a Sovereign or a weak High Sovereign. Did you forget? He managed to get past Senior Alta, and she is among the elites. Which means that the intruder may not be weaker than her."

"Impossible," the leader representative of Blade Dancer Clan disagreed at once. "He indeed got through Senior Alta's pursuit, but that only happened because of the marshland beasts that went after her. Those beasts possessed Earth magic, so... I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to say here, right?"

"Senior Alta's Sound magic is weak against Earth magic..."

"That's right."

"If that's the case, we'll just have to put in more effort to check who is in disguise when we gather at the platform."

"I suppose... that is the only thing we can do right now."

Almost everyone agreed to the Adamas leader representative.

"If you find anyone suspicious, keep an eye on them. We can also keep an eye on all new faces."

"Right... chances that the intruder is among them is high after all."

"Unless he disguised himself as someone The Council already knew."

"Don't jinx it."

"Be careful out there. If you find anyone who may be the intruder, send a message immediately."

"Right."

*

Contrary to what everyone expected, the transmission array did not appear after the glow on all portals dimmed. They waited for a couple more days before it activated.

None of the clan representatives mind it, though. Those couple of days gave them time to explore their surroundings and gather as much material as they could to help them go through the tower.

Finally, when the transmission array was activated, all representatives stepped into the array and were transported to the platform just outside the tower's entrance.

The moment they appeared, the other clans immediately noticed a group of five people— the Dragon Clan's representatives.

These five had striking appearances with their silver hair and silver-gray eyes. All of them wore light silver armor, which, when they moved and glistened, one would notice they were dragon scales.

But what truly caught the other clans' eyes was one particular member of this group— a young woman of mesmerizing beauty with long silver hair, wearing a flowing white robe with silver accents. She appeared aloof, ignoring all the stares directed at her as she stared into the distance.

Besides her beauty, almost everyone was in awe of her beautiful eyes— eyes that seemed to mirror all the colors in her surroundings.