From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The port of Nasir Town was buzzing with activity as the Fischer family's massive fleet of several hundred members prepared to set sail.

Once under the command of sea merchant John and other sea traders, they had now been integrated by the Fischer family and morphed into the loyal merchant fleet bearing the Fischer family's standard.

This fleet, laden with vast quantities of cargo, was on the brink of embarking on a journey to the Aphotic Sea, where they would trade those special containers filled with sunlight under the name of the Tempest Church.

The Aphotic Sea, a completely dark and eerie expanse of water, harbored a much larger number of mysterious entities and creatures than the territories of the Eastern Four Kingdoms.

The ancestors of the locals worshipped some dreadful Evil God and, judged by one of the deities - the Blazing Sun - had been cursed for generations, unable to survive in the light for more than three minutes.

Yet they yearned desperately for sunlight, constantly wishing to bask in its rays. In a place like the Aphotic Sea, the warm sunshine was universally known as a luxury.

Even though no sun ever graced that sea, there were numerous followers of the Sun Church who made it fashionable among the nobility to peer at the edges of the Aphotic Sea for a glimpse of the sun's presence.

Some people, craving to bathe in the sunlight, even risked fleeing the Aphotic Sea for the White Sea, paying with their lives to experience the touch of the sun's rays before burning up into ashes.

A painting of immense value depicted the ancient King of the Aphotic Sea standing at the prow of his ship, arms outstretched under a clear sky towards the Blazing Sun, his body engulfed in raging flames at that moment.

It was said that the original painting was worth as much as the most exquisite treasures and curiosities.

The Fischer fleet was, in fact, a joint venture of the Tempest Church's Acting Bishop Zayne, Viscount Bast of the Lion clan, and the Fischer family themselves. The profits from the trade of sunlight were astronomical, with the Fischer family taking as much as fifty percent.

Leading the Fischer fleet was the old butler Theo, who had been the best boatswain in his prime. Besides Theo, the fleet also included fifteen Extraordinary Exponents, five of whom were Daybreakers.

The real powerhouses among the crew were the husband and wife duo, Vanessa and Chris.

Vanessa had successfully made a breakthrough and had reached the 3rd Rank of the Path of World Order!

"Hand of Judgement."

In the Spirit Realm, it took the form of a male radiance with stern features, wearing blood-red gloves, and eyes bearing a cold gaze.

After her breakthrough, Vanessa had mastered two completely different Extraordinary traits, known as "Condemnation" and "Punishment Gloves."

Whenever she used "Condemnation" on someone within her gaze, her mind would be filled with that person's various "crimes," which conflicted with the principles of the "Hand of Judgement."

Every external attack would trigger a kind of "crime," resulting in varying Extraordinary effects, persistently accumulating damage and negative states.

"Punishment Gloves" allowed her to form a scarlet glove made of blood that flowed continuously on her palm.

This blood-formed scarlet glove could morph into various weapons at will, and even if shattered, it could instantly reform, capable of attacking at both close and long ranges.

The overall attributes of the Hand of Judgement were boosted to seventy, with physical attributes increasing by fifty and Spiritual Power by twenty.

Vanessa's overall strength had significantly improved post-breakthrough, and undoubtedly, she was now the fourth strongest force within the Fischer family.

Moreover, as a Summoner who had already reached a high-level Beginning, she had also shown signs of a breakthrough in her spellcasting powers.

However, advancing along another system wasn't so easy.

Vanessa needed the appropriate Spellcasting Bequest and Magic Potion to ensure a solid chance of making a breakthrough; otherwise, a failure could potentially cause permanent damage to her own strength.

Before setting sail, Theo spread out the maritime charts one last time and repeated the final destination of their voyage to everyone.

"This time we set off for the Aphotic Sea. Our ultimate goal is to approach the territory of one of the seven great overlords, an island with hundreds of thousands of residents. These overlords are all Monarch Level sovereigns, and we absolutely cannot afford to provoke them."

The Aphotic Sea covered a vast area, with its inhabitable islands comparable in size to Cyart. These islands were ruled by the seven great overlords, and their societies still functioned under a system of slavery.

The mortals living in this pitch-black realm existed like ants, with no hope of climbing the social ladder, while the Extraordinary Exponents indulged in everything unbridled.

Although three of the seven great overlords were followers of the Sun Church, they had consistently refused to abolish slavery.

Byrne and Irene had chosen to stay in Nasir Town. Vanessa smiled at them, saying,

"Don't worry, we'll return in a month with tremendous wealth!"

Chris silently took out a trading item stored in a wooden box: a jar of sunlight.

It was an item potent enough to disrupt the Solar Gold trade.

At first glance, it appeared as a twenty-centimeter tall glass jar, covered with golden runes, containing a small light orb the size of a fingernail at its center, floating.

The Fischer family, the Lion clan, as well as the Frosac family behind Zayne, would all swiftly reap immense benefits from it.

Out of curiosity, Chris opened the jar and the small light orb, which was originally the size of a fingernail, brightened instantly. The next moment, it burst forth with soft, warm sunlight!

All those within tens of square meters felt it and couldn't help but turn their gaze in this direction!

The warm glow of sunlight lasted for several seconds, as if capable of melting the ice in one's heart, then vanished without a trace.

Everyone, however, felt a deep sense of comfort and warmth from within, and they were certain that tonight they would have a good sleep.

"What a waste, you are..." Byrne shook his head, a bit speechless, but Chris paid no attention to his opinion.

Suddenly, he began to understand why the "Solar Gold" in the Alchemy Council was nicknamed "Solar Gold."

Wasn't that man's power a moving gold mine in the Aphotic Sea?

"Hmm, is his identity the wealthiest Sun Bishop in Lorne?"

Thus, the Fischer fleet set sail, departing from the port of Nasir Town, heading for the sunless Aphotic Sea.

——

Within Rhea's borders, where fertile fields and lush forests had once surrounded the village, it was now in ruins, and decaying bodies lay on the ground, while the elderly and children waited for death in a daze.

A detachment of the Cyart Royal Army was stationed in this village, and in a few days, they would converge with the main force. Darren was the commander of this detachment.

The Rhean village near the border had been plundered in turns by both Rheans and Cyart People. All young women had been abducted, most adult men had died in battle, and only a significant number of the weak and sick were struggling to survive.

A number of the Cyart army actually included accompanying slave traders.

Although Cyart as a whole was no longer a slave society, their treatment of foreign slaves still turned a blind eye, and nobody really cared about such matters.

Anyway, no Cyart person would dare to speak a word on behalf of the Rheans.

Cyart's internal cohesion was weak, and regional powers were strong, whereas the situation in Rhea was even more ancient and barbaric, still basically in the era of feudal lords.

Therefore, they felt no internal pressure when plundering the lands of other lords.

Within an ordinary household, Colonel Abel's staff officer was explaining the current situation to Darren Fischer while holding a map and pointing to several spots, seriously saying:

"In a few days, we will converge with Colonel Abel's infantry corps, and then head to this location, the local lord of that town is a vassal of the Meyer family. The lord is a high-level Transmutation powerhouse capable of wielding the power of lightning."

"However, our main force also has three high-level Transmutations, from the Romann and Frosac families, and our overall military strength is also superior to the enemy. With appropriate tactics, we can capture that town."

Darren frowned slightly, nodding lightly.

The plan was indeed so, but plans can never keep up with changes.

He suddenly asked, "By the way, what about those people I asked for?"

The staff officer thought for a moment and then said, "Well, they are kept in the next room over."

Darren immediately went to the next room and saw the trembling Rhean soldiers who had been captured; they were the ones who had ambushed and killed two Cyart soldiers he knew and then got caught by him personally.

He calmly took out a dagger, his expression cruel and his tone cold as he said:

"Don't be nervous, I just want to do an experiment, and I need your cooperation. Hmm, as long as you don't die by the end, I will let you go, do you agree?"

The several Rhean soldiers shook their heads, desperately disagreeing, but their disagreement was futile.

"Good! I can feel your negative emotions now, excellent! Let's see if I can acquire more!"

Darren was pleasantly surprised to find that he had indeed mastered the Power of Consecution more deeply. Just as he was about to wave the dagger to amplify the negative emotional feedback, he suddenly heard a loud bang from outside!

"Damn it, what's going on?"

He rushed outside and saw that the entire village was engulfed in raging flames! There were screams of horror and wailing everywhere!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Officer Darren, hurry, organize a resistance!"

The orderly officer ran over, shouting, and soon Darren saw a middle-aged military man with red hair like blazing flames, wearing a white uniform, surprisingly standing amidst the flames in the sky.

He descended from the sky with flames, and the flowing fire instantly swallowed the body of the orderly officer.

The red-haired man looked like he wanted to wave his hand and kill Darren as well, but he suddenly stared at the young man in front of him.

"Are you from the Fischer family?"

He had been recognized. That was bad, but maybe it meant he could survive. Darren's face changed over and over, his body trembling slightly.

He knew two important things: the first was that the other person was a high-level Transmutation powerhouse, and he had no chance of resisting.

The second thing was what that fiery red hair represented!

His father had mentioned that red hair among the Rhea People was almost a synonym for the Meyer family, and that top-tier family with the bloodline of the powerful Fire Demon God "Adranus" was the greatest enemy of the Fischer family!