In Plumera City,
Elara tested the range and durability of the [Eternal Tower], then put it away again.
With the current level of Puppet Soldiers' eggs, the Plumera Kingdom did not need a divine tower to protect itself. The absolute defense shield of the [Eternal Tower] had to be reserved for more critical times.
Elara stored the [Eternal Tower] and the energy blocks together so they could be used whenever necessary.
In the following days, many people arrived at the borders of the Plumera Kingdom, fleeing from danger, hoping to get help, seeking to enter and even become citizens.
As Puppet Soldiers attacked the Central Continent, civilians and nobles from other nations had to escape once their lands were taken. It made sense they would flee to other countries for help.
Still, even though the Plumera Kingdom could offer aid, it could not allow people with hidden motives to enter.
Elara thought it over and wrote a letter to Francis from the military, and another to the brothers Emory and Morin, who still lived in Plumera City. She asked Francis to station skilled internal force users at each border checkpoint to detect those hiding their true strength.
To Emory and Morin, she asked them to teach the border generals how to detect disguises, or give them tools that could reveal people who had changed their appearance, to stop those with ill intentions from sneaking in.
Once both orders were issued, the guards at the borders began checking every outsider who came asking for help.
If both checks were passed, they could stay in the border towns of the Plumera Kingdom. However, they were not allowed into the inner cities right away. They had to live in the border towns for at least a month. Only after confirming their health, identity, and purpose could they enter further.
With all these checkpoints in place, in the next month and a half, the Plumera Kingdom accepted about five thousand refugees without any incidents.
Besides the five thousand who passed, the border towns also caught many people who had disguised their appearance, identity, and strength with harmful intentions.
Once discovered, some were expelled from the border immediately and banned from ever returning. The more serious cases were chained and sent to the Ministry of Justice as criminals.
This tough approach forced those with bad intentions to give up and behave more cautiously.
Even so, some overconfident people still tried to sneak in, relying on advanced disguise techniques.
That day, while Elara was reading reports in the royal study, Uno rushed in and bowed.
"Your Majesty, the general guarding the eastern border of Plumera City reported that a group of suspected disguised individuals was caught. Their disguise skills were very advanced. He could not identify them, so he detained them and requests that Lord Emory and his brother go check in person."
Emory and Morin were still in disguise themselves, using false identities. Emory now went by Zong Yan, publicly called Lord Zong.
Elara had just finished dealing with various reports. After hearing this, she stood up, motioned for Uno to bring her outer cloak, and walked out of the royal study.
"Come. Tell Brother Zong Yan and his brother to come with me to check it out."
At the border checkpoint, the detained suspects were not just one or two, but seven in total.
When Elara arrived with Emory and Morin, they saw two of the suspects bent over, secretly trying to bribe the guards with items hidden in their sleeves. The guards kicked them back and scolded them harshly while pointing spears at them.
Elara was about to step forward when Emory suddenly grabbed her arm tightly. His face changed in a few seconds, showing hate, fear, sadness, and disgust all at once. His emotions were so overwhelming he forgot to control himself.
Elara looked at him and was about to ask what was wrong, but Emory suddenly turned toward her and said urgently and quickly:
"Those people used to be from my Thousand Faces Sect, but they all betrayed us and joined the Darksky Hall! They're the main reason our sect has fallen to this state! For the sake of Darksky Hall's goals, they've committed countless insane and ruthless acts! They're clearly here with bad intentions! They must be carrying a lot of divine artifacts from Darksky Hall! You have to be careful..."
Emory hadn't even finished his warning when the man leading the group of seven suddenly raised his head and stared directly at Elara and Emory.
As if realizing something, the man's lips curled into a vicious smile, and he reached into his clothes to pull something out.
Seeing his action, Elara didn't hesitate. She instantly retrieved the Tower of Eternity from her spatial button and expanded its golden radiance, covering the entire city pass and everyone nearby, using the golden shield to blast the seven people out of the pass.
The next second, there was a deafening boom!
A massive crater exploded beneath the seven who had been blasted out. But they were all surrounded by a faint layer of silver light that kept them from being harmed. Their bodies floated above the crater like feathers.
Elara flew up to the top of the city wall. Looking down at the massive pit the explosion left behind, her expression grew colder.
If she hadn't activated the Tower of Eternity just in time, this section of Plumera Kingdom's border might have been shattered or even completely destroyed.
The Puppet Soldiers outside the pass were still swarming in. If this checkpoint had been destroyed at such a critical moment, a huge gap would have been torn in Plumera Kingdom's defense. The consequences would have been unimaginable.
The seven floating above the crater coughed a few times and waved away the smoke caused by the explosion. The man in front cast his malicious gaze first toward the golden shield covering the pass, then at Elara, and finally at Emory and Morin, who had just reached the city wall behind her.
"You two useless fools, so you're still alive after all."
It seemed he knew his disguise had been seen through. The man lifted his hand and wiped his face. His facial features, appearance, and even his voice began to change until he wore a face exactly like Emory's.
Emory looked at the man who looked exactly like him but radiated wickedness and deceit. Hatred and disgust filled his already tense expression.
"Emyrion! What are you doing here again?! Isn't it enough that you and your people have already destroyed the Thousand Faces Sect?! Just because the world didn't know I, Emory, had a twin brother like a shadow, you used this face to commit all those atrocities in the name of your so-called Dark faction. Everything you did was blamed on the White Faction of our Thousand Faces Sect and me! Even our master's sister and senior uncle were tortured to death because of you! You beast! What else do you want now?!"
Thinking of the fellow disciples who died unjustly and the master and elders who had raised them like parents and sacrificed themselves to protect their escape, Emory's voice cracked, and his eyes turned red with sorrow and rage.
Morin stepped forward and grabbed Emory's arm to stop him from doing anything reckless in his emotional state.
Standing outside the city, Emyrion only laughed mockingly.
And the more grief twisted Emory's face, the more wildly Emyrion laughed.
"No wonder you're still trash. So many years, and you still can't do anything besides cry and throw tantrums."
"Ha! With how pathetic you are, giving the power of the Thousand Faces Sect to you is no different than giving it to a dog."
Then his expression darkened, tinged with resentment.
"But even so, those blind old fools still insisted on making you the next sect master. I, Emyrion, who share the same bloodline with you, who am stronger in every way, was told I had an evil heart and could only be your shadow!"
"Hmph! That was when I realized that everyone left in the Thousand Faces Sect was just a bunch of weaklings. They hold such great power, but they're too cowardly to use it. Even the child assassins of Edelweiss are braver!"
"So, to restore the Thousand Faces Sect's former glory, I had to act. Heh, look around. Now, every major nation on the continent fears our strength. Just hearing the name of the Thousand Faces Sect makes them tremble, afraid they'll be the next target. This is how our sect should be!"
With his chin lifted high, Emyrion spoke his twisted beliefs with a mixture of pride and arrogance.
On the city wall, Emory's face turned pale with fury. His trembling finger pointed at Emyrion as he struggled to believe that the poisonous being in front of him was his own twin brother.
"No matter what... our master's sister and senior uncle raised us like we were their own children! They were like the parents we never had. How could you... how could you kill them!"
"And those senior brothers we grew up with like family—how could you let them die so miserably!!"
"Useless trash like them deserved to die. If you're weak, you die, simple as that~" Emyrion sneered again, eyes gleaming with malice as he stared into Emory's eyes filled with pain and disbelief.
"You! You beast!!!" Emory yelled, trying to charge forward, but Morin grabbed him tightly from behind to stop him from rushing out in anger.