Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

The announcement echoed throughout the entire Sect, Snow Maiden City, and beyond, reaching every corner of the battlefield where her disciples were fighting. The Unorthodox Faction disciples were momentarily stunned, unsure of how to react to the sudden turn of events.

On the other hand, Cyrus felt a wave of dread wash over him as he realized the gravity of the situation. He had never expected Aelina to make such a bold move, especially since the Battle Maiden Sect had always been known for their non-intervention attitude.

Cyrus had no doubt that if the Unorthodox Faction suddenly declared war on the 6 other Top Orthodox Sects, leaving them out, there was a 50/50 chance that Aelina would choose not to get involved.

'Dammit! I didn't think she'd be so decisive! The Faction Leader is going to kill me!' Cyrus wished he could disappear at this moment, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

"Retreat!" Cyrus shouted to his disciples, knowing they couldn't afford to stay here any longer. "We're pulling back!"

The Unorthodox Faction disciples were shaken out of their stupor upon hearing his voice and soon followed suit, trying to withdraw from the battlefield as fast as they could, despite being confused.

Cyrus' words were law here; if he said to fight, they fought. If he said to run, they ran. If even he didn't want to stay here a second longer following Aelina's declaration of war, they sure as hell don't want to be here.

"What?! Why are we suddenly at war?? I thought we were just supposed to intimidate them a bit!"

"Forget that! Why are we running away?? We can destroy this little Sect! They're nothing but a bunch of women, anyway-ARGH!" The man who said that suddenly had a hole in the middle of his skull.

Following that, a barrage of hundreds of elemental attacks rained on the area around his corpse, injuring and killing anyone that was near him.

"Sisters! You heard the Sect Master! These scum dared to trample on the dignity of our Sect, thinking they could bully us! For the crimes of injuring our fellow sisters, even killing some of them, and invading our land with an army full of people, these people deserve nothing less than death!!" One of the Battle Maiden Sect disciples from the Outer Court shouted, taking charge.

"OHHHHH!" The surrounding women all raised their arms, bearing their weapons, and charged forward, adrenaline and bloodlust pumping through their veins!

This kind of scene was happening everywhere, in both large groups and small. As soon as the Sect Master declared that they were at war, they didn't hesitate to form groups and attack with the intent not just to kill but to annihilate.

They aimed to slaughter every last person who dared to come to their doorstep and piss on their front lawn!

Aelina watched all this with a smile. She was extremely pleased with how decisively her disciples acted despite most of them having never participated in any kind of large-scale war.

Or any war, for that matter.

It was like this was a confirmation, proving that her Sect's teachings weren't wrong.

However, Aelina's eyes turned cold and calculating when she saw Cyrus retreat alongside the disciples he brought.

He and the Elders he brought helped the disciples retreat, trying to limit as many casualties as possible, but they couldn't protect everyone, so thousands still ended up dead.

It took a minute, but the Unorthodox Faction inevitably left the mountain without Aelina or the Sect's Elders ever making a move themselves.

As for the reason why they didn't…

Battles of their level, especially Aelina's, were cataclysmic. It wouldn't take more than a minute for the mountain under her to be obliterated, along with every single disciple on it.

In fact, the only reason it would last that long was because of all the backup formations that would activate should she enter such a high-level fight in or around the Sect. If it weren't for those, it wouldn't take 10 seconds for everyone to die.

Unfortunately, she couldn't keep those Formations active at all times as they consumed resources like a black hole.

Returning to her usual neutral expression, she closed in on Cyrus with her Divine Sense and whispered in his ear, "While you're gone, why don't you pick out the place you'd like to die, Cyrus? I'll give you that much respect as someone who has reached the same Realm as me."

Cyrus felt a chill run down his spine, causing his face to distort before he revealed a sinister smile.

'I'll make you regret letting me go today, Aelina. I didn't spend hundreds and thousands of years cultivating just to die from a single mistake!' With that last thought, he and the rest of the Faction vanished into the distance.

"..."

Silence pervaded the area as those from the Battle Maiden Sect stopped chasing after them. They didn't cheer, nor did they smile. They just stared into the distance, anger simmering in their chests.

War was upon them; they could celebrate when they won.

Now was the time for action!

However… they didn't know what they should do now that their enemies were gone!

Suddenly, Aelina's voice echoed through the Sect again, this time not traveling outside the mountain.

"In two hours, I want to see the top 20 Disciples in the Outer Court, the Top 10 in the Inner Court, all Core and Direct Disciples, along with every Elder at the top of the mountain! We will discuss the Sect's future and our next course of action there! For now, heal up, organize yourselves, and assist your fellow disciples!" With that said, Aelina disappeared.

"YES, SECT MASTER!" They shouted and immediately got to work, helping their fellow Sisters, attending to the wounded, taking care of the dead, and even plundering the loot from their enemy's corpses.

They were like a bunch of gears in a giant, well-oiled machine, everyone doing their part. The Elders saw this and smiled before they, too, began helping out.

***

Meanwhile, Mira was on her way back to the Sect, on Rhydian's back, with a sour expression. Like a monkey, Hana latched onto her tails from behind while she held Dominique gently in her arms.

Dangling on a rope underneath Rhydian was the unconscious assassin, Niko. While he wasn't exactly the source of her irritation, he certainly wasn't helping.

After promising that she'd let him live, he would become her slave and provide her with all the information she needed to know.

The only problem was… She didn't know how to enslave people. Thus, she sealed his cultivation, knocked him out, tied him up, and dangled him below Rhydian, where she would bring him back to the Sect to learn how to enslave people.

However, as a teaser, Niko left her with a few pieces of information that deeply unsettled her before she knocked him out.

"The ones involved in this little kidnapping, besides the Nightshade Assassins, where I'm from, are the Toxic Blade Sect, Crimson Slayer Sect, and Shadow Necromancer Sect. I was Plan A; I would take your little friend back to the Faction and leave her to one of the higher-ups to deal with. However, they were Plan B. They were there to act in case something went wrong, and I wasn't able to bring her back, just like the current situation!"

"You might be curious as to why she's not waking up. Well… let's just say my frien–AHEM, enemies at the Toxic Blade Sect and Shadow Necromancer Sect, worked with the Crimson Slayer Sect to concoct a little plan that would leave your young friend as nothing more than a mentally retarded cripple."

"As for the rest of the information, you clearly won't believe me, so I'll just wait until you do. It's more fun that way!" He chuckled creepily before she knocked him out cold.

Mira couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that lingered after hearing Niko's words. The thought of Dominique being left as a mentally retarded cripple was enough to make her stomach churn.

She had to learn more about these sects, their plans, and why they were suddenly interfering with her life.

She made a mental note to speak to the Sect Master as soon as she arrived back at the Sect. There was no way she was going to let anyone harm Dominique, let alone leave her in such a state.

Soon, Rhydian landed inside the Sect near Mira's residence. Mira dismounted with Dominique still in her arms. Hana, who had been clinging to her tails the entire journey, hopped off and scurried ahead, exhausted from today's events.

On the way here, they saw that the "war" was over and that the other disciples were cleaning up the Sect, helping each other out.

Mira brought Dominique into her room and laid her down on the bed. She sent Qi into her body, examined the girl with her Soul Sense, and even gave her a few nudges and flicks, but no matter what she did, Dominique didn't wake up, nor could she find anything wrong.

Clenching her fists, Mira gritted her teeth so hard that they creaked.

'Don't worry, Dominique. I won't allow you to lie here in this state forever. I'll fix you. Just leave everything to your M-Mo… Mothe… Master. Just leave everything to your Master.'  Mira sputtered silently, still feeling a bit uncomfortable that someone was willing to call her "mother".

Suddenly, a neutral voice tinged with amusement echoed from behind her back.

"It's good to see that you're back, Mira. And clearly much stronger than before."