Eternal Thief-Chapter 1573: Start of Evernight Trial! (8)

The moment the Dread Duchess’s vessel moved, the balance of the entire scene shifted.

Her warship advanced without haste, without flare, yet everyone seemed to lean aside for her passage. The crimson sigils etched along its hull ignited one by one, like soldiers straightening their backs before a sovereign.

Everyone felt it instantly, as if a long-delayed decision had finally been made.

The next moment, behind the Dread Duchess, the reaction was immediate. The Enchantress Demon Duchess laughed softly, eyes gleaming as she reclined against her crescent palace.

"Well then~," she hummed, snapping her fingers. "If Big Sister is moving, I can’t very well be late, can I?"

Her palace drifted forward, pink mist trailing behind like perfumed poison.

The Corpse Duke followed next without any words or command as his coffin-vessel creaked once, chains rattling as if waking from a nap, and then it slid forward, slow yet inevitable, like a grave being dragged toward its destined occupant.

Seeing this, the three Abyssal King organizations did not hesitate.

Bone Mercenary City’s obsidian citadel advanced, engines roaring like beasts scenting blood. Eden Alchemy Abyss’s living ark pulsed, flesh-vines tightening as it glided forward with eerie elegance. Weaponized Mystic Haven’s void spear moved last; silent, precise, erasing distance as if space itself were optional.

Six colossal forces advanced in unison, and only one remained behind. The Yin Duchess!

Her fingers dug into the railing of her shattered glacial vessel, nails biting into frost-hardened metal. Her lips trembled, fury boiling so violently that ice cracked beneath her feet.

"That...!" She nearly screamed.

But as her mouth opened, it instantly closed. Her face twisted, veins pulsing at her temples as she swallowed words sharp enough to start a war. She had already been humiliated twice today, and publicly at that.

To bark now would only grind her dignity further into dust, but her eyes burned with hatred and fury.

She turned sharply instead, gaze snapping toward the figures standing behind her...her disciples, Xue Yin and Xue Han!

After getting blasted by the Dread Duchess’s spiritual pressure, they had been hovering nervously behind her, pretending confidence, pretending calm, but the truth was written clearly in their stiff postures and pale expressions.

"Useless things!" Her voice came down on them like glacial steel as she barked coldly, "What are you standing there for? Admiring the scenery?"

The disciples flinched while shrinking their necks as if afraid of dying, especially Xue Han, who seemed terrified of Yin Duchess, as if she had been the main horror of his nightmares for a long time now.

"Do you intend to disgrace me further by cowering?" She continued, eyes sharp as icicles, "Or have you forgotten why you were brought here?"

Silence continued, making her expression harden into pure contempt.

"Go!" She commanded icily. "Enter the Evernight Trial."

Then she added, cruelly deliberate, "Or do you need permission to breathe as well?"

Xue Yin’s and Xue Han’s faces flushed with indignation, and their fists clenched with their jaws tightened. But not even one dared to speak, for they knew better.

With dread coiling in their stomachs and resentment burning quietly in their hearts, they bowed stiffly and moved forward, leaving the shadow of the Yin Duchess behind like condemned men walking toward the gallows.

As they approached the Evernight Gate, the three Protector Envoys stirred, but this time, they did not obstruct.

Instead, one Envoy stepped forward, its silhouette sharpening just enough to be felt.

As it spoke, its voice fell like a verdict, "State your intent."

Xue Yin swallowed hard, stepping forward and bowing deeply.

"We... we seek entry into the Evernight Trial," he said hoarsely. "We submit ourselves to the will of the Evernight Council."

The Envoy’s lantern flickered faintly as he said, "First, are you entering independently or on behalf of the Evernight Council?

"In case of the former, you may directly cross," it said flatly before came the warning, delivered without emotion, yet heavy enough to crush courage, "and if you meet the qualifications set by the Evernight Council, the Gate will not hinder you.

"But if you do not..." The lantern’s eye opened a fraction, "...you will be incinerated instantly and perish here and now."

Cold sweat broke out across the twins’ backs as their throats tightened when they heard the ’warning,’ but before they could say anything, an impassive voice rang...

"And what if they are entering on behalf of the Evernight Council? Not to mention as direct disciples of the Evernight Duke!"

This charming yet curt voice penetrated the tension like a hot knife in butter, and both Xue Yin and Xue Han trembled while Yin Duchess’s expression twisted like a maniac because this voice belonged to none other than Dread Duchess!

At some point, the Dread Duchess’s vessel had already arrived close to the Evernight Sanctuary Gate, not to mention she was dangerously close to the gate and the Protector Envoys.

Dread Duchess paid Yin Duchess or her disciples no heed as she continued with her inquiry, "Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask this from the start. You said those with the Evernight Invitation have some sort of special advantage, or whatever you called it, but not a single Evernight Invitation has been issued? I wonder what the Council has planned for it?"

"Esteemed Dread Duchess, we’ve acknowledged you!"

The three protector envoys impassively issued a greeting without showing any intent before the envoy with the chains spoke...

"To answer your inquiries, the Council is fully aware of what needs to be done and when it should be done. As we were saying, if a participant is entered as a member of the Evernight Council, they must hold their identity badges before entering the gate, and if they are qualified, they too shall pass without any obstruction.

"As for why we are instructing as such, everyone will get their answers once the trial is begun. Lastly, those who are eligible for the Evernight Invitations or are ’sponsored’ by Evernight Nobles with Evernight Invitation slots have all been ’marked’.

"Thus, as long as they have their identity tokens, they will get their invitations once they pass the gate. There is no need to distribute them like we’ve been doing for a long time."

Realization dawned on everyone at that moment, especially the Evernight Nobles, who were anxious about getting an Evernight Invitation, and they finally calmed down.

But some of them still feel iffy about this whole situation since many things were getting out of the ordinary, and it wasn’t a good sign.

Dread Duchess also became silent with a peculiar light in her eyes, and just as she was about to raise another question, the Protector Envoy cleared another point as if reading the Duchess’s mind...

"Furthermore, there is a specific Evernight Invitation for ’Nomad,’ the only outsider who has been granted the Evernight Invitation in this trial by the Evernight Kings!"