My Celestial Ascension Chapter 904: Empress Varia

"An alliance, you say?" Anna Grace paused briefly in reflection before responding. "I don’t think it would be a bad idea. In fact, it would greatly benefit us against the Gods."

"In my opinion, allying with the Demon Empire is an excellent choice. They would be powerful allies against the Gods," Valeria stated firmly, drawing on her superior knowledge of warfare compared to everyone else there.

"It’s settled then. We will form an alliance with the Demons against the Gods. Our main objective is to banish the Gods from the floating island—the so-called High Heaven," Yuan announced, his expression resolute and his grin broad.

'You’ve made a grave mistake by targeting us... now it’s time for you to pay the price,' Yuan thought with a smirk inside.

The next morning, a maid rapped on the door several times and notified Yuan and his wives that breakfast was ready.

Soon afterward, they left the room and trailed the maid to the dining hall, where the Imperial Family and the four Dukes were already seated at the table, awaiting their arrival.

"What took you all so long? Don’t tell me you were doing something indecent so early in the morning," Duke Hexryn remarked, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips as she eyed them.

"It’s not like that. We simply woke up late—that’s all," Yuan answered steadily, showing no sign of embarrassment from her jest.

Duke Hexryn arched her eyebrows a bit and grinned. "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

"Enough, you old hag! Just eat your damn food," Duke Alric barked, his words dripping with irritation.

"Hmph! You of all people don’t get to tell me what to do... eat your fill and get lost!" Duke Hexryn retorted sharply, anger causing veins to throb on her forehead.

Yuan then turned his focus to the unknown faces in the room—the Imperial Family members from the Demon Empire.

"I couldn’t introduce my family to you all yesterday, as they weren’t present in the palace at the time. But now that they’re here, I’d like to formally introduce them," Emperor Rhex said with a warm smile while glancing at Yuan and the rest.

"This is my wife—Empress Varia. She has been my greatest support throughout the empire’s most difficult times," he went on. "And this is my son—Prince Kael, the fruit of our union and the next in line to the throne."

"And these are the guests we spoke about—the travelers from beyond the mysterious storm barrier," Emperor Rhex proceeded to present Yuan and the others to his family.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you all. This is actually my first time meeting people who aren’t from our continent," Empress Varia greeted courteously, her gaze thoughtfully examining Yuan and the group.

"I’ve heard so much about you over the past few days. There are all sorts of rumors circulating within noble circles about your group," Prince Kael expressed with excitement, his eyes sparkling with curiosity as he regarded them. "It’s finally a pleasure to meet you all."

"By the way, I’m really curious. How did you manage to cross the mysterious storm barrier? Isn’t it supposed to be impossible?" Prince Kael inquired, his evident curiosity shining in his eyes.

"Indeed. No ship has ever been able to withstand the violent sea currents and raging storms," Empress Varia agreed with a slight nod. "Not to mention the powerful sea monsters lurking beneath the surface—nothing has ever escaped them."

Emperor Rhex reflected for a moment and eyed Yuan before commenting, "I have never thought about that before. Now that the topic has come up, I’m truly curious how you all managed to cross the storm barrier."

"We didn’t come here by ship or anything like that. We simply flew here," Yuan responded composedly.

"..." Duke Alric, Duke Corvin, and the Imperial Family members gaped at Yuan and the others, their faces frozen in complete astonishment.

"Please... don’t joke about such an important matter... There’s no way people could fly. That’s far beyond the reach of humans!" Prince Kael uttered, his voice quivering from sheer disbelief.

"I’m not joking. I’m telling the truth," Yuan assured with a subtle smile while resuming his breakfast.

"He isn’t joking, Prince Kael. I can personally testify to his claim, as I witnessed it with my own eyes," Duke Cedric affirmed confidently.

"What?! Is that really true?!" Empress Varia burst out, her features etched with obvious incredulity.

"I can testify as well. I’ve also seen them flying," Duke Hexryn chimed in with a gentle smile.

Duke Alric and Duke Corvin looked utterly shocked upon hearing this, fixing Yuan and the others with peculiar stares.

'Just who are these people? They keep delivering one shock after another!' Duke Alric roared silently in his mind, struggling to process the revelation.

"This is hard to believe... but since two dukes have confirmed it, we have no choice but to accept it," Duke Corvin conceded, even as doubt still clouded his expression.

After breakfast concluded, Emperor Rhex led the four Dukes to a separate chamber to talk about border issues.

The Undead Race had grown bolder lately, and without a quick resolution, it could turn into a major headache.

If other options failed, Emperor Rhex would be forced to launch a war against the Undead Race to prevent assaults on nearby cities and villages.

In the meantime, Yuan and his companions chose to step out of the palace briefly and wander the city, seeking out anything intriguing.

The city seemed serene, with folks busy in their everyday tasks. Streets were flanked by lines of shops offering various wares.

Numerous vendors had erected stalls by the roadside, some crowded with queues of people eager for their preferred treats and meals.

The residents remained blissfully ignorant of the peril brewing at the border, all beaming and joyful, blind to the approaching menace.

As Yuan and the group strolled along the avenues, onlookers started murmuring about their distinctive looks.

"Look at those people... they look so different."

"Could it be the rumors were true after all? Are those the rumored people?"

"I don’t know for sure, but they definitely don’t look like anyone from this continent."

The murmurs spread rapidly through the air as passersby swiveled to stare at Yuan and the others during their passage.

Yet Yuan and his group paid no heed to the inquisitive looks and kept moving forward, undisturbed by the buzzing chatter around them.

"I want to try some of those," Xi Meili declared, gesturing at a street food seller, the scent of the dishes proving too alluring to resist.

"Sure, let’s each try one," Yuan agreed with a grin as he headed to the vendor.

Having sampled the fare, they pressed on through the city, tasting assorted street foods at every opportunity they encountered.