The war council chamber of Iron Dominion had no windows.
It didn't need them.
Light came from vertical blue flame braziers mounted along the walls. The fire did not flicker. It burned straight and steady, like the men and women who stood around the circular obsidian table at the center of the room.
Steel boots echoed against black stone flooring.
No one spoke.
They waited.
At the head of the table stood Guild Marshal Darius Volkrane.
He wore black war armor lined with faint crimson veins of aura that pulsed slowly beneath the metal plates. Not glowing. Not dramatic.
Controlled.
That was what Iron Dominion was known for.
Control.
Control of territory.
Control of battlefields.
Control of fear.
The air in the chamber felt heavy. Not because of heat. Not because of crowding.
Because of pressure.
The kind of pressure that pressed down on lungs and reminded weaker men that they were small.
Darius rested both hands on the table.
A large projection map shimmered above it — aura-forged light outlining territory lines across the western regions.
Red markers blinked.
Seventeen of them.
He did not raise his voice when he finally spoke.
"Confirm the numbers."
A woman in silver-plated command armor stepped forward. Her eyes were sharp. Scar across her left cheek.
"Confirmed, Marshal. Seventeen mid-tier guilds have formally aligned under what they call the Free Coalition."
The words tasted wrong in the air.
Free Coalition.
The chamber felt colder.
Another commander spoke.
"Names?"
She listed them clearly.
Crimson Vale. Stoneheart Banner. Azure Pike. Black Fangs. Silver Halberd. Gravewind. Rusted Crown. Hollow Oath. Stormcrest. Red Marsh Guard. Ironspire Remnant. Night Howl. Cinderfall. Bright Covenant. Ash Mark. Broken Standard. Gilded Reach.
Seventeen.
Seventeen guilds that individually meant nothing.
Together?
They were a problem.
Darius lifted his head slightly.
His aura shifted.
Not explosively.
Not wildly.
It simply expanded.
And the entire chamber felt heavier.
Several commanders unconsciously straightened their posture.
Iron Dominion did not fear war.
But war between guilds was different from monster hunts.
Monster hunts were clean.
Guild wars were political.
Messy.
Expensive.
"Why now?" Darius asked.
Silence.
Then another officer answered.
"Resource choke, Marshal. They claim our expansion into the eastern ruin belt has limited their access."
A quiet scoff came from the right side of the table.
"They want our land," someone muttered.
Darius didn't react.
He stared at the red markers on the map.
He could see the pattern.
They weren't attacking yet.
They were encircling.
Testing supply lines.
Pressuring trade corridors.
Provoking skirmishes near border towns.
Smart.
Unusual for mid-tier guilds.
Which meant someone was guiding them.
Darius spoke again.
"Identify leadership."
The silver-armored commander responded instantly.
"They've placed public leadership under Guild Master Halvren of Crimson Vale. But intelligence suggests strategic coordination from behind."
"From who?"
A pause.
"That is unclear."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Iron Dominion had been the dominant military guild in this region for forty-three years.
They did not get surprised.
They did not get cornered.
Yet seventeen guilds had moved in synchronized formation without Iron Dominion noticing early enough.
That was unacceptable.
Darius finally removed one gauntlet.
He placed his bare palm flat against the obsidian table.
Aura flared.
This time visibly.
Dark crimson lines burst outward across the surface of the map projection.
The red markers trembled.
In the room, every commander felt it — the weight of a war-class aura.
Not overwhelming.
But absolute.
"Coalition or not," Darius said calmly, "seventeen mid-tier guilds do not stand against Iron Dominion."
No one disagreed.
Because it was true.
Individually, Iron Dominion could crush any of them.
But war wasn't about individual strength.
It was about cost.
And cost created vulnerability.
One of the younger captains finally spoke.
"With respect, Marshal, if we mobilize fully, we expose the southern border. If we divide forces, we lose momentum."
The room grew still.
It was a valid concern.
Iron Dominion had enemies beyond this region.
Other Top 20 guilds watched them constantly.
Waiting for weakness.
Waiting for a moment to strike.
Darius closed his eyes for half a second.
Then opened them.
Decision made.
"We do not divide."
The words hit like a blade against stone.
"We march."
Murmurs spread around the table.
He continued.
"We crush the Coalition publicly. Quickly. Decisively."
His aura expanded again.
The braziers along the walls flickered for the first time.
"We make an example."
A heavy silence followed.
This was escalation.
Total war.
A captain spoke carefully.
"And if another Top 20 intervenes while we mobilize?"
Darius looked directly at him.
"They won't."
Confidence.
Not arrogance.
Calculation.
But then—
The chamber doors opened.
Slowly.
Not kicked.
Not forced.
Opened.
Every commander turned.
Two Dominion guards stepped aside, visibly tense.
Between them stood a messenger.
Not wearing Dominion colors.
Coalition colors.
A young man in gray and black light armor.
He walked forward alone.
He did not bow.
The air in the chamber tightened instantly.
Darius did not move.
The messenger stopped three meters from the table.
His hands were visible.
No weapon drawn.
But something else surrounded him.
Not power.
Not threat.
Purpose.
"I bring terms," the messenger said clearly.
Several commanders reacted instantly.
Hands moved toward weapons.
Aura pressure rose in the room.
But Darius lifted one finger.
And the room went still again.
"Speak."
The messenger swallowed once.
Then delivered the message.
"The Free Coalition formally declares defensive mobilization against Iron Dominion. If Dominion troops cross eastern territory lines, it will be considered an act of aggression. All Coalition guilds will respond simultaneously."
A captain laughed.
"Seventeen ants declaring terms to a lion."
But the messenger didn't flinch.
He continued.
"And if Dominion chooses war… the Coalition will not stand alone."
That sentence landed differently.
Darius's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Clarify."
The messenger held eye contact.
"There is external backing."
The temperature in the chamber seemed to drop.
"From who?" Darius asked.
The messenger hesitated.
Then answered.
"The name will be revealed once mobilization begins."
That was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because that meant the Coalition believed they had something powerful enough to deter Iron Dominion.
Or at least something they thought was powerful.
Darius studied the messenger carefully.
No tremor in his voice.
No sign of bluff.
Confidence.
Why?
Darius leaned forward slightly.
His aura rolled outward like a wave.
The messenger's armor trembled.
His knees almost buckled.
But he held his ground.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Darius spoke calmly.
"You walk into my war chamber. You deliver threats. And you stand."
The messenger met his gaze.
"Yes."
Silence.
Then—
Darius smiled.
It was not friendly.
"Return to your Coalition."
The commanders glanced at each other.
No execution?
No retaliation?
Darius continued.
"Tell them Iron Dominion accepts their mobilization."
Shock rippled around the table.
The messenger's eyes widened slightly.
But Darius was not finished.
"And tell them this…"
His aura pulsed again, stronger now.
The braziers flared violently.
The entire chamber shook slightly.
"When Iron Dominion marches, we do not negotiate."
He paused.
"And we do not retreat."
The messenger nodded slowly.
Then turned and walked out.
The doors closed behind him.
The moment they did, the silver-armored commander spoke urgently.
"Marshal, external backing changes the equation. We need confirmation before full mobilization."
Darius stared at the map.
Seventeen red markers.
And something behind them.
Unknown.
He spoke one final sentence.
"Prepare full war mobilization."
Gasps.
"You're ignoring the external factor?" someone asked.
Darius's aura slowly retracted.
He turned toward them.
"No."
His eyes were steady.
"I am forcing it to reveal itself."
The room went silent.
And then—
An explosion shook the guild fortress.
Not inside.
Outside.
Alarms began ringing across Iron Dominion's compound.
The map flickered.
One of the red markers disappeared.
Not destroyed.
Moved.
Inside Dominion territory.
A commander rushed to the map.
"Marshal — Coalition forces have already crossed the eastern boundary!"
Another explosion echoed in the distance.
The war had not waited.
Darius's expression hardened.
"So they chose preemptive engagement."
He placed both gauntlets back on.
Aura surged.
Full war-class presence filled the chamber.
"Mobilize."
Steel scraped.
Boots moved.
Commanders rushed out.
As Darius walked toward the exit, another report echoed through the chamber.
"Marshal — new aura signature detected near eastern perimeter!"
He stopped mid-step.
"How strong?"
A pause.
Then the scout answered.
"Unidentified… but… not mid-tier."
Silence.
"Describe it," Darius ordered.
The scout swallowed audibly.
"It's… stable. Compressed. Extremely dense."
Darius's eyes sharpened.
Dense aura did not belong to mid-tier guild leaders.
Dense aura belonged to something higher.
Or someone.
And then—
Another explosion.
Closer.
The war had begun.
And somewhere beyond the eastern border, something stronger than a coalition of seventeen guilds had just stepped onto the battlefield.