Chapter 398: Stone family’s domain
Irene watched in silence as her two close friends became Esma’s younger sisters in a short time.
She didn’t stop Esme from doing whatever she wanted. Moreover, from the mood of her friends, Irene could see that they were both, on the contrary, happy to call her an older sister.
"As long as all three of them enjoy playing sisters, so be it," Irene said to herself.
"By the way, Esma, you’re so confident in your strength, but isn’t your rank limited?" asked Irene, wanting to dispel the last doubts.
"Don’t worry, Irene, I’ve been feeling great lately," Esma replied, as if this wasn’t a problem for her. "I don’t know what little sister is doing, but my rank is currently limited only by the limitations of this world. Without them, I am confident that I will be able not only to demonstrate the strength of the platinum rank, but also to calmly confront the diamond rank creature."
After hearing these encouraging words, Irene was finally able to relax.
Leaving the three "sisters" to talk, Irene focused on the upcoming event. She didn’t know what exactly awaited them.
Everything happened too suddenly and quickly.
Irene answered the call that came to all the Leaders of the seven famous Guilds, leaving her only son in the care of Bera. If it hadn’t been for Bera, she probably wouldn’t have paid any attention to this call at all, which could have raised unnecessary questions.
Irene wasn’t worried about her son. Bera assured her so much with her presence and reliability that Irene couldn’t wait for her younger brother and sister-in-law to return to find out where they had found her.
A convoy of twenty SUVs, led by representatives of the Awakened Association, left the capital and confidently headed towards the private property of the Stone family.
This property was located near the city, on top of a hill resembling a mountain. The entire area was fenced with high fences and was carefully guarded.
At the top of the hill, in the entire territory of the Stone family, there was a small village, the center of which was a large mansion that resembled an ancient castle.
The Stone family was one of the oldest families that managed to survive and even develop after the disaster. They had their own connections in the capital, but unlike most influential families, they preferred to remain independent and isolated.
From the top of the Hill, there was a magnificent view of the capital.
Without slowing down or speeding up, all the SUVs soon reached the foot of the Hill and stopped.
One by one, the awakened ones began to get out of the SUVs and form into seven separate squads.
The members of the Queens Guild and the Flower Garden were soon standing behind Irene and Yulai.
"Stay close to us and don’t disperse," Irene and Yulaya instructed their charges.
Seeing the seriousness on their leaders’ faces, all the members of both Guilds nodded, obediently following their commands.
Irene and Yulaya decided not to interfere and see how events would develop. After all, it was the Association that initiated this raider raid.
When a group of over seventy awakened ones led by two representatives of the Association arrived at the main gate of the Stone family’s domain, numerous spotlights lit up on the walls, aimed directly at the crowd.
"Freeze!" a loud shout rang out through the loudspeaker, stopping the raider group.
"Who are you? And for what purpose did you come to the Stone family’s property?" the next question was.
While the two representatives were busy explaining the situation, Esma, standing behind with Irene and the others, surveyed the surroundings with great interest.
The longer she watched, the darker her mood became.
"Things are bad," she said, turning to Irene and the others.
"I can feel the restrictions of this world starting to loosen here," she added, and at that moment, an invisible wave swept over everyone.
Most of the awakened ones did not realize what had happened, but Esma and two representatives of the Association immediately realized what it was.
Alistair and Arianna Royce simultaneously released their platinum-ranked power, covering all the awakened ones with it, creating a barely perceptible light shield around them.
"Oh, oh!" the awakened ones began to admire, looking at this.
Esma, looking at this shield with interest, decided not to take any action yet and just watch.
"The restrictions of the world have just been relaxed," she informed Irene and the others.
By this point, noticing that the situation was getting tense, the two leaders of the other guilds — Dojo and Titans, along with their entourage, approached Irene and Yulaya.
At the same time, the vice-leaders of the other three guilds continued to stick with the representatives of the Association. Even the vice-leader of the Guild of Defenders, ignoring Irene, stayed close to them, which, of course, did not escape the attention of Irene herself.
Irene just shook her head at that. She knew that not everyone in Arslan’s guild was happy with her interference and closeness to Arslan.
Irene, Yulaya, and Hazel nodded at Ren and Rachel, watching as these two acquaintances of theirs decided to join their group rather than the Awakened Association’s group.
While the raider group was in turmoil, and the two representatives of the Association realized that their plans were falling apart, incredible pressure fell on all of them.
The golden shield created by the two representatives of the Association could not withstand the onslaught of a superior force and cracked. Soon, they and the Awakened Ones from the three Guilds fell to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure.
At the same time, the group of the other four Guilds standing behind also felt the pressure, but not so much that they fell to their knees.
Esma took timely action and, unnoticed by everyone, eased the pressure on their group.
Right after that, a woman with long black hair, dressed in black, and huge black wings on her back appeared in front of everyone. However, what immediately attracted everyone’s attention was the absence of a left hand.
With a cold gaze, she swept her gaze over all the awakened ones, and her eyes landed on the two representatives of the Association. A sly, mocking smile appeared on her face.
"Well, well, who is this?" she said.
"Erza Twilight, — Arianna Royce said with a pale face, recognizing this woman.
At the same time, Esma, looking at Erza, said softly:
"Diamond rank".
Her words, of course, were heard by everyone standing nearby. Everyone, without exception, lost color on their faces, turning pale with fear.