"Commence the plan."
Multiple teams moved upon receiving the command. Their first task wasn't something as grand as assassination, nor were they planning to collapse the festivities.
No, if the Black Dragon Clan wanted to succeed in their objective, they needed to be far more subtle.
After all, destroying the Golden Dragon Clan wasn't as simple as it sounded.
For a clan so connected to fate, merely attacking them head-on wouldn't work. Their fate was too strong, making it highly likely that they'd somehow pull through or find a way to survive and rise up another day.
To destroy the Golden Dragon Clan, one first needed to disperse their fate.
This was the main goal of the Black Dragon Clan for the past thousand years. Slowly but surely, they encroached upon the Golden Dragon Clan's influence in the Beast Domain and heavily undermined it.
While their efforts didn't directly damage the Golden Dragon Clan, they did have an effect.
They brought the ruling clan down from their pedestal.
The illustrious Fate Clouds that protected them from harm and offered them countless fortuitous opportunities, one of such landed the Genesis Bead in their hands, were far weaker than they used to be.
Now, it wasn't impossible to bring the clan down like it was when they first started their endeavor.
Now, if the Black Dragon Clan could use this grand event to strike a fatal chink in their enemy's armor...
The first group of teams was sent out for menial disruption. Their job was to inconvenience people and bother them, evading the security troops and causing trouble that went unsolved.
The people would slowly build slight resentment towards the Golden Dragon Clan who couldn't keep them safe during the festival that occurred in their own lands.
If one couldn't even protect people within their reach, how could one be expected to rule an entire empire?
The plan, on paper, had no flaws. Because the Black Dragon Clan didn't plan to make any big movements, there would be no reason for the Golden Dragon Clan to suspect or pursue them.
At least, that's what they thought.
Shing!
A sword slashed through the air.
"Who are you?! Why are you attacking us?!" A panicked civilian exclaimed.
He huddled together with his children and protected them under his body as he looked at the woman slowly approaching them.
She was already surrounded by a pool of blood, blood from those who had no ability to even speak before they were killed.
Looking down at the man, the woman smiled. Her ocean blue eyes were ironically without waves as she raised her sword.
"I don't know who created your disguise technique, but it means nothing in front of my light."
She slashed her sword down, and immediately, the terrified civilian's eyes changed.
"Dammit!" He exclaimed, jumping back to avoid the sword.
Elena's blade slashed directly through the two children he was holding in his grasp, however, a ball of light soon enveloped their remains.
Puff!
The "children" exploded into a ball of murky fumes that almost melted through Elena's mana barrier.
"Smart move, but using poison on a Valkyrie? Please."
Elena flicked her finger, dispersing the light ball and using the force to propel the poison back at the man, who narrowly dodged.
The poison landed on the ground next to him and melted a hole almost a kilometer deep in a single instant.
"How brutal."
Elena's voice rang in the man's ears.
His eyes widened.
His head snapped to the side...
...and then kept going.
It spun through the air with a fountain of blood before he even realized what was happening.
Elena looked down at the man's body in disgust.
"Hmph."
She pulled an object out of her spatial ring. It was something of a glass ball, filled with milky white liquid and purple sparks that looked like a strangely inverted cosmos.
'Black Dragon Clan...none of you can escape me today.'
She grinned as she felt the Life fluctuations entering her body nourishing her mind, and elevating her comprehension.
'I only have it until the festival ends, but this is more than enough for now. If worst comes to worst, I can just run.' Elena thought to herself.
This object was none other than the Genesis Bead, something she'd managed to get her hands on after ceaselessly bargaining with and convincing the Golden Dragon Emperor.
For the next few days, she'd be able to use it to her heart's content as long as she spent at least 3 hours a day tracking down and suppressing the clan's enemies with its abilities.
It was an absolutely advantageous deal, and Elena didn't plan to return the emperor's sincerity with disrespect.
Until the event ended, she didn't mind being the emperor's sword.
And when it ended, she didn't mind becoming his enemy.
'A spatial expert, eh? You're unlucky to have met me. If it was anyone else, I'd be worried, but when it comes to spatial experts...'
'...I have way too much experience for your kind to fool me.'
She smiled slyly as she tracked the next group of enemies, this time from a smaller influence called the Fiery Anaconda Clan.
'...I have way too much experience for your kind to fool me.'
***
Elena wasn't some newbie.
The Black Dragon Clan was obviously plotting something malicious, but she and anyone with some sense would understand that these small teams wouldn't have the information she needed.
To gain information on the Black Dragon Clan's true objectives, she needed to attract their attention to her and make them send more valuable assets to suppress her.
And to do so, wasn't the easiest way to absolutely oppress them to the point where they could only seethe in silence or attack?
This was Elena's exact strategy. While she targeted other smaller influences as well, she made sure to specifically make things difficult for the Black Dragon Clan.
The Valhalla Soul named Damon was extremely advanced, and could share its sight, hearing, and even memories and skills with Elena. Using it as a medium, Elena was able to essentially take half the planet under her web and turn it into her absolute domain.
'They sent out 62 teams, but none of them had a soldier over 3rd class. It looks like their original goal was to move quietly and cause harm in the shadows, but how can I let that happen?'
After leaving the Valhalla Mystic Realm, Elena had changed in many ways, one of which was her fighting style.
Elena used to be a frontline combatant, an infinite warrior who would never tire.
She never let go of these traits, of course, but her training path had long deviated from keeping such a thing as a focus.
The current Elena was an Empress, a cunning general who could expertly maneuver her troops to get her work done for her.
However...
'Even the Empress should have some time to play, no?'
The Genesis Bead wasn't a treasure that worked best in solitude, it was a treasure whose greatest benefits could be felt when one was constantly on the move and using it.
'Aha, do such coincidences happen all the time on Beast Emperor Star?' Elena thought with a smile.
She'd just been thinking about wanting to play, and as if on cue, the Black Dragon Clan had finally sent her some playmates.
The day ended and the night passed, filled with uninterrupted festivity.
And under the veil of peace and security, a single woman was facing off against an entire clan of dragons.
What an exciting event!
