The portals opened across the island without warning.
Dozen of tears split through the air at different heights, and soldiers immediately began pouring out of them. Some landing directly the ground while others dropped from higher above, hitting the island at full speed with weapons already drawn.
For a few seconds, the invasion looked overwhelming. But then, the Island responded.
The arrays hidden beneath the ground activated, one after another, spreading across the battlefield in glowing lines of pale gold. The first group of invaders barely had time to react before the nearest array discharged. The air compressed violently and slammed everything withing its range into the ground hard enough to crumple their amors and scatter weapons across the fields.
Before they could recover, another array activated near the eastern side of the island.
A horizontal wall of force swept low across the ground and smashed into the advancing soldiers. The front ranks lost their footing immediately, crashing into people behind them and throwing the entire formation into confusion. Starborn soldiers waiting nearby moved in before the enemy could reorganize themselves.
The clan formation had already been prepared for this exact situation.
Soldiers shifted smoothly between positions, covering openings before they could be exploited. Units moved together without hesitation, each group already knowing where the others would be. Weeks of preparation showed in every move.
At then northern section of the island, three Starborns held a narrow passage between two buildings against enemies that heavily outnumbered them. They never tried to overpower them. They just simply refused to give around way.
Every push into the corridor was met with controlled strikes and careful timing until the attackers finally tried moving around the buildings instead. The moment they did, another Starborn formation waiting behind the structures intercepted them.
Elsewhere, one of the clan elders stepped out from a side building and watched a large group of enemy soldiers advancing toward the manor district.
She wasn't wearing armor.
The woman raised one hand calmly, and the stone path ahead of the enemy split apart. Walls of rock folded upward from both sides, curving inward until the entire force found itself trapped inside a sealed stone corridor.
The elder walked away before the shouting inside even settled.
The Starborn clan wasn't fighting chaotically.
Everything had a structure behind it.
Inside Vexer's manor, Three felt the ground shake again.
The battle had fully reached the island now. The vibrations no longer came from attacks striking the outer barrier. These came from different directions and at uneven intervals, each tremor carrying the distant noise of fighting somewhere outside the manor grounds.
The protective arrays inside the manor continued humming quietly through the walls.
Around him, most of the younger children had finally fallen asleep despite the distant sounds outside. The older ones stayed awake but remained silent.
Khate continued moving through the room, checking on everyone one after another. She still hadn't rested once since bringing everyone inside.
Three watched her quietly.
She didn't look panicked. She looked prepared.
Another tremor passed through the manor, stronger this time.
Someone near the back of the hall flinched at the sound, but Khate was already moving toward them before fear could spread further.
Outside, the Starborn clan controlled the battle during the first hour.
Morgan's forces had larger numbers, but fighting on unfamiliar ground against a prepared defense was costing them heavily. Every road, corridor, and open area on the island had already been considered long before the invasion began.
The invaders were being slowed, divided, and redirected constantly.
At the western side of the island, an elder named Reth finally appeared after remaining unseen for years.
Most younger clan members barely recognized him.
The old man walked slowly toward a large enemy force that had managed to gather near the western district. He stopped for a moment and looked over the battlefield quietly.
Then he released his cultivation.
The pressure that spread outward wasn't explosive or dramatic. It simply crushed the enemy formation apart. Soldiers lost balance, formations collapsed, and every attempt to regroup failed under the weight pressing against them.
Within minutes, what had been a coordinated force turned into scattered fighters struggling to survive against the Starborn soldiers surrounding them.
Once the situation stabilized, Reth simply turned around and walked back toward his residence as though nothing unusual had happened.
The Starborn clan had survived for over a million years for a reason.
Their strength had never depended only on powerful individuals. It came from preparation, experience, and generations of people who understood exactly what it meant to defend their home.
The enemy forces continued pouring through the portals, and the pressure on the defenders slowly increased as the battle dragged on.
But for now, the island still belonged to the Starborns.